South America

As we drove to the equator, our guide started off by explaining the current local political landscape of Ecuador, which gave us insight into the situation compared to what we had heard in Australia. It was also explained how Covid impacted Ecuador's control over the cartels and their ability to expand their influence during the pandemic.
We then visited Pululahua, an active volcano with a 12km caldera, which housed a very brave village.
The morning was capped off by visiting the Intiñan museum, which lies on the equator. Intiñan translates to "the path of the sun" in the indigenous language, Quechua. At this location, we learnt about the importance of the solstices to the indigenous people and how they utilised sun dials to determine the season of the year and what to do with their crops.
Next we visited the Basílica del Voto Nacional, which is the largest neo gothic basilica in the Americas. The Ecuadorian used animals from the region as inspiration for the gargoyles. It will be forever incomplete as Quito old town was declared an UNESCO heritage site during construction.
We then visited the old town square and white house where we learnt about the Ecuadorian independence war, first in 1809 when the Spanish prevailed followed by a second fight in 1822 when the local Ecuadorians used the natural geography and altitude to their advantage in their fights for independence.Leia mais