Quito

Spanish colonial times have left their indelible stamp on the houses and the grand religious buildings in Quito's centre - and indeed, on a Saturday night, churches are packed during mass: after all, more than 80% of the population are practising Catholics...
But then, of course, there is another side to this, as impressively demonstrated in the Casa del Alabado Museum, whose displays of Pre-Colombian artefacts, combined with succinct comments on their importance in the spiritual pre-colonial world, are simply superb ...
... and in addition, I came to admire the works of Alfredo Guayasamin as displayed in his museum and the aptly called 'Capilla del Hombre', a shrine for his large-scale paintings of human suffering in the 20th Century, of human diversity, conveying a powerful humanistic message beyond religious faiths - just to think that I had never heard of this great agnostic artist before!
Now it's back to school - with a sprightly, vivacious Afro-Ecuadorian called Vanessa, who will take me on a 'Travelling Classroom' tour of Ecuador during the next two weeks...Read more