The Virgin of El Panecillo

After lunch, I intended to do some posts and, perhaps, get some other work done, but we got chatting to Britt and Greg instead.  They had made a last-minute decision to leave the truck for a week and go to the Galapagos Islands, so they were just booking their flights.  We agreed to share a taxi with them to visit the Virgin of El Panecillo at sunset.

This statue of the Virgin Mary is located on the top of the hill of El Panecillo in the heart of Quito.  At a total height of 41 meters, it is the highest statue in Ecuador and one of the highest in South America (taller than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.  It is also the tallest aluminium statue in the world.  Designed and built by the Spanish sculptor Agustín de la Herrán Matorras, the statue was made from 7,400 pieces of aluminium, with each piece clearly numbered.  The statue was then disassembled, shipped to Ecuador, and assembled again on top of the base.  It was finished on March 28, 1975.  The Virgin Mary is depicted standing with a serpent at her feet.  The snake represents sin.  Mary has her foot on the serpent's head and is holding a chain that is wrapped around its neck.  The whole tableau is designed to show the triumph of good over evil.

By the time we arrived at the statue, it was closed, so we couldn't go in, but we did have a good walk around and watched the sky change colour as the sun set behind the mountains.  Later, we returned to the hostel and took a couple of photos of the city from the roof.  We arranged to take a trip on the cable car with Susan in the morning.Read more