Quito: Day 2

Today we did a walking tour of the city. We based our route on the Lonely Planet’s suggestions, with a few extra stops along the way.

Our first stop was Iglesia de San Augustín and the Convento San Augustín. The church has beautiful blue and green painting all over the ceiling and walls, it wasn't ornate, but simple in its beauty. The convent has a lovely courtyard and all around the outside are large paintings about San Augustín's life. In a side room, called the Chapter House, the Independence Act for Ecuador was signed in 1809. There are also lots of battle heroes for independence buried in a crypt under the floor in this room. The original table and chair for signing was red and gold and opposite that was a beautiful altar piece on the wall.

Following the convent we continued one block towards the Plaza Grande. It didn't feel especially large, especially compared to Bogota, but it was definitely more beautiful (with less pigeons). The plaza has beautiful gardens and flowers with buildings all along the outside, some of which have been converted to hold small shops and restaurants.

The president's palace, Palacio de Gobierno, is a beautiful building. I loved the color and the white edging. Unfortunately we couldn't go in, probably due to all the unrest leading up to elections in February (we learned that from the owner of the hostel).

Also on the plaza is the Catedral Metropolitana. This cathedral wasn't ornate, but did have some nice artwork and an interestingly decorated ceiling. We paid a wee bit extra to climb a small staircase in the wall and access the outer domes. Allan being Allan decided to sneak up the secret staircase, then hide in a little alcove when another group were coming down. He thought you had to be with a guide to go up… it turned out it was what we had paid for! We had great views of the Plaza Grande and wider Quito from here.

On our way to Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus we made a quick pit stop in the Cultura de Metropolitana and a small church called Iglesia Católica El Sagrario. This was a nice small church, darker inside but with some gold along the edges and behind the altar.

We finally made it to the church. After reading about this one, I'd been looking forward to it and it did not disappoint. Intricate designs covered the wall and ceiling that were gilded in 23k gold. Each of the altars lining the sides of the church were shiny and full of religious symbols and saints. The altar piece also held over a dozen paintings and statues of different saints. The big dome at the top was a beautiful sky blue and had angels all over it. It really contrasted with the gold all over the interior. You would never know that the plain gray stone building held such beauty.

We also took a quick trip down to a couple of the crypts reserved for wealthy benefactors of the church and former priests. The guide was extremely camp and very knowledgeable. Weirdly, he also insisted on us taking pictures. I think Allan grabbed a couple on the way out.

Allan being Allan decided he wanted to go up to the dome too. I stayed in the main church, keeping my dome entry fee for a treat down the line.

After we left the church we walked over to Plaza San Francisco. It started to rain, so the gray stone of the plaza and church looked especially plain and a bit dreary. There were no gardens or greenery like the Plaza Grande. Walking into Iglesia San Francisco, the lights were off so the dark paintings and walls seemed even darker and sucked in the light.

The next stop in the walking tour was Museo la Ciudad, but we spent too much time earlier in the day that this was closed so we continued our walk down to Calle La Ronda (where I slipped and fell right on my ass...). This street is known for its (alleged) bustling restaurants and bars, but when we were there it was pretty dead. Maybe a combination of the rain and it was barely 17:00? The bustle also seemed elusive around several hours when Allan was out on his midnight tour. Maybe it was bustling at some point?

Our final stop before the walk back to the hostel was Plaza and Iglesia Santo Domingo. The church has brighter paintings that decorate it: blues, pinks, golds. The ceiling was made of carved wood and had a flower-like pattern. Behind the altar was a statue dedicated to Mary as opposed to Jesus, which seemed interesting, but then we learned that they were saying the rosary (because they asked us to leave) and the statue made more sense. Maybe they replace it depending on what they're doing in the church at that time.

It was pretty wet and rainy by this point so we walked fairly quickly back to the hostel stopping at Plaza del Teatro (unplanned) to see what shows were on tonight and tomorrow. The free shows were all booked out, but the ticket man suggested we turn up anyway in case there are no shows.

When we got back to the hostel we tried to hurry back out, but the rain had gotten worse and there were no Ubers. After some brief brainstorming, we decided to go to the paid show at 19:00, but by now it was 18:15, and again, no Ubers and we'd need to eat something before the show.

Allan found a brew pub on the plaza, so we threw on our water proof pants and jackets and ventured back out. We ordered some food and a beer and Allan ran across the plaza to get the tickets. Allan was disappointed that he couldn’t get a student ticket (local student only), but this was compensated by the free tote bad he received (and noted as $10 to buy on the website).

Everything worked out and we made it to the show. Annoyingly, and peculiarly, the audience stroller in for the next 30 minutes or so. As in they casually walked in as if they were on time and nobody seemed fussed.

The first half was a jazz quartet. They played a lot of slower jazz music. One of the pieces was all about the sounds of a day. The guy on the saxophone was rather good and I think the guy on bass was the main artist.

During the interval, Allan went on his usual self-guided tour that he likes to do in theatres. He asked an usher if we could move upstairs, but she said they preferred that the audience remained in the stalls for the benefit of the performers (the jazz festival in Quito wasn’t exactly a sell out). Allan proceeded to moan about the guy sitting a few rows in front with a stupid bonnet hat on, who was blocking his view… at a music concert. Anyway, it was enough to let us past. We headed up to the balcony for a bird’s eye view before returning down to the circle to take our new seats for the second act. Admittedly, the seats were better.

The second half was a harpist and a guy on harmonica. They were so good! I've never seen someone play a harp so quickly. He somehow did so many different parts of music at once only with his two hands, and the harmonica added in so nicely. We were attempting to transcribe his narratives between songs using Google translate, which resulted in some amusing descriptions! Harp v. harmonic seemed an unlikely pairing, but they made great music together and were very engaging. We both preferred the second act.

Allan’s deals of the day: Free Quito Jazz Festival 2024 tote bag and cheap mouthwash (around £0.36).

Vibes Aurik
9/10
Facilities: 😀
Comfort: 😀
Location: 😀
Cleanliness: 😀
Value for money: 😀
Staff: 😀

Summary: Huge rooms, great manager, ideal location, decent breakfast, excellent value for money (previously Quito Backpackers)

Good: Rooms. Our ”deluxe double room with balcony” was huge! After staying in some tiny rooms in Colombia, it was a luxury to have such space. Manager. The manager was great. We initially booked two nights knowing we’d arrive late from Colombia and not wanting to have to check out the next day. We actually considered moving round the corner to another, very well known, hostel since there didn’t seem to be anybody else staying. However, after chatting to the manager for about an hour when we went to pay, we decided to stay for the next three nights before our Galápagos trip. He told us more about the political situation and how it had impacted bookings. Breakfast. Decent breakfast with tea, fruit juice, eggs and bread. Location. Great location less than a 10-minute walk to the main plaza. Nearest supermarket is around a five-minute walk away.

Bad: The property could do with a refurbishment, but it sounds as though the manager has plenty of ideas for the place.Baca lagi