MAY 8TH:
(above): inside the Cathedral of San Francisco
Hola from Quito! Today is our official first day in Ecuador. Our day began in the San Francisco hotel, located next to a grocery store/market in the colonial/historical district of Quito. From one street over, you can get a view of the angel statue as well as the cathedral all at one intersection! Our hotel is decorated in an indoor-outdoor living style setup with plants decorating the entrance as well as the lobby which doubles as an atrium with a glass ceiling. We had triples for rooms on the second floor with “easy” access to the roof deck that has 360 degree views of Quito, the angel statue, the cathedral, Cayambe, and much more – I say “easy” because walking up 6 flights of stairs at over 9000 feet in elevation is mildly rough on the lungs. We had breakfast next – eggs, fresh pressed juice made from local fruits, black coffee, and a fruit of the day. From there, we set out for a walking tour of Quito and the Iglesia de San Francisco with a guide speaking in Spanish translated to English by our everyday guide and amazingly kind, funny, and knowledgeable local, Diana. They told the story of how the church was constructed as well as many tales of those involved in the history of the church, old traditions like stealing babies for good luck in finding a husband, and the significance of 33 steps leading up to the organ inside the church.
From there, we went to lunch at a restaurant called San Ignacio, and the man who owned the restaurant told us the story of the woman who opened the shop and became very wealthy from investing in the stock market. We then ate chicken with peanut sauce, potatoes, avocado, and a very vibrant pink/red herbal tea that tasted like fresh spices and fruit. From there, we had a chocolate tasting where we sampled 100% dark chocolate as well as dark chocolate with flavor additions like orange, ginger, cacao nibs for crunch, lemongrass, ahi chili, and coffee from North Ecuador. I, of course, had no fun doing this tasting. Kidding! It was by far the best chocolate I’ve ever had. I would have expected the 100% dark chocolate to be chalky and way too bitter, but it was smooth, consistent, and had just enough of a bite to it so that you could taste the authenticity, nature, and history that went into the bar. We got a lesson on the two different types of cacao beans that grow in Ecuador: one is dark and is more common, and one is white/yellow, more fleshy, and far more expensive due to the rarity.
We had some free time after our site tour, so we all decided to take a trip to the cathedral we’d been seeing from afar down streets. We left behind the comfort of the hotel wifi and the 5-block radius we came to be familiar with in the last 24 hours and went out on an adventure. We passed tons of stray dogs, bakeries pumping out smells of fresh bread, and kept hiking uphill for about ten blocks (at 9000 feet… yes, I was wheezing, but the smells, views, and experiences were well worth it, as cheesy as that sounds). We hiked all the way up to the top of the cathedral, up about 20 flights of stone stairs, and then another 5 flights of spiral iron stairs. We stopped at a few landings along the way, gradually seeing further out in distance but less in detail down below the higher we climbed. The top was breezy and incredibly beautiful. Expanses of densely packed, colorful buildings spanned for as far as we could see on all sides. Breathtakingly green and visibly thriving forest-topped mountains could be seen breaking up the houses.
We ended the day with dinner and hung out as a group on the roof deck admiring the lights of Quito.
Talk to you tomorrow! Buenas noches!
Katie Gallo