Home again Home again Jiggety jig--June 16/17

After a good night's rest and a lovely breakfast. We scratched Feris on the head, took a deep breath and admired the views from the Hacienda and boarded a van for our day's tour of old Quito.  

Since 1978, Quito has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a living history of cultures and beautiful architechture.

But first, a stop at the center of the world. Wait? Weren't we there already. Nope. Center of the world really applies to equator and not necessarily zero latitude. Here, we got an interesting discussion of indian cultures, of which there are many in Ecuador. Based on the exhibits of Amazonian creatures, I will be nervous taking an Amazon river trip. The snakes and spiders and fish look (and sound) very scary.  Then, 5th grade science class about the equator. We watched water swirl in different directions (or not at all) depending on location across the equator. Balanced an egg on a nail (try that at home).

Eagle pose is NOT easy on the equator line

Learned how difficult it is to maintain balance on the equator as the poles pull you in opposite directions. And a demonstration about weighing up to 2Kg lighter on the equator (I want that scale). 

Close . . .even on opposite
sides of the world

Not even the forces of the
earth can pull us apart

200 meters away is the Equator monument. Whoops, the French explorers were a wee bit off in their calculations of the equator line. The bigger tour buses stopped here and the tourists were told this was "THE" equator. I don't think they were told it was really 200m away in the family owned center.

360 degree view

We also went to El Panecillo, it's a 200m hill overlooking the city. There is a very cool monument of the Madonna made of 7,000 pieces of aluminum. The views are stunning from here. The city is surrounded by 7 volcanoes and the view is spectacular from a high point.

Before we toured the "old city" we had lunch at the Grand Plaza Hotel at the city square. The highlight was the special way dessert was served. . .if you order ice cream. A gong is rung several times and monks arrive in purple. Ice cream is served over dry ice so it "steams" and pops. And, then the Ecuadorian liberty song (very upbeat) is played over the speakers. It's fun.

We got some history of the central square, learned details about the meanings of various aspects of the liberty statue and peaked into the presidential palace. It is easy to see why Quito is a World Heritage Site. The architecture is absolutely stunning.

We walked through the streets to the wealthiest cathedral in the city with its gold leaf interior...Jesuit of course.

Then to San Francisco Plaza and church . . .the oldest in the city. Because of it's age, no pictures allowed.  

A short drive to the National Cathedral, which is very much like the National Cathedral in DC . . .both based off Notre Dame. The other cathedrals took hundreds of years to complete. This one is still in progress as the newest. ..started in 1883. I find it very interesting that instead of gargoyles, the statues on the outside of the neo-gothic structure are animals from the Galapagos.

It was an exhausting day and we went back to the Hacienda for a light dinner and relaxing by the fireplace before heading to the airport for the red-eye home.

 At our gate, Interpol called The Musician to a screening area and unpacked one of our suitcases in a routine, random check. They didn't find any contraband and we were on our way home. It was nice to be greeted by smiling faces who were more than happy to nap with us while we recovered. 

Back to the Mainland--June 15

 This morning was beautiful and sad all at the same time. We had the opportunity to step shore an sunrise for a final walk with sea lions.

 The sunrise was beautiful and I didn't want to regret missing a moment, so I was one of very few who took the dinghy to the beach. It really was magical. The sea lions were also waking up. Some played in the surf, but most were still drowsy. I really wished I could spend a lifetime in just these few moments.

 

Then, we had a short sail back to Baltra where we waited for the plane to take us back to Quito. A sea lion sat on the bench to bid us farewell. As did a local dog. I was relieved as we pulled away in the shuttle to see the dog walking away with a local. I knew he was taken care of.

Upon arrival in Quito, most of the group left us at the airport and took a half-day tour of the city. They are leaving tonight. We have another day for a full-day tour tomorrow. We got back to the Casa de Hacienda La Jimenita and were greeted by Feris and taken to our rooms. This time we were in the "new" section. I love the construction because they have done such an amazing job blending it to look like it has been there for a hundred years. The bed was sooooo comfortable.  And I enjoyed a LOOOONNNGGG HOT shower!!!

We spent the afternoon wandering around the property. I was more adventurous than The Musician. After we found a newly discovered tunnel (which now has electric lighting) and followed it to the bottom, I decided I wanted to take a walk to find the bottom exit from the outside. 

The views were spectacular. Found an old aqueduct system and heard rushing water at the bottom of a gorge, but I couldn't see the water it was so deep.

The flowers were beautiful. 

 

 The structures were fantastic.

We even had an amazing clear view of the Cotapaxie volcano that is always covered in snow.

The group reconvened for one final dinner, and our specially prepared vegan mushroom stroganoff was the best meal of the trip. We stayed up to bid farewell and then to the very soft, very comfortable, very cozy bed to dream of where we've been and what we've seen.