My first time in the Mitad Del Mundo was a great experience! The day started at 5:00 A.M when my alarm woke all my suite mates up. We then got ready to try out the delicious breakfast the Hotel De San Francisco staff prepared for us. I couldn’t wait to explore the Spanish colonial part of the city with all its beautiful architecture. After breakfast, the group headed to the Iglesia de San Francisco, an absolutely stunning 16th-century cathedral. We had the special opportunity to see the Cathedral in action while the Ecuadorians were having mass, it was a stirring sight with the entire area covered in gold and elegant craftsmanship. To think that it would take decades upon decades to finish such cathedrals shows the dedication the people of Ecuador have to their religion.
La Iglesia de San Francisco
Mr. Glenn booked us a tour guide, and we then ventured into the heart of the Cathedral. Our tour guide told us the local legends and the history of the Cathedral. It was chock-full of paintings, books, tapestries, and the New World’s oldest brewery. I love history, so this was basically heaven for me. While we were on the tour, I picked up a baby coconut, and the tour guide told me we could eat it! When the tour eventually ended, everyone was grabbing coconuts left and right and eating coconuts! After the tour, we journeyed out to the hustle and bustle of the market square, unlike most cities in America, where the markets are regulated to a grocery or a once-in-a-month market, the streets were filled with people advertising, haggling, and buying things from churros to clothes. Our route eventually took us to the Presidential Palace in the middle of a very busy square filled with people. Everyone decided it was time to go back and have an excellent lunch at the Hotel. The rest of the day was ours to decide, and after lunch,h I joined a group of friends heading back to the market to try and buy some jerseys.
The group in the tour guide
While we were on the tour of the cathedral, my two others came up with the idea to hike up to El Panecillo, a statue on top of a mountain in Ecuador. We learned that no one had climbed the mountain, only using taxis to reach the Statue. With the altitude sickness, there were fears that we would get sick trying to go up the mountain and wouldn’t make it, but we were determined to be the first. After we finished with the jersey shopping, the group of three rendezvoused at the base of the mountain and started the climb. We must have climbed 600 steps and walked a long road to reach our destination, but we finally did. It was a great experience, and the whole plaza around the statue was quite a treat to take in.
Christian, Meg, and I in front of the El Panecillo statue
We are heading to the Cayumbe region to taste chocolate tomorrow, and I can’t wait to experience it. As for my time in Quito, I couldn’t ask for a better starting point for my Plus3 trip! – Rohan