We are staying an extra night in Quito to see some of the town, and Sheryle had prepared a long list of places to visit, using AI which was fine, but many of the places had moved or closed down.
Anyway, we walked a long way (it seemed) from the hotel into the Centro area of Quito, following the script and that lead us through some nice parks and into the Main Plaza. This was not quite as we had expected, believing it would hold more of the old Spanish buildings but in fact was a modern Capital City in the main and was particularly noisy with buses and trucks tooting at each other. Only the inner streets were made pedestrian only.
Once at the Plaza we tried to find a coffee shop with WIFI (so as to navigate to the selected spots) and so we went to the Tourist Office for assistance. Their response was that none of the city coffee shops offered WIFI. We were slightly amazed that we could not find even one, as I had not purchased a SIM card for my mobile phone in Ecuador, so navigating to places using Google Maps, proved impossible. I did have a paper map, but as these are "tourist" all the streets are not named - again presenting a challenge.
As it happened, the main Cathedral was on the square, so we decided to visit. They have a system in South America where many of the cathedrals have a small Museum at the front, for which they can charge a fee, and it is through this that you access the Cathedral itself. Its a way to make money and stop a flood of tourists which worked well. At the ticket office they offered two rates, one of which included visiting the cupolas of the church, which we took.
What a gem! Having visited the main part, a young man took us up a range of secret tunnels, barely enough to crawl through, and requiring some ducking and squeezing to get through, especially up the spiral stairs. However, we made it and what a brilliant view it was, across the Plaza, and up to the virgen statue on a nearby hill. There were only two others with us, so we had a clear view and could take perfect photos.
After this, we caught a taxi to an area called La Mariscal, which has more local cafes and also the Artesnal Markets. We stopped for a coffee thank god, and also a small sandwich, then headed off to the markets where Sheryle bought some gifts for the kids and we then walked over to the Swisshotel, where there was a speciality jewellery shop and also a cholocate shop. She imbibed at the latter too.
By this time we had had enough in the heat and headed back to the hotel for a short rest, before taking another taxi to the previous home of Ecuador's most famous artist, Guayasamin (pronounced way-a-sa-min). Not only was the art amazing, but the house was outstanding in a spanish way. We loved it with it's huge rooms, massive studio and spectacular view across a pool and grasslands. The house now shows a wide range of his work. He had also built a kind of modern chapel (like a big black box) called the Capilla del Homme (Chapel of Man) which he dedicated to peace and no particular religion or sect. It won an architectural prize and also a UNESCO Peace Prize.
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