My trip to Quito this time was shockingly smooth, despite layovers
in both Dallas and Miami and an overly talkative lady next to me on the
MIA-Quito flight (I REALLY didn’t want to hear every last detail of all of her
childbirths, but I heard them anyway!).
Normally carting numerous bags and action packers full of research gear
into Ecuador, my load felt exceptionally light, even with my big backpacking
pack on my back and another smaller pack on my front.
As we left Miami, the clouds were illuminated with a faint
orange glow of the lingering sunset below a brilliant full moon. I tried to look as occupied as I could in my Ecuador
travel guide as my friendly neighbor told me her whole life story. Fortunately, she eventually either ran out of
things to tell me, or decided to let me read, and I tried to plan my free day
in Quito. I’m not sure how far I made
it, but I woke up to the thud of my book falling on the floor. Surrendering to the exhaustion and remnants
of a hangover from a late night and FAR too many shots the night before, I
slept HARD the rest of the flight.
I woke up again to my friendly neighbor, this time telling
me it was time for me to put my seat back upright in preparation for landing. Although initially a little annoyed, I’m so
glad she woke me. Eyes heavy, still half
asleep, I looked out the window. That’s
when I saw it. Or am I imaging
things? I rubbed my tired eyes. No, it
can’t be mistaken. It rises brilliantly even
through the darkness, the snow capped peak almost blending in with the
clouds. Cotopaxi. Even at night it stood as majestic as I
remembered. There is something about it
that just captivates me. I watched it as
it left my field of view and was replaced by Chimborazo, the highest peak in
Ecuador. Although higher than its sister
peak by about a thousand feet, the near perfect symmetry of the Cotopaxi volcanic
cone is utterly captivating. I cannot
explain it. All I can say is that since
I first set eyes on it last October I’ve been a fixated. Now I return to climb it.
Arriving in Quito at 11:30 PM, I’m thankful that this time
around I have a prearranged taxi driver waiting for me. It was such a relief to walk out of customs
and see a small sign rising from the crowd of people with my name on it. No hailing a cab, no being beckoned by
unmarked taxi drivers, no uncertainty whether the taxi driver knows where my
hostel is. After all, my Spanish isn’t
that great….yet!
Although it’s 2 am by the time I get settled into my hostel,
I head up to the balcony to quickly jump on the WiFi and am greeted with a
gorgeous view overlooking historic “old town” Quito, with the towers of the Basilica
del Voto Nacional lighting up one end of the horizon and the 30-meter statue of
the Virgin of Quito on the hill on the other end:
Motivated by my proximity to all the must-see old town sights
and a desire to get going on my acclimatization, I decided to do a walking/jogging
tour of old town today. As a compromise for doing the tour on foot, I
left all valuables (including my camera) in my hostel. I was determined
to not be mustarded (v. to have mustard, ketchup or other liquids squirted on
you in an attempt to rob you, a common tactic in Ecuador), but unfortunately
that meant no pictures of this adventure….
Starting at the Basílica del Voto Nacional, I climbed up to
the top of the 115 meter towers on either side of the Basilica to take in the
views of Quito. Thankfully I’m not
bothered by heights because the stairs and metal ladders up to the top were
quite sketchy. Let’s just say there’s no
way that would be allowed in the states.
At one point a lady in front of me got half way up a set of steep, shaky
metal stairs and froze, saying “no puedo”, which I proudly understood as “I can’t”
and proceeded to have a good laugh with her and her friends (once she got back
down, of course).
Among other notable old town sites was “La Compañia” (aka
Quito’s Sistine Chapel), an incredibly ornate church that contains seven tonnes
of gold on its ceiling, walls and altars.
For a moment, I almost felt like I was in Rome. Although beautiful, I quite frankly found it
over the top-- an in-your-face example of opulence. My favorite part was a painting of hell,
depicting sinners labeled with each of the deadly sins receiving horrifying
punishments.
I ended the day with una cerveza y encocado mixtos at a
restaurant overlooking Quito. Although
the encocado did not even come close to what you can get at William’s in the
Galapagos, a good dose of local Aji hot sauce on top hit the spot. It feels great to be back and was fun to
actually explore Quito a bit this time around.
Tomorrow, I head south along the “Avenue of the Volcanoes!”
Glad you got there safe and not hi-jacked to Cuba. Sounds like a great start to an awesome trip!
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