Beginning our two-week trek around the stunning country of Ecuador, we started in the capital city of Quito. Our home for the first three nights was a beautiful hotel named the Hotel de San Francisco de Quito. This hotel is located in the historic part of Quito. Hotel de San Francisco consists of a lush green filled lobby, a riveting rooftop balcony which overlooks the entire city of Quito and the Virgen de El Panecillo, and brick rooms filled with arches. Our first stop of the trip took place at the Iglesia de San Francisco and museum.
The church was built in the massive Plaza de San Francisco and has an immense history behind it. This church stems from St. Francis and the Franciscans which still roam the halls today. Iglesia de San Francisco began getting built in the early 16th century and took over 150 years to complete. A fascinating story behind the building of this church involves the devil. While building the church, the devil proposed that he would complete the construction in one night if one thing was granted, a man named Cantuna must sell his soul to the devil. Cantuna accepted the deal, and the devil did indeed complete the church. But when the devil was not looking, Cantuna removed a stone and exclaimed that the devil did not finish the church and the deal was off. So, Cantuna successfully outwitted the devil and kept his soul. After a brief history lesson and gazing through the thousands of pieces of beautiful colonial art, we tackled 33 ancient stone spiral stairs to get to the bell tower. This gave us another stunning view of Quito and the vendors in the plaza. My biggest takeaway from this visit was the immense importance of Catholicism in the Ecuadorian culture. Seeing the devoted Catholics on a Sunday service was extremely moving.
To end the day, we visited Yumbos Chocolate company to taste test Ecuadorian Chocolate and learn some information on the production process. We learned of the various parts of the cocoa pod and the process of creating the delicious chocolate we all know and love. A fact that I found interesting was that no part of the cocoa pod goes to waste in Ecuador. Even the sweet white fruit in the center of the pod is eaten and sold for pleasure in this country. After a short lecture, we then had the pleasure of sampling chocolate from 100% cocoa, mango dark chocolate, ginger, chili, lemon grass, and my favorite was the 60% cocoa coffee chocolate. To finalize this amazing experience, we were given hot chocolate and a brown made with 100% cocoa. Sorry grandma, this was the best brownie I’ve ever had in my life. This may seem like an action packed day, but we did have the opportunity to explore the city so we traveled to the Basilica del Voto Nacional. This church’s view was breathtaking as we scaled the hundred plus stairs loaded with stained glass windows to remind Ecuador of their devotion to the Sacred Heart.
