The Middle of the World

"Hola" from the middle of the world!  We made it to Quito, Ecuador on our third try and already find ourselves wishing we had more time here.  The sites have been fun and the city itself even more enjoyable than we had expected.

For our first adventure in the city, we took a street map and walked out the door to navigate the metro bus system hoping to find the equator.  Walking to the bus stop, we marveled at all the cyclists riding on an avenue that had been closed to cars for the morning.  It didn't take long to learn of a strong network of bike lanes and a municipal bike sharing program installed here as well.  Quito is progressive!

The bus and trolly system runs smoothly, frequently using dedicated traveling lanes to bypass the rubber-necking motorists.  We figured out the transfer from trolly to bus and our return as well.  In total, two and a quarter hours of transit time.  Cost for our family: $2.10.

Mitad del Mundo (literally "middle of the world") is a little village north of Quito centered around an impressive monument marking the equator (above photo).  Though beautiful and welcoming, we still found we preferred the guided experience at neighboring competitor Museo Intinan where GPS technology has more precisely identified the location of the equator.

Here we learned about indigenous culture and enjoyed demonstrations of sundials and of the Coriolis effect.  

But perhaps most amusing to Baxter and Atticus was the temperature.  For some time, we've played a made-up game at home called "Which is Warmer?" in which we pick two spots on a world map and ask which is warmer.  The boys have quickly caught on that closer to the equator means warmer.  With temps only in the 70s, our boys were confused why standing on the equator wasn't the hottest they'd ever experienced. . . .

Enter altitude.  Quito sits at roughly 9,000 ft above sea level.  The urban sprawl of just over 2 million people sits in a narrow Andean valley.  For a good vantage of this, we took the Teleferiqo gondola ride up to about 13,500 ft on the side of Pichincha Volcano.

Atticus smiles to leave the city 4,000 ft below.

Despite the clouds, we enjoyed great alpine views.  We were amazed how much green existed on both sides of the valley.

 Seeming out of place, an amusement park existed at the base of the gondola ride.  Couldn't resist a ride on the pirate ship!

And then we stepped back a few centuries to take in some beautiful architecture in the "old town" section of Quito--the reason this city was the first UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We sampled the 16th-, 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century structures.

The Church of La Companion de Jesus took 160 years to complete.

Perhaps our favorite was the relatively modern, neo-Gothic Basillica.

With winding staircases, catwalks, and ladders, visitors are allowed to climb into the belfries and clock towers.  We felt like we were living in a Dan Brown novel.

Atticus climbs to a perch above the roof of the chapel.

There's much more to explore here in Quito, but we'll have to save that exploration for a return visit.  Short domestic flight tomorrow to bring us to the ocean where we plan to settle for a few weeks in a small fishing village.

Wheels up!