I recently realized that I had not posted the last several episodes of my journey to South America, including Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I am taking time now to backtrack a bit and fill in that void while I wait for our ship to sail around the world.
Leaving Cusco, Peru and flying into Ecuador was a pretty typical flying day. Cusco to Lima and Lima to Quito. The three-and-a-half-hour layover was the biggest issue. Fortunately, our tickets were premium economy on LATAM Airways. This meant their VIP lounge in Lima was open to us.
I don’t know if airport lounges are supposed to be some kind of secret, but this place beats the hell out of parking yourself in a hard plastic seat next to the gate for hours and hours. Soft, comfortable seats in quiet areas with a business lounge, showers, tons of complimentary food and drinks, as well as a bar. Little perks that make the grind of airport life a lot more pleasant.
Taxiing for takeoff, we saw a guy on a motorcycle with a hawk on the handlebars. I was guessing it was for controlling birds around the airport.
The flight into Quito gave us more views of snow-capped Andes mountains, finishing with lush green vistas surrounding the city, reminding me of flying into Costa Rica.
Customs required proof of vaccination and pre-completed health inquiries from Ecuador. Our guide, Henry, and driver picked us up and delivered us through the chaotic rush hour traffic to the hotel Casona de la Ronda.
Up three steep flights of stairs and we were in our room with the biggest bed I’ve ever had in a hotel. The fact that it is a converted three-story 18th-century house with a foliage-packed central courtyard was just icing on the cake. We could open the window and look up at the 135-foot-tall Virgin of Quito statue on the hilltop overlooking the city.
Good night.
Staying in a place that is as old as the United States is something in itself. Since we had climbed up around the central courtyard to get to our room, it meant that in daylight we could look down through it to the main floor. Or, from the main floor, we could look all the way up through the center of the Casona de la Ronda to the skylight that brightened the whole interior of the hotel.
Henry, our guide, met us in the lobby and took us to the van around the corner because vehicle traffic was not allowed on our street. The first stop of the day would be a combination of art and chocolate.
Basically, my reasoning started with the idea of a chocolate tasting in a part of the world where chocolate originated and got amped up with the art thing through Vaya Tours, the organizers of the trip. Oswaldo Guayasmin was a famous Ecuadorian artist who was a contemporary of Picasso. His house was on a hill overlooking the city with a big pool stretched in front, and it was built around the time that my childhood home had been built. My home was built on a hill looking down toward Los Angeles with a large pool stretched out in front of it in a similar 1960s modern style. I kind of felt at home in a weird way.
The home was filled with ancient religious art and pre-Columbian artifacts, although he was an atheist. There was an interesting history of his life and works that I appreciated, even though modern art is not something I really put much thought into.
To'ak chocolate is one of the most expensive chocolates in the world. The tasting was done in the wine cellar of the artist's home. We were the only guests, and the young woman who hosted us was enthusiastic and informative. Apparently, the chocolate industry nearly collapsed in the 1970s when a disease called Witches' Broom killed all but a few isolated cacao trees. Some of the original trees were rescued, and fruit from them is being used to make a premium product that was presented to us for our sampling. It was showcased in the fashion of a selection of fine wines at a prestigious vineyard.
Although I really appreciated the history, work, and fair trade value involved, it is not the level of premium that I aspire to. It was a neat thing to do and it broadened my perception of chocolate subtleties. I honestly hope they do well for themselves, the farmers, and the legacy of chocolate. I'm just not sure that I am in the socioeconomic group that is willing or able to afford to support their goals.
From there, we drove up to the Madonna of Quito. The same aluminum-clad winged Madonna we had seen from our hotel room. So from this end, we could get a pretty good look at the amazingly large city below us. Honestly, the view from our hotel was kinder to this landmark than once you got up close. The seams between the panels made it seem less ethereal and more industrial than when it was lighted against the dark sky the night before.
After a large lunch that included my first empanadas in South America, we went to the central square. There, we saw the President’s palace where a band was playing as he was receiving some unknown dignitary.
Walking just a couple of blocks on, we went into The Church and Convent of San Ignacio de Loyola de la Compañía de Jesús de Quito, also known among the Ecuadorian people simply as La Compañía. We were not allowed to take any photos, but it is worth looking up photos just to see the incredible amount of gold that covered nearly every surface. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/iglesia-de-la-compania-de-jesus Built so that the sun would shine for a special effect through windows on the equinox impressed both worshippers of Christianity and native religions alike.
We walked to the square of San Francisco and sat for a bit as a light rain began to tease us. Knowing that the previous cathedral was the most impressive, we opted not to go inside this one. Instead, we made our way back down to our hotel for a night of rest and recovery from a busy day about town.
I realized that I had left my Benadryl at home and that my snoring may bother Dusty that evening, so we stopped at one of the pharmacies to get some. I ended up with a Xyzal generic for a few bucks. Yes, bucks. The US dollar is the national currency of Ecuador. It makes the currency conversion pretty easy.
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