Historical District Tour

After orientation today (during which we received many thrillingly lurid stories of past students' transgressions of either program rules or Ecuadorian culture), we went on a tour of Quito's historical district.

Our first stop was La Basilica. In place of gargoyles, it has animals from the Galapagos Islands on the south end and ones from the Amazon on the north end.

Galapagos:

Amazon:

Inside:

They also had a neon saint. And a neon Jesus. And a nativity scene on the altar that was covered in strings of multicolored lights.

Our next stop was a pass by the President's mansion. There were people all over the front promenade but I only saw one security guard standing around!

After that we went to La Compañia, a church that is almost completely coated on the inside with gold leaf. There were intricately carved columns and altar pieces, as well as a traditional design similar to simple Celtic knots that laced around the walls and ceiling, and all of it was covered in gold. (I stole the second photo from one of the guys in our group, who snuck a shot even though photography technically was not allowed inside.)

Apparently the church was built by the indigenous people under Spanish rule, although as soon as the building was completed, they were no longer permitted to enter it.

We ended our tour in a little plaza, where we milled around a bit and went into a cafe/gift shop to use the restroom. Right as a bunch of us lined up to use the toilets, one of the waitstaff bustled out of the bathroom holding two cups of ice cream that were obviously intended for a table, and we were glad we'd already had lunch.

We didn't hesitate to take this sign seriously, though.

The Rompope and Licor de Café were really good.

The day ended in Parque Itchimbia, which overlooks most of Quito. The city is surprisingly large and sprawling from up above, and stretched for miles on either side of the hill we were on. I was more interested to see Pichincha, the volcano that dominates the local geography. (It's in the background of the first photo.)

Three flags of Quito in front of a monument of the Virgin Mary.

And one last volcano sighting, Cotopaxi.