Did we mention Quito is full of topography? Also, geography! We visited the Mitad del Mundo (“middle of the world”) site, which is along the equatorial plane, though not on the actual precise 0.000, 0.000 equator itself. The Mitad del Mundo was built so tourists could take goofy photos with one foot in each hemisphere, as follows:

Google got in on the act and assembled a bunch of our photos into a gif for us:

On the site there was also a 1:200 scale model of Quito’s Old Town (more architectural nerdery). Bryn is helpfully pointing at the house we stayed in.

Wednesday afternoon we took a walking tour through Old Town with Sole, our lovely guide. She took us to the Mercado Centrale, the old Archbishop’s palace (now shops and restaurants), Plaza Grande, and La Ronda, and we learned about Quito’s long history of “getting rid” of presidents they didn’t like, its independent/revolutionary heart, and tried few local snacks. We took a peek into several other attractions along the way, including a particularly gorgeous church – Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus

Thursday we climbed up the Basilica del Voto Nacional, and visited its various towers, including the Condor tower, the Condor being the national bird of Ecuador. The Condor tower is the dark spire supported by flying buttresses in the image below:

Lots of sweet views up here…

Built in the late 1800s and inspired by the form of Notre Dame de Paris, the Basilica puts a South American twist on the decor, featuring stained glass windows showcasing the biodiversity of Ecuador, and “gargoyles” representing the unique fauna of the Galapagos islands.

Quito has been a wonderful spot to start the trip – we wish we had more time to properly explore it, as there’s way way more here than we realized, and we are really enjoying the city.

But, alas!

Off to the Galapagos….