Quito´s old town was made up of several large squares or plazas. The main central one was called Plaza Independencia. It had beautiful colonial architecture on all 4 sides, with a large fountain and manicured gardens in the middle. All around, indigenous Ecuadorians were selling their handicrafts in traditional costumes. Young children ran around offering ´shoe shine shoe shine´for $1. Yes indeed, surprisingly Ecuador´s local currency is the US dollar. Less than 10 years ago, corrupt politicians stole millions from the people of Ecuador and escaped to Panama. The country was heavily bankrupt, in debt and poverty hit everyone. The new President decided the only way forward was to adopt America´s currency. In recent years, the economy has stabilised and relative wealth is returning.
Alkesh and I roamed around the old town for a few hours in the morning. A few blocks on either side of the main plaza, and we were stumbling across many cathedrals and churches - the Christian faith was strong here. Once cathedral was particularly ornate with c. 7 tonnes of gold leaf adorned on the walls and ceilings... very impressive! Later that afternoon, with our tour group for the Galapagos, we did a short walking tour of the old town. Although we´d walked many of the same streets in the morning, we found out a lot more from our guide, Belen who shared a lot of stories behind the Ecuadorians´culture and beliefs.
One road we came across was Calle de Ronda - an old Inca road. A pedestrianised road, full of proud Quitenos (people of Quito) - the people here had a ´no technology´policy whereby no one on the street owned TVs, kids learnt games from the olden days with their grandparents and generally the concept of community was alive and well. On this street, Belen made us try canelazo de naranjilla, a local hot alcoholic beverage made from something like a passion fruit. It was spiced with cinnamon and cloves and was delicious! - something like mulled wine but fruitier and sweeter.
That evening (the night before our flight to Galapagos), we ate dinner with our tour group at a local Ecuadorian restaurant. After the steak / pizza / pasta (i.e. carb overload!) of Argentina, Ecuadorian cuisine was a welcome change. Of course they had their meat dishes, but I got to sample a few of their quintessential dishes that were vegetarian - hurrah! I had locro which is a thick soup made of potato mashed with corn and cheese, served with thick wedges of avocado. It was very tasty. Ecuador has 10s of different varieties of corn - multi-coloured kernels, and cobs with very big thick kernels. Also I had a humita which is a cornmeal (mixed with onion and vegetables) dumpling steamed in the corn on the cob husks. Both were delicious and well-flavoured.
On our last day in Quito (after returning from Galapagos and before we flew to Peru), Alkesh and I went to the Mitad del Mundo, the Equator line tourist attraction 1 hour outside of Quito. The official monument was a bit ´blah´, but we took the obligatory cheesey photos with both of us standing on a separate hemisphere. In fact, it was quite fun to hop across the Equator, moving from the Northern to the Southern hemisphere. 12 years ago, French and Spanish scientists came with modern technologies (i.e. GPS), and discovered the monument was in fact 240 metres off of the true Equator line. Whoops! Fortunately for the Ecuadorians, it was an excuse to build a second attraction (a museum) in the true Equator location.
This museum was actually very interesting. It showcased several aspects of the indigenous people who lived in the Ecuador highlands and Amazon jungle. Our trip was well timed - we were there on 22 March, the day after the Equinox. Moreover, we arrived just before midday. This means we were on the Equator very close to the magical time when the sun is directly above you - you have no shadow! The best bit was some of the ´tricks´ they showed us on the Equator line:
- demonstrated Coriolis force with water draining from a sink: it went straight down the plug hole on the equator but swirled clockwise in the Northern hemisphere, anti-clockwise in the Southern hemisphere
- one weighs c. 1kg less on the equator because of the greater bulge at the middle of the earth - this means gravity has less of an effect on you
- you can balance an egg on a pin head easier on the Equator because gravity acts straight down, with no sideways forces
For sure, some questionable physics in places, but it was entertaining all the same!
Alas, we didn´t have more time to check out the beautiful aerial views over Quito or even venture further afield in Ecuador... we were off to Peru and the land of the Incas!
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