Today, I took a taxi to Centro Historico, the old town section of Quito. I´m staying in La Mariscal which is where most of the hotels are located and everyone warns you to not stay in the old town. My taxi driver, Ivan, was very nice and asked if I wanted a tour of the city for 2 hours. I declined but I did let him take me to El Panecillo. It´s at the top of a hill and is a huge statue of the winged virgin. It´s 148´ high and is a copy of the sculpture, La Virgen de Quito, that is located on the altar in one their church`s. The hill is significant because back in Inca times, the local people used this hill as a place to worship the sun. After the Spanish arrived, they built a fort to watch what was going on down below. It provided 360 degree views of the city. Ivan, took my picture and was a great tour guide. He also warned me to be careful and gave me his card in case I had any problems. So far, the people have been very nice. It was an incredible ride, the driver´s fly through intersections and just honk their horn to warn people they are coming. If there is back up then they just lay on the horn. They love their horns. In one section, there was a market and people were carrying all this furniture on their heads up this hill. Just amazing! Ivan dropped me off in the old town and I walked around. It was much larger than I expected, I had lunch and they had straps on every chair to hook your purse on. I guess Ivan wasn´t kidding about holding on to my belongings. I had a potato and cheese soup with slices of avocado for $2. Another item, that is very popular here. It then began to pour down rain so I headed back to my hotel. Of course, I couldn´t find a taxi but until then, they have been on every block.
We had a meeting with our GAP representative and the people from our group going to the Galapagos. I went to dinner with two of them, Mady and her son Gabriel from Sydney, Australia. We took the trolle' for 25 cents to the old town and went to La Ronda Street. This street had been re-stored in the past year to a traditional neighborhood. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this neighborhood was home to musicians, poets and historians. They have done a very nice job with placards about where each person had lived. But the best part, were the two young men playing guitars and the locals dancing and clapping their hands in the middle of the street. We were the only tourists there and it was a unique moment to watch. Thanks to our bell captain for telling us about it and then the restaurant, Vista Hermosa. It was on the rooftop on the 5th floor and had incredible views of the city, especially after the rain. All the churches were lit up. Again, we were the only tourists among the locals. It was a wonderful evening, my best one yet.
