A brief look at Colonial Quito, Ecuador

Our travel company advised that things had calmed down enough in Colonial Quito that we could stay the night here after our Galapagos cruise.  It turned out we were staying right in the center of the Colonial area, adjacent to the President’s Palace, so there was a strong military and police presence in the area.  We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Plaza Grande.  The service was impeccable!

Even though the adjacent Plaza Grande square was blocked off with fencing and guarded by military and police, our hotel reception was able to talk to a guard and get us into the square.

Outside of the military and police, we were pretty much alone in the square, and this is supposed to normally be one of the more crowded areas of Quito.  It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life.  This is the front of the Presidential Palace.

This is the Monument to Independence, in honor of the countries heroes who began the struggles for the independence of Ecuador from Spain back in 1809.

I love the marble globes which circle the monument.

Here is another look at the Presidential Palace from the center of the square.

I asked these guys from the military if I could take their photo, and they were more than happy to put on their helmets and pose for a picture.

Another shot of the Monument to Independence from the other side.  The monument was erected in 1906.  Plaza Grande is often referred to as Independence Square by the locals.  It was nice to have some weather in the 60’s after all of that heat in the Galapagos.

As we were leaving the square buildings were starting to light up.  That’s the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito behind the soldiers.

As soon as we left the area around our hotel, the streets were full of people.  Quito appears to be about as hilly as San Francisco, maybe even more so!

We walked about 5 blocks to dinner.  While the streets were crowded and we definitely stood out, we felt perfectly safe.

That’s the Basilica of the National Vow in the background.  This is the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the America’s.  The first stone was placed in 1892, and it has been under continuous construction ever since.  The basilica remains unfinished, and local legend says that when it is finally completed, the end of the world will come.  No wonder they are taking their time!

The statue on the hill is the Virgin of El Panecillo, also known as the Virgin of Quito.  Finished in 1975, it’s 135 feet high, the highest statue in Ecuador, and is made completely of aluminum.

After we finished dinner the waiter asked us if we had an escort back to our hotel.  It was a curious question.  We said “no”, and started walking back towards our hotel.  I noticed he watched us walk away from the street, as if he expected something to happen to us.  Everything seemed perfectly normal.  Maybe we are just naive Americans?

Once back at our hotel I decided I wanted to check out Plaza Grande with all the buildings lit up.  I asked to go back in, but the guard flatly refused.  Our hotel receptionist also tried, but was told no.  Some threat level must have changed.  Here is the view of the fencing with the guard behind it.

The receptionist advised us that our hotel has a 4th floor balcony overlooking the square, so she had us taken up there to take in the view.  Needless to say, the views of Quito lit up at night are stunning.

I think we were better off getting the views from the 4th floor.

The Virgin of El Panecillo really stands out at night.

Up next, we awaken early again so we can have breakfast and catch our transport to our final Ecuadorian destination, the Mashpi Lodge.