SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2015 - DFW TO MIA TO QUITO, ECUADOR
The next morning we departed from the hotel about 7 a.m. to arrive at the airport for our 9 a.m. non-stop flight via American Airlines from DFW to Miami, International airport. The uneventful flight arrived on time at 1:02 p.m. and soon we had collected our bags and called for the shuttle to the airport area Comfort Inn where we had reserved a room for the day with our friends Tommy & Virginia Wheat. Tommy & Virginia had arrived at Miami International from Birmingham, Alabama earlier in the day and were resting when we unlocked the door. But the resting was interrupted with the excitement of seeing each other for the first time since we departed from the rental apartment in Paris on April 30, 2014. In about an hour Sylvia and I left the room looking for a place to get lunch and eventually located a Subway. Returning to the hotel, we stayed until about 8 p.m. when we all checked out and took the shuttle back to the airport in preparation for our 11:55 p.m. departing flight on Lan Ecuador Airlines to Quito, Ecuador. The 4 1/2 hour flight was very similar to the flight Sylvia and I had taken from Houston to Quito in 2011 for the Galapagos visit.
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015 - QUITO, ECUADOR
Arriving in Quito at 3:25 a.m., we were met by the Friendly Planet representative, Vivian, and learned that our group of 4 was all who had booked for this date. What a gift! We had our guide, Vivian, and our driver, Humberto to ourselves for the entire time we were in Ecuador, 6 days! Once checked into the hotel we quickly got settled in our rooms and were soon napping for a few hours before meeting the guide for a tour of the city. Our first stop, Independence Square is shown below. Independence Square (Plaza de la Independencia) is the principal and central public square of Quito, Ecuador. This is the central square of the city and one of the symbols of the executive power of the nation. Its main feature is the monument to the independence heroes of August 10, 1809, date remembered as the First Cry of Independence of the Royal Audience of Quito from the Spanish Monarchy.
The square is flanked by the Carondetet Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, and the Plaza Grande Hotel.
Construction on the awe-inspiring Metropolitan Cathedral started some time between 1550 and 1560, with various additions and renovations being made until it stood completed in 1806. A fine historical example of past architectural styles, the Cathedral of Quito stands proudly as an important religious symbol for the people of the city. (As services were being held we were unable to visit the inside of the church).
Inside the courtyard of the church, are the beautiful flowers and birds
We pass the statute to the Virgin of Quito
And, then stop for some shopping.
Here, the local flower market reminds us of those of Paris.
Exporting flowers to the USA is a very big business in Ecuador.
As we traveled outside the city we climbed the mountains. Here, a photograph captures the city of Quito.
Our next stop was the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City), located 16 miles outside the city of Quito. The 98 foot tall monument was constructed 1979-82 to replace an older, smaller monument built by the Government of Ecuador under the direction of the French geographer Luis Tufino in 1936. While it claims to be the "center of the earth", i.e. the equator, in recent years GPS technology has established that this monument is actually 27 yards south of the actual equator which we visited on our last day in Ecuador. (Stayed tuned for those pictures).
We spent some of our time here in the souvenir shops where I bought a cap that I failed to buy when we had visited here in 2011. As rain began we made our way back to the bus and continued back to the hotel for the evening. Vivian recommended a couple of restaurants, one of which we visited and had a very nice Italian dinner.
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