A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Quito

Quito, Ecuador - Photo by Eric Chan

Continued from
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: The Galapagos

*A few Junes ago, my parents took their dream trip to Peru & Ecuador through a U.S. tour company, Adventure Life.

My parents both strongly recommend Quito, Ecuador as a place to really get South America; the first UNESCO World Heritage site ever named, the country’s capital still has the best-preserved, least-altered city center on the continent.

They also have just what ails you when a travel crisis threatens to melt your spirit into a ball of goo.

Just before their tour group headed to the Galapagos, my parents spent one night in Quito — for starters.

As their plane flew low for a breathtaking few minutes over the city’s near-endless valley, stretching for miles between two mountain ranges, they both remember thinking that flying into Quito must require considerable skill…and wished happy, steady thoughts for their pilot.

Photo by Stephen Duros

They’d actually been due in Quito about 6 hours earlier but their flight out of Lima, Peru was very delayed. Arriving just shy of evening, they were too late to see much of the city beyond a pink/lavender sunset and La Mariscal, the touristy neighborhood surrounding their hotel.

Photo by Quinn Dombrowski

Quito at night - Photo by Carlos Adampol

Some of their Adventure Life group from the tour’s Machu Picchu leg were also headed for the Galapagos leg, and they all stayed the night at the Hotel Sierra Madre.  That evening, the hotel’s manager seemed extremely anxious about their group’s plan to walk to dinner a short distance away; he wasn’t very clear, however, and they couldn’t fathom why he’d worry about a huddle of adults.  That is, until they were greeted at the restaurant by armed guards.

One by one, they were suspiciously vetted and allowed to take their seats.  Inspired by their bewildered expressions, a friendly local stopped by their table to explain that the kidnapping of tourists was always a possibility in Quito; he strongly urged them to consider a post-dinner taxi back to the hotel.

In the meantime, though, both their fabulous seafood meal and Mare Nostrum‘s almost medieval setting were a huge hit.  The Spanish Colonial interior was hung with huge tapestries and oversized art pieces on the walls, floor and sideboards.  Although they all ate and drank like pigs that night, consuming near their own weights in paella and bouillabaisse, the total cost came only to just about $15 US per person.  (Note: Ecuador uses U.S. currency.)

Falsely cheery dining room at the Hotel Sierra Madre

Safely delivered back to the hotel (indeed by taxi), my folks had to repack to accommodate the size of their Galapagos tour boat; they could only take one small suitcase and one backpack each.  Adventure Life had prearranged for them to leave the rest of their luggage in the Sierra Madre’s storage facility.

Aside from pretty painted tiles and a falsely cheery dining room, though, this would prove the Sierra Madre’s only perk.

My parents recall an endless, chilly night with one thin blanket apiece on their twin beds, dogs who howled and barked into the wee hours, and a nearly inedible breakfast.  They had only a few hours of tense sleep before heading back to the airport, bound for Baltra.

But because the Sierra Madre was kind enough to hold onto their extra bags, they dutifully returned here post-Galapagos.  Arriving at the hotel straight from six grungy days aboard a small boat, my parents were pretty desperate to stretch out, rest and bathe.

Sadly, the Sierra Madre had no hot water.  At all.  And there were only single beds.  And again with the barking dogs.  By breakfast, my mom was slumped before her tragic plate, whining like a 2 year-old.

A travel crisis was imminent.

Acting swiftly, my heroic father managed to get them both packed, into a taxi, and over to the more elegant Swissôtel.  In the lobby, they were both greeted by a lovely, smiling man who proffered a tray of warm wash cloths.  At this point, my strong, capable, under-slept mother broke down, crying as quietly as she could manage in her relief and joy.

Their room had just what she needed to bounce back to herself: Plush beds, clean linens, a hot shower…and a view of the gorgeous mountains ringing Quito.  There were glass elevators, an indoor rooftop pool, and possibly best of all, extremely edible cuisine.

Over the next couple of days, she and my dad toured the entire city and fell deeply in love.

View of Quito from the Swissotel - Photo by Josh Durias

In the residential neighborhood surrounding the Swissôtel, local shops were stocked with elegant handmade Ecuadorian pottery, art objects and clothing.  Here, my folks also found well-manicured parks for strolling and Old World ambience at the Hilton Colon’s spectacular afternoon tea.

Through the detailed dioramas and ancient artifacts at the nearby Museo de la Ciudad, and the exquisite ceremonial gold and Colonial-era paintings at the Museo Nacional, my parents were amazed to discover that Quito, a pre-Colombian stronghold and later, great jewel in Spain’s crown, was first settled by humans 10,000 years ago.

Modern day Quito still bears the legacy of an ongoing culture clash between its natives and conquerors.  Small groups of Indians from the highlands come to Quito in their native dress, children in tow, staying wherever they can in the hope of finding work; many end up hawking handmade wares at the base of one of Quito’s highest points, Cerro el Panecillo (“Hill Like a Little Loaf of Bread”).  These Indians are generally treated with disdain by local residents, who are mestizos of mostly mixed Spanish and Indian descent; in Ecuador, as in many other Latin American countries, the more Spanish blood a person has, the more they tend to view themselves as upper-class and refined.

The Winged Virgin of Quito

El Panecillo - Photo by Eric Chan

My parents sought to escape this struggle one afternoon, taking a taxi to the top of El Panecillo to see the city’s famous, gigantic statue of the Winged Virgin of Quito; an aluminum copy of 18th-century native son Bernardo de Legarda‘s more delicate Mary, this far from universally beloved landmark overlooks both Quito and a site considered holy for centuries.  Known to the Incas as Yavirac, or the Temple of the Sun, the original structure was dismantled by Spanish conquistadors who used its sacred stones to build the foundation of the 16th-century Iglesia de San Francisco, found far below in the Historic Centre.

Clearly, you can climb as high as you’d like in Quito, but you can never escape its past.

Once again ignoring warnings about safety, they walked down the Panecillo to catch some of the local flavor of the run-down neighborhood at its base; many tourists have been mugged making this same trip.  Thankfully unmolested, they picked up a simple lunch of llapingachos (pan-seared potato cakes) and wandered through stalls full of handicraft vendors, where my mom treated herself to a handmade woolen bag, loading it with soft alpaca sweaters and intricately carved gourds.

Unwilling to accept Quito as a violent, scary city, they instead embraced its complexity and historic beauty, leaving behind a piece of their hearts.

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See also
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Machu Picchu
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: Cusco
A Dream Trip to Peru & Ecuador: The Galapagos

and
TWT Travel Binder: Ecuador
TWT Travel Binder: Peru