1/12/18
Day 12 began as it usually did- with breakfast from the hotel. This one was a buffet. We all gathered here in the morning and then met in the lobby for a city tour of Quito. Today, I left anything of value in my room, including my camera, so pictures were limited. Our first stop was at Basilica Del Voto Nacional, the largest church in South America. Outside, we observed the neo-gothic architecture and sheer size of the church itself. Upon entering, we saw a beautiful sanctuary, stained glass windows, and exquisite details. Then we walked up a few flights of steps to see the rose window. From here, there was a cat-walk structure that went over top of the sancuary. We wnet across to the other side, where we were met by a series of ladders. These ladders took you up and out of the sanctuary. Now, we were in one of the two large towers. Most of us were able to make it to the top, but I must admit, the height was scary.
At the top, Tait talked to us about some of the problems that face the city of Quito and its people. From here, it was easy to see all around, and we were able to see the great number of "homes" literally stacked on top of one another. People would come in and build on top of an existing structure on the outskirts of the city where they had work. On these high hills, there weren't any connections to clean water. And since no roads reached these hills, people would walk every day to have access to running water. They'd have to carry groceries up this hill. It was a really sad way to live, but no one made enough money to afford anything else.
Another issue that was obvious from up here was smog, photochemical smog to be exact. Photochemical smog is a mixture of pollutants that react in the sun to form a brownish haze over the city. As we climbed back down, it was easy to see various components of the church that were seemingly under construction. This was kind of true, but there is a legend that says the end of the world will come when this church is finished being built. Therefore, the people chose to never finish it.
Our next stop was the center of town, where many important political buildings were located. We almost were able to go inside, however, there were too many people in our group. It was still very interesting to see. We visited some more churches around here and saw various important historical buildings. Many of these buildings were built by enslaved Inca people. In retaliation, the Inca people would often hide Incan crosses and inappropriate symbols in their architecture, which can still be seen today.
Next, we drove to the other side of the city and up a hill to see the Virgen de Panecillo. This is a large statue of the virgin with wings. It is believed that the virgin only protects the people on the side of the city on which she faces. When the population expanded, people had to live on the back side of the virgin, creating this belief.
On our way to the Teleferico, we stopped at the mall for lunch. I had tacos and guacamole. Then, we continued on to the Teleferico, a cable car ride taking you up the side of the Pichincha volcano. From the top, you could see the whole city. Unfortunately, it bcame overcast and began raining when we got up there, so we didn't stay too long. It was cold and windy. But as usual, we found more stray dogs to pet.
This next part was a stop I'd been looking forward to all day: Pacari! Pacari is a local organic chocolate company with some of the best chocolates in the world. There are less than 20 employees, not counting the farmers who actually grow the cacao. We entered a small room where the PR representative sat us down and gave a short presentation about where the chocolate comes from and why they do things the way they do. He said that it was very important to the company's owners to pay the farmers a living wage. The company provides them with the tools they need to be successful and doesn't force them into any binding contracts, unlike companies such as Hershey or Nestle. After he explained all this to us, we got to taste some of their best chocolates.
After the chocolate tasting, we went back to the hotel to drop off all of our things. We would be driving across town and then taking a bus back to our hotel to see how the public transportation system works in Quito. This was scary for me. Public transportation is very important here. Many people don't have their own cars so this is how they get around. But we survived and made it back to the hotel. Now it was time for dinner! We got cabs to the old part of town and looked for a place to eat. More people tried to get us to come into their bars and dance, but Tait finally decided on an acceptable location where we could eat and dance.
Getting back to the hotel from dinner was interesting though. Our driver didn't know where the hotel was and he didn't speak any English. We all did our best and eventually made it back. I was ready to leave the city. When we got to our rooms, I packed my bags for the morning.
At the top, Tait talked to us about some of the problems that face the city of Quito and its people. From here, it was easy to see all around, and we were able to see the great number of "homes" literally stacked on top of one another. People would come in and build on top of an existing structure on the outskirts of the city where they had work. On these high hills, there weren't any connections to clean water. And since no roads reached these hills, people would walk every day to have access to running water. They'd have to carry groceries up this hill. It was a really sad way to live, but no one made enough money to afford anything else.
Another issue that was obvious from up here was smog, photochemical smog to be exact. Photochemical smog is a mixture of pollutants that react in the sun to form a brownish haze over the city. As we climbed back down, it was easy to see various components of the church that were seemingly under construction. This was kind of true, but there is a legend that says the end of the world will come when this church is finished being built. Therefore, the people chose to never finish it.
Our next stop was the center of town, where many important political buildings were located. We almost were able to go inside, however, there were too many people in our group. It was still very interesting to see. We visited some more churches around here and saw various important historical buildings. Many of these buildings were built by enslaved Inca people. In retaliation, the Inca people would often hide Incan crosses and inappropriate symbols in their architecture, which can still be seen today.
Next, we drove to the other side of the city and up a hill to see the Virgen de Panecillo. This is a large statue of the virgin with wings. It is believed that the virgin only protects the people on the side of the city on which she faces. When the population expanded, people had to live on the back side of the virgin, creating this belief.
On our way to the Teleferico, we stopped at the mall for lunch. I had tacos and guacamole. Then, we continued on to the Teleferico, a cable car ride taking you up the side of the Pichincha volcano. From the top, you could see the whole city. Unfortunately, it bcame overcast and began raining when we got up there, so we didn't stay too long. It was cold and windy. But as usual, we found more stray dogs to pet.
This next part was a stop I'd been looking forward to all day: Pacari! Pacari is a local organic chocolate company with some of the best chocolates in the world. There are less than 20 employees, not counting the farmers who actually grow the cacao. We entered a small room where the PR representative sat us down and gave a short presentation about where the chocolate comes from and why they do things the way they do. He said that it was very important to the company's owners to pay the farmers a living wage. The company provides them with the tools they need to be successful and doesn't force them into any binding contracts, unlike companies such as Hershey or Nestle. After he explained all this to us, we got to taste some of their best chocolates.
After the chocolate tasting, we went back to the hotel to drop off all of our things. We would be driving across town and then taking a bus back to our hotel to see how the public transportation system works in Quito. This was scary for me. Public transportation is very important here. Many people don't have their own cars so this is how they get around. But we survived and made it back to the hotel. Now it was time for dinner! We got cabs to the old part of town and looked for a place to eat. More people tried to get us to come into their bars and dance, but Tait finally decided on an acceptable location where we could eat and dance.
Getting back to the hotel from dinner was interesting though. Our driver didn't know where the hotel was and he didn't speak any English. We all did our best and eventually made it back. I was ready to leave the city. When we got to our rooms, I packed my bags for the morning.
Photo used under Creative Commons from mlcastle