Ecuador - Quito


Most people visiting the Galapagos end up staying at least a day or two in Quito, Ecuador’s capital and largest city. With its international airport it is a natural gateway to the islands. But it has some charms of its own including a well-preserved historical center full of colonial era buildings, grand plazas, and several museums. We spent a day there before our Galapagos cruise and three days after. Quito is perched high in the Andes at an elevation of 2850 m (9350 ft). Walking around you definitely feel the altitude, especially in combination with the hilly terrain and steep sidewalks, and especially if you’ve just come from someplace at sea level.

Quito doesn’t have a reputation for being the safest of cities, and indeed we think Deborah got pick pocketed there by a little old lady. What happened was I unwisely navigated us down an alley with poor visibility and at one point turned around to notice this very short (not uncommon in Ecuador) older lady walking directly behind and very close to Deborah. I thought she was just goofing around or maybe hiding from some people up ahead of us. At any rate as I turned she moved back away from us in the opposite direction. It just didn’t occur to me at the time that she might be a thief – she just didn’t fit the stereotypical profile. It was later that afternoon when Deborah noticed her reading glasses were missing that we surmised the woman had probably plucked them out of Deborah’s purse, perhaps thinking the bright pink case sticking out of a purse side pocket contained something more valuable than it did. We can’t say for sure that’s what happened but in hindsight that seems the most likely scenario – Deborah got pick-pocketed by someone’s grandmother! If so that’s the first time we’ve ever had anything stolen while travelling. Not a great loss, of course. But a valuable lesson learned.

Plaza in front of San Francisco Church



Sidewalk vendors are a common site



Jesuit church known as La Campania de Jesus




The hill in the background is known as El Panecillo, named after a small loaf of bread with a similar shape. The statue at the peak is... 


...The Virgin of Quito



Parque La Carolina



Pre-Columbian Art Museum











Plaza Grande


Traditional Healer

















Neo-gothic catholic church known as La Basilica del Voto Nacional


(photo by Deborah)



Inside La Basilica
(photo by Deborah)



Sunday in the park



Video of puppet musicians


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