Friday, June 13th, 2003 – Day 115
Got up at 9.30am after a good nights sleep. Funny town. The streets were pretty deserted last night at 8.00pm and I felt a bit uncomfortable. I have walked the streets of Lima and Buenos Aires all hours without any sense of foreboding but it is different in Quito. There are a lot of youth just standing on corners doing nothing but looking about. By 10.00pm, looking out my window onto one of the busier streets of the Old Town, there wasn’t a soul present. There is an danger edge in this town after dark and people rush to get home.
Travelers should exercise caution at markets and bus stations and in heavily touristed areas, as robbery is commonplace. El Panecillo, El Tejar, Parroquia San Sebastian, Mariscal Sucre, Avenida Cristobal Col?n and Gonzalez Suarez are all relatively risky places to hang out, especially after dark.
Anyway, I visited only a couple of places to day. First I visited the church called El Sagrario which is just off the main square. This 17th-century church was once part of the nearby cathedral. It’s a mishmash of different architectural styles. The Solomonic columns on the outside are both Ionic and Gothic. Inside, you can see the Moorish influence in the painted domes. As you enter El Sagrario, look down–you will see crypts. (Those with crossbones mean that the body buried there died of smallpox.)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – El Sagrario (13-06-2003)
Next I called by the Government Palace is the most interesting building on the same plaza. There are guards with guns minding the entrance. Don’t be intimidated by the chain-link fence and guards in front of the palace. Everyone is welcome to walk inside the main area–just tell the guard that you’re a curious tourist. Once you walk into the main entry area, you can get a sense of the Spanish/Moorish architecture.
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – Government Palace (13-06-2003)
Next I walked to La Bas?lica which was about a 12 minute walk from the Plaza down Venezuela street. Once I got there I was accosted by one of the ticket sellers (entrance was 2 US) to help on on her English exam. She had failed yesterdays grammar test and now had to write a 150 word essay on “Why rich people people are not always successful”. She had attempted about two sentences which made no sense so I spend about 40 minutes helping her write it, correcting grammar and spelling. After that I went inside the Basilica. It was quite stunning.
Work on the basilica began in 1888 and is still unfinished to this day. Yet, visitors are permitted inside of this concrete marvel, which is modeled on Notre-Dame de Paris. Most people come here for the spectacular aerial views of the Old City and to see the Winged Virgin in the distance. For the best views, you have to climb 300 feet (90m) to the top of the towers.
Note that the elevators don’t work and that the “ladders” that climb to the top are very narrow and quite steep. As you cross the bridge to enter the towers, look for the carved condors–the stonework is impressive and the condors look as though they are about to fly away. The basilica is also famous for its mystical gargoyles in the form of local Ecuadorian icons such as pumas, monkeys, penguins, tortoises, and condors.
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – La Bas?lica – Exterior shot of this massive structure (13-06-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – La Bas?lica interior shot (13-06-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – La Bas?lica (13-06-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – La Bas?lica with view of El Panecillo and the Virgin statue (13-06-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – La Bas?lica with view of El Panecillo and the Virgin statue (13-06-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – La Bas?lica (13-06-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Quito – Ecuador – View from La Bas?lica to the Old town of Quito (13-06-2003)
It was quite dangerous climbing up 3 sets of ladders (not steps) to the aerial view. There were no guard rails. Where else in the world can you climb to the top of a Basilica (unfinished) without restrictions. once you climb one aerial view you can go to the other side of the church and climb to the top of the belfry where there were equally good view and hazardous climbing. You can climb past the clock tower, past the bell tower and to the very top of the spire. The views were great and this was the highlight of all the attractions I visited in Quito.
After that I walked for about two hours from this area, through the main park and into New Town. it was a pleasant day and the walk was nice. I stopped to have lunch and use the net. I rang home using NET2PHONE. Most Internet cafes have access to Net2Phone, which allows you to make international calls at a reasonable price.
I then took an overcrowded bus (.25 US) to the main bus (Cumada) station to enquire about getting to Otavalo. The town of Otavalo is a shopper’s paradise. The locals, known as Otavale?os, have been famous for their masterful craftsmanship for centuries. The market in Otavalo is the area’s best-known attraction and one of the most popular markets in Ecuador. In Otavalo’s main plaza, the local people still wear their traditional clothing as they sell their exquisite handicrafts. Saturday is the main market day, and this is when the town bursts with life.There is a mart in the town between 6.00am and 8.00am but I found it difficult to find a bus that was leaving at 4.00am for the 2.5 hour journey to the town. I wanted to go this early so as to see the mart and view the stalls before the day trippers from Quito arrived. its costs between 30 and 40 US for an organized tour from Quito. If you go your own way it is 2 US. Simple math. Be careful at the station. it has a very bad reputation for thieves.
Anyway there were buses going past the town leaving at 4.00am. These were going to Ibarra and Tulcan and would srp me off on the highway south of the town (10 minutes walk). They would not sell me a ticket and told me to come the next morning.
I headed back and got to my hotel at 8.00pm after an hour on the NET. As I had to get up at 3.00am, I decided to have an early night and had two beers at the hotel. I actually slept until 3.00am which was a first. When I know I have to get up for a certain time, I do not usually sleep. Anyway I had given the receptionist .50 US to reserve a taxi for me at 3.30am but there was no sign. The night watch man rang again and said 5 minutes. I waited 20 minutes until 3.45am before I decided to go. He was alarmed at me waving down a taxi on the street and it took him for ever to open the doors as we was afraid who might be outside. I waved don a taxi and told him where I was going. He asked me my destination and brought me to a bus that was waiting outside the station. It was going to Tulcan and I asked the driver whether he would leave me off at Otavalo. He said he would. It was now 3.55am, it was raining and the bus was full. The fare was only 2 US and the driver promised he would tell me when we got there. I was afraid to sleep as I could end up in Tulcan.