The small Santa Rosa airport has very limited flights to Quito, so we had to wake up before the sun was up to make today’s flight. Leaving the Christians in Machala was not an easy thing to do, but our time there was gone, and we had to leave…with promises to return.
It took less than an hour to fly to Quito. The city of Quito is incredibly old. Different civilizations have left their mark on Quito and some of the stone church buildings that were built during the Spanish colonialism are still standing today. The colonial center of Quito is an official UNESCO World Heritage site and modern buildings are forbidden. Our hotel is located in the area of “old town, making it in walking distance to many historic sites.
Once we arrived in Quito, we went to our hotel and left our luggage before heading out on foot to explore Quito. The temperature in Quito was a big change from Machala. In Machala it was warm (90+ degrees…hot!) and the humidity was high. When we got off the plane in Quito we pulled out our jackets because Quito is 9,000 feet in elevation, and the city is surrounded by mountains much higher than that. The weather was cool, overcast and drizzling from time to time.
At 9,000 feet, the air is a bit thin. This bothers some people, does not bother others. Bert is one of those affected by this problem. When we were walking uphill or climbing steps he was breathing heavier than the rest of us, but he kept up and we were all able to enjoy the day.
It took less than an hour to fly to Quito. The city of Quito is incredibly old. Different civilizations have left their mark on Quito and some of the stone church buildings that were built during the Spanish colonialism are still standing today. The colonial center of Quito is an official UNESCO World Heritage site and modern buildings are forbidden. Our hotel is located in the area of “old town, making it in walking distance to many historic sites.
Once we arrived in Quito, we went to our hotel and left our luggage before heading out on foot to explore Quito. The temperature in Quito was a big change from Machala. In Machala it was warm (90+ degrees…hot!) and the humidity was high. When we got off the plane in Quito we pulled out our jackets because Quito is 9,000 feet in elevation, and the city is surrounded by mountains much higher than that. The weather was cool, overcast and drizzling from time to time.
At 9,000 feet, the air is a bit thin. This bothers some people, does not bother others. Bert is one of those affected by this problem. When we were walking uphill or climbing steps he was breathing heavier than the rest of us, but he kept up and we were all able to enjoy the day.
We witnessed a very exciting event today. We noticed a rather large group of Ecuadorians gathering in the park facing the Presidential Palace. We were curious, so we joined the group. Within minutes we saw an important-looking group of people on the balcony of the palace, soldiers in colorful dress marching out, and soldiers on horses circling the park. We never knew exactly what the celebration was, but Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was out on the balcony watching the procedure. Regardless of what your political views may be, it is extremely exciting to see the President of a country you are visiting! The celebration lasted over half an hour, and the President stood on the balcony viewing the celebration the entire time. President Correa is the man waving in the photo.
When politics are involved, there are always protestors, and Ecuador is not protected against this. One young couple who were big supporters of President Correa had brought their own flag and were very vocal about their views. Bert talked to them about the differences of the attitudes of the people in Ecuador. Apparently in Ecuador it is like attitudes in the US…some people like the President, some do not. Freedom of speech…
We went to the large and ornate Catholic church referred to as La Basilica. We climbed up in one of the two clock towers on the building and looked out toward another spire on the other side of the building. We decided to take a taxi to the Telefonica, which is a gondola cable lift which takes passengers to the top of Pichincha, a very tall mountain in Quito. Due to the distance, we hopped in a taxi. The taxi was brand new and the driver, named Felix, seemed to enjoy our laughing and teasing. He spoke only Spanish, but thanks to Bert we were able to communicate fairly well. We all liked Felix, and when he left us at the Telefonica he promised to return in two hours to pick us up.
City view from the top of Pichincha in Quito, Ecuador.
The four of us rode the gondola to the top of Pichincha. The elevation at the top is 13,000 feet, and the air was even thinner for poor Bert. He elected to sit in the snack bar while the rest of us hiked a little on top. However, it was very tiring with the thin air, so we did not hike as far as we thought we might. Also, it was foggy and very cool on top and the visibility was limited. It was not an ideal day for this activity, but this was the day we had to do it.
Felix did, indeed, return to pick us up at the appointed time. Apparently thin air tends to make normal people a little giddy, and most everything that happened in the taxi on the way back to the hotel was funny. Olen was sitting in the front seat next to Felix, and he told Felix to take us to the Hotel Catedral Internacional. Unfortunately, Olen does not pronounce Spanish very well, and was suffering from a slight head cold; and when you throw in a southern accent, he was never able to communicate our destination to Felix. Bert, our “official” translator, got so tickled at the lack of communication between Olen and Felix that he could not even talk. Olen and Felix had to look at maps and do a lot of hand gestures while the three of us in the backseat tried to breathe through the laughter.
We finally got to the hotel, and the desk clerk was showing us to our rooms when we passed a “no smoking” sign on the wall in the hall. In our already hilarious state, the sign caused us to get tickled all over again. Perhaps readers can see why we thought the sign was so humorous.
We walked through the “old town” part of Quito near our hotel to find something for dinner. It was sprinkling rain by this time in parts of Quito, but the sun was shining in other parts. As we walked down the street we saw a beautiful rainbow. A rainbow in Quito, Ecuador…a reminder to all of us that God keeps His promises…to those of us in Athens, Alabama…and to His children in Ecuador. What a lovely way to end our day!
Felix did, indeed, return to pick us up at the appointed time. Apparently thin air tends to make normal people a little giddy, and most everything that happened in the taxi on the way back to the hotel was funny. Olen was sitting in the front seat next to Felix, and he told Felix to take us to the Hotel Catedral Internacional. Unfortunately, Olen does not pronounce Spanish very well, and was suffering from a slight head cold; and when you throw in a southern accent, he was never able to communicate our destination to Felix. Bert, our “official” translator, got so tickled at the lack of communication between Olen and Felix that he could not even talk. Olen and Felix had to look at maps and do a lot of hand gestures while the three of us in the backseat tried to breathe through the laughter.
We finally got to the hotel, and the desk clerk was showing us to our rooms when we passed a “no smoking” sign on the wall in the hall. In our already hilarious state, the sign caused us to get tickled all over again. Perhaps readers can see why we thought the sign was so humorous.
We walked through the “old town” part of Quito near our hotel to find something for dinner. It was sprinkling rain by this time in parts of Quito, but the sun was shining in other parts. As we walked down the street we saw a beautiful rainbow. A rainbow in Quito, Ecuador…a reminder to all of us that God keeps His promises…to those of us in Athens, Alabama…and to His children in Ecuador. What a lovely way to end our day!
Phonetically, "Do not smock" makes sense to the Latin ear. Got to love it!
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