Along with Lima, the Ecuadorian capital marks a bookend to the trip, a point of departure, and the 2nd real city I’ll be spending any time in down here.  The dangers, the petty crime, supposedly rampant pickpockets…were non-existent.  It does indeed seem that simply taking precautions and being aware of one’s surroundings are a sufficient remedy to keep safe.  As such, my pre-trip worries about personal safety have come to naught.  There are also dedicated bus lanes systems in both major cities, a great and low-cost transportation innovation that I’d love to research more and will spare any potential reader from hearing about.

 

Quito has one of the largest, most extensive colonial centers of South America, supposedly leaps and bounds better than the other major Latin cities.  For some reason, the Spaniards decided this site at 9,200 feet and in the midst of rolling, steep hills would be a good place to create their capital.  The old town has some exceedingly steep hills, which make for some heart-pumping good views of the old architecture, a lot of which seems to have been well maintained and presents a charming face for the intrepid walker.

One of the cooler activities was to clamber about basilica situated on the top of a hill where you can climb up the towers into the upper reaches of the church, including a few metal gangways and some narrow, steep ladders to the top.  At one of the stops was a group of middle-aged Chinese people and I finally got to talk to people with a semblance of fluidity to my speech again, a nice change from my halting efforts in Spanish.  

 

There is a monument to the Equator north of town, supposedly described in the guidebooks as akin to a circus show but it was quiet on Monday and a bit lackluster, save for tourists posing in their way.  I, of course, would never stoop to posing for pictures….  The highlight was probably the three-year old sitting in front of me playing hiding and peeking games who was very cute and friendly to me.  

 

Today, the final day, was a nice and relaxing one.  I took the bus north a ways and then climbed the hill through a tony neighborhood to arrive at the capilla del hombre, a chapel/art museum dedicated to the works and spirit of Oswaldo Guayasamin, one of Ecuador’s most famed artists.  His works focus on the themes of struggle, disenfranchisement, and suffering of the native peoples mostly and evoke a style similar to some of the early Cubist painters, coupled with an ability to portray expression in a stunningly effective way.  Highly recommend for any who may be heading this way!

  

And at last I found the bar.  There was a soccer match that needed some watching, as the Germans advanced past the Spaniards to the finale.  Overall Latin America, at least the two countries I had the chance to see, were pretty neat.  I think I like it.  Hopefully there will come a day when I can come back, as there are still nations to see and mountains to climb.