Today, we took a full-day city tour and learned a lot about Quito (pronounced key-toe). Fun fact: Quito sits at the 2nd highest elevation of any capital city in the world (9,350 feet/2,850 meters above sea level) and our lungs noticed the thin air when we walked the hilly streets throughout the city.
We visited the Basilica del Voto Nacional and climbed to the top of the condor tower for a fantastic panoramic view of the city. I had to challenge my fears on this one. But I did it. The stairs to the top were see through which made it even more difficult for me. I reminded myself not to look down the whole way.
Ecuador is a leading producer of cacao, but it keeps most of it for its own consumption. We stopped at a chocolate tasting room and we’re guided through about a dozen different styles of chocolate all produced locally with Ecuadorian cacao beans. Some were delicious, while others weren’t to our (Rex’s) liking, but we still walked away with several bars of our favorites to share with family back home, if we can keep from eating them before we get there, of course!
The Virgin of El Panecillo statue sits atop of a hill in
We leave the Quito area this morning for the jungles of the Amazon rainforest. We have high expectations for the Amazon and anticipate so much biodiversity. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve last night. We expect to return in about 5 days to fly to another fantastic Ecuadorian destination.
We appreciate you following us on this journey.
Adiós por ahora!
the heart of the city. This is the tallest statue in Ecuador and slightly taller than Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Rain started pouring down and the staff had left for lunch just as we arrived for our visit, so we were not able to go inside the statue to climb to the top, but our guide provided us with good information about the statue’s history once we got out of the rain and back to the car.
We stopped for lunch and ordered a dish quite common in the Ecuadorian diet, watch the video for more.
Finally we were off to the “Center of the World” museum where we learned all about the equator and the indigenous people who realized the significance of this special place on the earth way before GPS was around to pinpoint its exact location. We even got our passports stamped at the Latitude 0°0’0” marker.
We leave the Quito area this morning for the jungles of the Amazon rainforest. We have high expectations for the Amazon and anticipate so much biodiversity. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve last night. We expect to return in about 5 days to fly to another fantastic Ecuadorian destination.
We appreciate you following us on this journey.
Adiós por ahora!
Guinea pig looked yummy, probably because we love pork rins. Enjoy!