I did not sleep well at all. Even reading Alasdair Macintyre was not enough to force my eyelids to close. John, fortunately, did not have the same problem. With a great deal of grumbling, I packed up and we went down to breakfast. Leo was scheduled to pick us up at 9:00, and we were early for a change. John snapped some pictures of the hotel lobby
and a little atrium garden with this lovely mural.
Leo told us that ten years ago Ronda was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city and that most of the buildings were either abandoned or were brothels. I am not sure which our hotel once was, but either way the restoration is lovely and La Casona de Ronda is great place to stay.
Leo picked us up and drove us through the old city. Along the way, we passed by the Basílica del Voto Nacional. This is supposedly the largest neo-gothic structure in the Americas and is the only church in Ecuador to have been built since Independence with public funds. I learned later that its grotesques include Galápagos iguanas and tortoises, so I wish we had stopped and taken a closer look at it.
Leo took us to the Teleférico de Quito, a cable car that runs from the edge of the city to Cruz Loma. It climbs from 9,678 feet at its base to 13,288 feet at the top. As you might guess, it was a bit cool up at that altitude even here on the equator, and the air was t-h-i-n! John really felt it, but then I guess when you are that tall the blood has to pump farther.
But the views over the city were amazing.
Quito has about 2 and a half million people, but the city is long and narrow, occupying a valley between two mountain ranges. Most of these peaks are volcanic, and the area around Quito is sometimes called “Volcano Alley.” Fortunately, most of the fourteen volcanos are quite dormant.
We went up the funicular with some guy from Finland who planned to hike the five hours from there to the Pichincha volcano. I hope he was in good enough shape for the trip. He certainly did not seem particularly prepared for how quickly weather can change up high in mountain. I hope he did not end up as a Christmas Eve snack for an Andean condor….
Returning to the base station, Leo put us in his car and we started off for La Mitadad del Mundo, a monument to the discovery of the equator. It took us quite a while to get there, and the traffic was pretty awful. I hate to say this, but cities this size really do need some kind of freeway system. And the fact that the Quito police are given to closing streets for no apparent purpose does not make it easier.
When we arrived, the first thing that struck us was not the monument but this startling piece of modern architecture.
This one of the headquarters of UNASUR, the Union of South American Nations. This is designed to be South America’s answer to the European Union. I do not get the feeling much has come of it yet, and given the problems Europe is facing right now, maybe they should not rush into this.
Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, the "City at the Center of the World,” commemorates the French Geodesic Mission of 1736 which attempted to find the equator. This was not the first time that people had attempted to find this spot, but until the advent of modern satellite technology it was generally accepted that they had located it here. And so a monument was built with busts of the eighteenth century scientists to honor their contribution to geography.
The only problem is — they were not quite right. The actual equator is actually about 200 meter further south. And ironically — it had already been discovered. Ruins of a pre-Columbian site on a nearby hill mark the exact spot. A pole has been erected here to commemorate the indigenous accomplishment.
It’s hard to figure out what exactly the point of La Mitad is other than to separate tourists from a few dollars. Admittedly, it’s kind of fun to spread yourself across two hemispheres
until you remember that this really isn’t the equator at all.
The tower has a museum with a number of exhibits on Ecuadorian native peoples. Most of this just shows the typical dress and some pictures of their homes. But an exhibit to an Amazon tribe does purport to show a shrunken head. I am sure that this is a hit for field trips.
The science exhibits are not only a little cheesy, but not even accurate. One claims that the Coriolis effect changes the direction that water drains in sinks and toilets, something that has been disproven many, many times.
Attached the monument and the museum is a the “city.” It is not much more than a few restaurants and souvenir stands. Maybe this place gets more business on days other than Christmas Eve, but I was not sure how any of them stayed in business.
Even though our flight was not until six thirty, Leo dropped us off at the airport just after three. He had to drive back to his home and from there to his parents house in the lowlands at least three hours away. Quito airport is not Singapore, but there was worse places to pass the time. We splurged for the VIP lounge where there would be free food and drink and really good wifi.
On the plane tonight, they fed us dinner. (This happens all the time in Latin America. Nobody has told them that you should charge people 9 dollars for a wretched sandwich — and oh, by the way, the chips are extra.) Maybe because it was Christmas, they decided to offer pavo or turkey. So here is our Christmas feast.
We’ll probably be asleep up in the air as Santa makes his rounds tonight. If we see him, we’ll snap a picture.
