Ecuador - Quito

This morning our guide took us to the old centre of Quito and showed us around. The trip on the local bus was an experience. It took us three buses to actually get onto the bus because they were so full and one literally had to push past the poor people that were trying to get off in order to get on before the doors closed. It was a challenge.

On our tour we learnt a little about the history of Ecuador and the colonial Spanish occupation as well the revolution to independence in the early 1800’s. We visited some of the old city’s many churches, including the Basilica in which we climbed up to the very top of one of its spires for a spectacular view over the city, the Iglesia De La Compania de Jesus which is famous for its almost entire gold leaf interior architecture and art, and San Francisco Cathedral, where apparently an Incan Palace stood before the Spanish Invasion. After lunch we also briefly went up El Panecillo which is a small hill that also allows you to see a great panoramic view over the city and has a 30m high statue of La Virgen de Quito.

Once we finished this tour we visited the National Museum which has a fantastic collection of artefacts and information about the history of Ecuador from over 6000 years ago. It was a good way to get an understanding of the complex history of this little country.

Todays photo is another from the Galapagos.