Quito Reflections
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Day TwoThe second day of the trip consisted of some cool places. We met our tour guide Gabriella who at first seemed not very good, but then actually really helped us out a lot. We went and visited the Intian Solar Museum, where the actual equator is. It is quite funny to me that the native peoples of the area were able to map out the equator without any fancy GPS technology or maps, but when the French sent in a geodesic mission to map out the equator, they were off by about 200 meters. Today the mitad Del mundo monument still stands at this false equator, while the real one runs through the grounds of the solar museum. At the museum we saw various demonstrations that were meant to show the lack of Coriolis Effect at the equator. I balanced an egg on a nail, walked along the equator with my eyes closed, and even watched as the flow of water in a sink changed directions on either side of the equator. The sink thing was a trick, as the Coriolis forces do not change so drastically feet from the Equator. The sink was placed on a slight slant in the direction that would force the water to drain out in the different directions. I am still proud of balancing an egg on a nail because that takes skill and I was given a certificate showing that I did it.
Our next stop was at Pullugua an ancient volcano that last erupted around 450 BC. This eruption led to the decline of the Chorerra culture of Ecuador. These were a people who most notably worked with metals. The view was quite cloudy as the weather changes rapidly in the Andes but we were able to see some of the crater below. I was a little disappointed we were not able to hike down into the crater but I got over this pretty quickly since I our next stop was to go up the TeleferiQo. This large cable car whisks you up to the top of the Pichincha Volcano which is a dominant presence in the Quito skyline. The 4000 foot elevation change in a matter of minutes did not seem like much, however at 13,200 feet I could definitely feel the lack of oxygen. It was not debilitating, but I felt out of breath as I took a few steps. The views from the top of this mountain were quite incredible. Even though it was cloudy and much colder up here, you could still see the huge urban expanse that was Quito. It literally stretched for miles and miles within my entire field of view. On the back side of the mountain you could see more clouds rolling in. The last time this volcano erupted was in 1999 and it blanketed the city with ash, closing down the airport for many days. Now I was standing on top of it! After a quick photo op with some of the native wildlife I we made our way back down in the rain and even some small hail. Lunch time, arguably my favorite time of the day, again did not disappoint. Our guide took us to a restaurant under the Iglesia de San Francisco in the “Centro Historico” or historic district of Quito. I had some delicious ceviche de camaron, which is almost like a cold seafood soup that is made with tomato juice, lemon, cilantro, other seasonings, and shrimp. Other countries have variations of this dish using different types of seafood. My preference is shrimp ceviche just like my mother makes at home. We continued our short tour of Centro Historico in the pouring rain and we also stopped at this church that on the inside was lined with gold. The gold really made the place magnificent but we could not take photos as mass was going on inside at the time. After we arrived at the hotel around 6, I was very excited because my aunt, uncle and cousins were coming to visit me. My cousin Daniel is a Geologist for the National Polytechnic School in Quito and he does a lot of work monitoring volcanoes. He gave us a really great presentation about the geology of Ecuador and talked about the dangers that volcanoes pose to Quito and the rest of the country. I learned that even when people have the information to make informed decisions about where to build in seismically active zones, they will often disregard this in an attempt to save money. For example, a strip mall was built in a zone that was prone to lahars after the lahar maps came out. Seeing my cousin for the first time in 11 years was such a great experience. I was only eleven when my family came to visit us here in the United States. Now I am 21 and my cousin is 25 and time waits for no man. We were now all grown up. We all went out to dinner at la Ronda which is a part of Centro Historico, where the restaurant we ate at was built in the 1600s. Being surrounded by my friends and family made this moment one of my favorite moments of the trip. My family kept telling me I looked older (I would hope) and we were just laughing and enjoying our time together. As my uncle drove us back to the hotel he was showing me all the places where my mom and aunt spent their time in University, we also saw Quito at night which is really quite beautiful. It felt really good that I was finally seeing the places where my mom spent some of her formative years. It was like going back in time. The next time I return to Ecuador I have to visit Ambato, to see the rest of my family and actually visit where my mom grew up. |
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Day 4
Our last day in Quito was quite eventful. We visited Centro Historico again and even went up into the tower of the Basilica del voto nacional. This basilica is the largest neo gothic building in all of the Americas. It is simply stunning and the views at the top of the city of Quito were stunning. Most of Ecuador is highly Roman Catholic and the amount of churches in Quito seem to reinforce that idea. From the basilica we could see el Panecillo. This is a small hill of volcanic origin that stands in the middle of the city. It was once believed to be a place of worship and ceremonies for the Incan people, and today it holds a different significance. On top there is a huge Madonna, called la virgin de el Panecillo. She represents the woman of the apocalypse from the book of revelations. From here the views of Quito are even more magnificent, and on clear days you can see the numerous volcanoes that surround the city of Quito. After visiting a few small shops and paying to go to the bathroom (I am glad I am not a woman because they charge extra for toilet paper) we made our back to the hotel and had some delicious Mexican food at a restaurant. It was an early night since the next day we were scheduled to fly into Guayaquil early, and had to be at the airport by 6. Quito set the foundation for the even more amazing days that were to come.
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