A Three Hour Tour

This Saturday all of the teachers were given a tour of the city. It was a blast and a great chance to get to see some more of Quito.

On our way, we saw Ecuador’s largest volcano, Cotopaxi. It is a glorious, gigantic beast of nature that serves as one of the few remaining snow-capped volcanoes in the world. It’s just another example of Ecuador’s vast ecological diversity and yet again another humbling chance to stand in awe of the country.

We started off by going to the beautiful Virgin de Quito. It was built in 1974 to commemorate the Virgin Mary. It is 45 meters tall and serves as a huge landmark in Quito. The statue stands guard over the city as if to protect it in the same way as the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil. It’s one of the reasons Quito was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She is unique in that she is the only statue of her kind to show the Madonna with angel wings. She is standing on a snake and faces North Quito. Surrounding the Virgin is a series of small markets. We were able to buy a legit alpaca blanket, a few paintings, and another trinket or two. It was a lot of fun and it gave us a chance to really see Quito from another perspective. It was beautiful. 

Our next stop was Old Town. We checked out the various squares and even saw an American Mickey there! Here I thought we left Orlando. Old Town was a unique area and almost seemed like another city in and of itself. The buildings were all gigantic and built in the style of old colonial Spanish architecture.

There were street vendors, tourists, and some of the most gorgeous churches I’ve ever seen.

I’ve seen some historoical churches and beautiful buildings but by far, Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus is one of the world’s best kept secret wonders. The church was commissioned by the Spanish, but built by the Ecuadorian natives. The entirety of the inside of the church is gold. The detail in the church is astounding and it truly is nearly impossible to stand in the church and not feel some level of spirituality. I wish I could have taken some pictures while I was on the tour, but it wasn’t allowed and wouldn’t have felt right anyway. I attached some pictures I found online for a reference point.

After the tour, we were all escorted to another school sponsored fancy pants lunch where we ate our fill and headed back for the rest of the weekend. The tour was a great way to see the city in a short window and to truly see some life changing sights. I really hope all of my friends and family will one day have an opportunity to see them.