Quito, Ecuador
On January 3rd, I travelled to Quito, Ecuador to join a bird photography workshop led by Glenn Barley and his assistant, Jess Findlay, both Canadians from B.C. We would be travelling in the higher elevations of the Andes searching for various species of birds before heading down to the Amazon.
The Republic of Ecuador literally translates to the "Republic of Equator". One would expect it to be quite warm all year round being so close to the equator. However, I found that because we were at high elevations for the majority of the trip, the weather was actually quite cool and wet with the exception of the Amazon and Quito (except for the last day in Quito which was only about 13 degrees C). Of course this is all relative after being back in the frigid temperatures of Toronto-now even the coldest day in Ecuador would seem like a heat wave! The country is a democratic republic in northwestern South America, bordered by Columbia on the north, Peru on the east and south and the Pacific Ocean to the west as shown by the above map. Ecuador also includes the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres(620 mi) west of the mainland. I didn't have a chance to get to the Galapagos this time so that will be a good excuse to get back to Ecuador. Ecuador was colonized by Spain during the sixteenth century and achieved independence in 1820 as part of Gran Columbia before emerging as its own country in 1830. Spanish is the official language and spoken by the majority of the people.
The first photo of the trip was taken from the plane after leaving Miami. I flew on American Airlines from Toronto to Miami where I had a two and a half hour layover before flying to Quito. I arrived in Quito around 9.45 PM (same time zone as Toronto), waited ages for my luggage and then carried on through security and immigration. Glenn had arranged for me to be met at the airport and taken to the hotel and all went smoothly. The new airport built by Canadians opened in 2013. This airport is the busiest airpot in Ecuador and one of the busiest airports in South America. The airport was built about 11 miles east of Quito so that the airport's capacity could be expanded. I was told that the airport is already too small! The drive took close to 45 minutes or so and I really couldn't see too much of anything. There were performers on the streets once we got to the city. One of the guys was an expert juggler and our driver gave him some coins.
Our group did not meet until dinner time on January 4th so I had the day to explore Quito. I had arranged to have a tour of the city starting at 8.00 AM. Victor worked at the hotel and also is a part-time tour guide and was happy to drive me around the city to show me the sites. Quito, formally known as San Franciso de Quito is the capital city of Ecuador and is at an elevation of 9,350 feet above sea level which makes it the highest official capital city in the world. The city is located on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains.
Victor and I drove high up in hills to get a view of the city and you can see the mountains n the background. I wasn't really sure what to expect of Quito but I hadn't realized that it would be so densely populated. As you can see from the photos, there are buildings everywhere in order to accommodate the close to 2.7 million people. However, Guayaquil, another city in Ecuador is even more populous. The official currency is the US dollar as of March 2000 which replaced the sucre.
There were some great views overlooking the city. Quito is actually one of the five cities that Toronto has a friendship relationship with. Quito, along with Krakow, were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO in 1978. The central square of Quito is located about 25 kilometres (16 mi)south of the equator. Due to its geographical location and elevation, Quito receives a great amount of solar radiation reaching 24 in the UV index at certain times. Only highland places in Bolivia receive higher solar radiation.
An interesting sculpture that we came across.
There were buildings for miles and miles. Quito derives its name form the Quitus, who lived in the region a long time before the Spanish conquest. In 2008, the city was designated as the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations.
A closeup view of a few houses.
While it was still fairly early, Victor took me to the historic centre where we spent a couple of hours walking around and going into some of the beautiful churches (no pictures allowed inside). Since it was early, the streets were very quiet. Quito's Calle de la Ronda, pictured above is a beautifully renovated historical street. In the early 1900's La Ronda was known as the bohemian centre of Quito. It had a thriving night scene where the city's poets, painters, writers and musicians hung out. By the end of the 20th century, the street had fallen into disrepair and had developed a reputation as one of the most dangerous spots in the city. A restoration and revitalization project took place in 2006 and now a group of traditional craftspeople have returned to the neighbourhood.
The Church of Santo Domingo. Construction began in 1540.
A lady bringing strawberries to sell at one of the stalls.
There were lots of people on the streets selling their wares.
As we were walking in the streets, we came across a very colourful parade.
It was fun to watch and listen to the bands playing. Unlike being in one of the European cities, there were mostly locals on the streets and very few tourists.
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Lots of cute kids were taking part in the parade. |
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Plenty of dancing in the streets. |
It certainly got warm enough for ice-cream.
There were many beautiful buildings and churches in the old section of town. Quito was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an Inca city. In spite of the 1917 earthquake, the city supposedly has the best-preserved, least altered historic centre in Latin America. I went into three or four churches and they were very beautiful and elaborate inside.
I noticed people sitting outside of some of the churches eating. I believe that Victor told me the churches provided the free food.
The streets started to get busy and I saw a lot of vendors walking around selling various types of food. It looks like the lady to the right was selling some kind of ice-cream but it didn't seem to be melting in spite of the warm temperatures so maybe it was whipped cream or something else? |
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There were stores and stalls everywhere in the historic district.
After we left the historic district, we continued driving in the city. Victor drove me to the southern section of town which is mainly industrial and residential. We also drove to the northern, more modern area with its high-rise buildings, shopping centres, financial district and upper-class residential areas. After getting back to the hotel in the afternoon, I went for a short walk around the area. It was very safe but I was also told it would be best to not take my camera. Next up- meeting the group for dinner and starting our journey.