Quito - Day 1

We arrived in Quito after a long day and were glad to see a man with our names on a poster to drive us into the city. The roads are new because the airport is new, and, of course at that hour, not at all busy. But we certainly felt a police and military presence. There was a cortège of cars led by several motorcycles, and followed by police cars. And occasionally we caught sight of a lone soldier at a post along the roadside. 

When we arrived at our hotel we both felt a little dismayed. May I say the pictures on Booking.com did not give us the same impression as the entrance where it took awhile to scare up the little man who let us in then provided us with towels and soap and installed the toilet paper roll. I immediately christened him Igor but tonight we know his name is Francisco. This is a picture of our entrance, above. But at midnight there is a locked gate at street side and then another locked gate further in. But the floor was clean, the sheets were clean and we slept well. 

We slept well, but at 8:00 am there was a knock on the bedroom door. I mumbled something and fell back to sleep but at 8:30 another knock and something about breakfast. We got up and when we sat in the "cafeteria" our egg breakfast -an omelet, cheese filled and pressed croissant, Tang liquid and instant coffee were already sitting waiting for us we were told breakfast was at 8:30 but didn't think it quite that regimented. But Gloria, the cook, was delighted to see us, even though she made sure to get our money out of us. Ah well, only two more nights. 

This was our streetscape this morning. It seems we are in an area with a heavy interest in futbol since almost all the shops are selling futbol jerseys and shoes. Hmmm

But off we went, discovering very quickly that the altitude of the city, which is high in the Andes, was not going to make it easy. We were both huffing and our legs were uncomfortable. Luckily our hotel was not out in some distant barrio as we had been worried, but really only about six blocks from the Plaza Grande. We made it there and we're glad for a cup of coffee at the Dulceria Colonial. 

Here is a view of part of the Plaza - that's the Cathedral where we toured but could not take photos. The colonnade along the right is in front of the Government Palace. 

At another church, La Iglesias Sagraria, there was no restriction on photographs which meant I got a nice photo of the interior of the dome. 

And this modern painting of Quito which was in a stairwell. From the Plaza there is a fine view of the mountains pictured here. 

We passed two yarn stores that I popped into - not tidy and well organized as local yarn shops might be in Vancouver, but they really wanted me to buy some alpaca yarn. Since I haven't much room in my pack I resisted adding to my stash too early. 

Here's the Plaza San Francisco, so named because the Iglesia de San Francisco with its monastery, dominates it. We sat on a bench and just moments later these two motorcycle police pulled up in front of us and approached us. I was a little worried, but instead of being arrested, they pressed a map of the city on me, insisted I take it, and then drove off again. They were charming and were actually special police assigned to tourists. The map includes warnings about common scams and advises particular cautions like never letting anyone else help you with your bags. 

A view of the blindingly white stuccoed church at another corner. 

Here is the interior of the Iglesia of the Compañia de Jésus, the Jesuits. The building was started in 1605 but took 160 years to complete. This altar took 25 years. 

The ceilings of the church are richly decorated - it's a marvel of a building. 

There is an excellent pre-Colombian museum near the main plaza. It's in a beautiful building and the displays are very creatively lit. This somewhat anthropomorphic figure is likely a deity of some kind. 

I loved the shape and decoration of this funerary urn. At the top is a small human head. 

And if anyone thinks yoga is only practiced in India, check out the poses here. Hmm, proof of early navigation?

The upstairs gallery looks over a quiet courtyard, seen below. 

And this colourful piece is of coloured cloth and hangs in the stairwell. 

Another view of the Plaza Grande with evidence of the huge colonial influence in the city. 

We were not allowed to take pictures in the church, but this piece is in the museum next door. Athough badly lit (and photographed) I had to include it because it is an impressive rendition of Santiago Matamoros, the same Saint at the end of the Camino de Santiago, but here in his guise of Moor killer and saviour of Spain for his help in the expulsion of the Moors. 

The San Fransiscan church museum has a gorgeous cloister. Here a scene under the colonnade and below, the beautifully manicured grounds. 

Outside on the street we saw this rather appropriate figure, a Franciscan monk on his way to the monastery no doubt. We also saw a number of Franciscan nuns. It's obviously an active group. You can tell they are Franciscans by their brown robes belted with a knotted rope. 

Above is a gorgeous Mudejar (Moorish influenced) ceiling in, wait for it, an elevator that takes one up to a restaurant with a great view over the neighbouring buildings to the plaza. We checked out the menu and decided we didn't want to spend the high price so headed off back to the Franciscan monastery which has a pleasant restaurant under its own plaza. 

We had beer - the one on the left is The Red Llama, and the one on the right is The Turtle. Both very good small batch artisanal beers. 

Lunch for me was this traditional fritada - with chunks of pork, fried with garlic, served with mote (the white hominy you see), a small empanada with a tiny amount of ground meat, fried corn kernels and slices of fried plantain. Ignore the shrimp. 

Because it was Geordie's dish - encocado shrimp -cooked in coconut, served with rice and flattened deep fried plantain, and hearts of palm. Both very tasty and both under $10.00. 

I will leave you with another view - looking up from the Plaza San Francisco - note there are three more churches in the view. We didn't go there. 

More museums and churches tomorrow. And we will meet our friend Marje from Calgary who is on her own Ecuadorian adventure.