Today was a full day. We started our morning with breakfast and a short orientation session. Soon after we packed our bags and made our way towards Quito. About an hour out of Otavalo, we stopped at the equator, 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude. It was a definitely a once in a lifetime experience. How many people can say that they have stood on both sides of the equator at the same time? It was interesting to hear the guide talk about how teachers are teaching students incorrect information about the actual shape of the world. If you were to ask kids what way north is more than likely they would point upward. Which is incorrect. The main focus of the institute he works for is to revise maps and to help children learn the correct shape and directions of the world. He had a valid point and he showed us that the globe is represented incorrectly as in how it is faced and spun.
After that we hoped back on the bus for about an hour and half more and finally reached Quito. Our first stop was to an art museum called the Capilla del hombre. Oswaldo Guayasamín was the artist who made all the work in the museum. It was definitely different and unlike any other artwork I had seen before. It was full of symbolism and each painting had a different meaning and identity. There were multiple paintings that dealt with inequality and injustice that still surrounds our world today. He also had many that dealt with mothers and their willingness to care for a family. It was interesting learning about all the different paintings and what representations they carried with them. The guide for this tour only spoke Spanish so we didn’t catch everything that was said, but we got the main points from each of the paintings.
Our next stop was to the mall to grab some lunch. Some of the girls and I weren’t too awfully hungry so we settled for some delicious gelato. I am still a little hesitant of the street food because I really want to avoid becoming sick. I noticed that no matter what time of day it is food places always seem to be busy. It was about 2 pm and the food places were still filled with people.
The last activity for the day was a city tour of the colonial part of Quito or the northern part of the city. We started out by going to this HUGE cathedral. The guide told us that about 80% of Ecuadorians are Roman Catholic. It was amazing how much gold each of the cathedrals used inside. We only saw about five of the seven, but they were amazing. The fact that some of the churches had been standing for many many years says something about their structure and foundation. Some of them had even withstood earthquakes. As we walked the streets of Quito, I noted how many people were out and about and just being active and enjoying the environment. It was everywhere we went too. I really enjoyed seeing that. The people looked like they were having such a good time and not doing anything. It made me think back to when I was younger and loved being outside with friends and not having a care in the world. Next, we traveled to higher ground where we were able to see for miles and miles upon Quito. It was a beautiful view. The amount of houses that were stacked on top of each other was unbelievable. This was definitely one of the most amazing views I had ever seen.
We ended the day with a good American meal near our hotel. I finally tried meat here and it wasn’t too bad. The menu was in English, which helped me feel more comfortable. Ironically enough we turned around to see the Packers Bears football game being shown on the TV. It was nice to have some sort of American feel for the night. Overall, today was a very busy, but interesting and exciting day.
