ann and i were lucky enough to go to quito, ecuador for a long weekend this fall! quito is the highest capital city in the world; the two mile high city. it is a wonderful and fascinating place.
the pedestrianized old city is filled with churches from the colonial era, all of which are quite impressive. the most famous one is the compania de jesus, the outside of which is is a volcanic rock facade which has survived many earthquakes, and the inside of which is inlaid in copious amounts of gold.
on the main square sits the national cathedral which houses the tomb of sucre, the father of modern ecuador. one can climb to the domes on the roof of this church for $5. when i expressed that i wished to do this, the staff insisted that i wait for their only english-speaking guide, an ecuadorian conspicuously named “kevin.” 45 minutes later when he finally became available, he asked whether i wanted the version with the lights on or off. of course i said off, and we entered a black tunnel through a nondescript door in the side of the sanctuary, and climbed a few different ladders and passageways in complete darkness. definitely worth it. the views of the domes at the top were very cool.
also on the main square is the presidential palace, where the president often makes an appearance on the balcony on monday mornings. i went to see him but he didn’t appear that week. the current president of ecuador – lenin moreno – is an interesting guy: his father was a fan of the soviets and chose his first name; his mother preferred voltaire, but an error on his birth certificate left his middle name as “boltaire.” he was the prior vice president in the socialist administration of rafael correa, but since becoming president himself has actually pivoted toward increased economic freedom and liberalization. he is the only sitting head of state in a wheelchair, and has increased the government’s support for ecuador’s disabled population by fifty thousand times.
we stayed at a very nice hotel perched on a hill in the old city called casa de gardenia, with a large breakfast of fruit and bread.
overlooking the old city of quito is panecello hill, topped by a large statue of mary, made of tin. apparently the saying is that this is the only virgin in quito. nice views from the top.
