The land that comprises modern-day Ecuador was once home to several groups of
indigenous peoples that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during
the 15th century. The territory was colonized by the Spanish Empire during the
16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from
which it emerged as a sovereign state in 1830. The country's name means
"Equator" in Spanish. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is located only
about 40 kilometers (25 mi), 1⁄4 of a degree, south of the equator. One of
17 megadiverse countries in the world, Ecuador hosts many endemic plants and
animals, such as those of the Galápagos Islands.
Getting there ...
We joined
an
Avalon Waterway tour
for this Ecuador trip, including Quito and Galapagos Islands. We had a
flight from SFO to Quito (UIO) via Houston on 11/19, and we actually arrived in
Quito after the midnight on 11/20. We stayed at the Wyndham Quito Airport
Hotel so we did not need to worry about transportation after we arrived at such
late hour (although it did take about 15-min walk to get to the hotel).
Quito's elevation of 2,850 m (9,350 ft) makes it either the highest or the
second highest capital city in the world (it's controversial because the highest
capital city La Paz (3650m) is just one of Bolivia's two capital cities...).
Day 2 (11/20) ...
I booked a Mindo Cloud
Forest tour from Happy Gringo for our first free day in Quito. Mindo
is the gateway to Ecuador’s Cloud Forest. Surrounded by rivers, waterfalls, and
mountains, the Mindo area is a paradise for nature lovers, birdwatchers, hikers,
and thrill-seekers alike (but we decided not to do zipline this time because we
have done it before in Mexico). Our guide Jose came to pick us up at 8AM,
and drove ~90km to Mindo (although the direct distance between Quito and Mindo
is only ~35km).
- Hummingbirds, Mindo
The first stop is a small garden with many
hummingbird feeders to attract those agile flyers.
- Butterfly
Garden, Mariposas de Mindo
El Mariposario de Mindo is a butterfly
breeding farm dedicated to the exhibition, reproduction and conservation of
the butterflies in the cloud forest of Mindo. At any given time, up to
1,200 butterflies are fluttering around and often landing on the head or
shoulders of delighted tourists. Not only are the butterflies extremely
photogenic, but it’s hard not to feel more relaxed in this attractive,
tranquil setting.
We had a simple lunch at the restaurant here and also got
the chance to see some colorful
birds too.
- Waterfalls at Mindo
Within the Mindo Cloud Forest, there’s a place
called Tarabita y Santuario de Cascadas Mindo where you can visit several
waterfalls via well-maintained trails. But you had to take a quite
primitive cable car (powered
by a truck engine) to cross the valley to get to the trailhead.
We did the route 1 to Nambillo Waterfall and route 3 (Waterfall Sanctuary
Trail) to Cascada Ondinas and Cascada Guarumos. The trail was quite
steep in a few sections (but I left my hiking stick in the luggage in the
car...). There were not many people around so we could enjoy our
moments on the trail and at the waterfalls.
- Chocolate Tour, El Quetzal
de Mindo
Our final stop was to have a chocolate tour at El
Quetzal de Mindo. The tour started with a walk around the small cocoa
farm. We learned and saw the step-by-step process of making chocolate,
and the tour concluded with the guided tasting of unique cocoa fruit
products and variety of chocolates. It was a really good tour to have
some hands-on experience in the natural environment.
After the tour, we went back to Quito and was dropped off
at the Swissotel in the commercial district of Quito city, and we officially
started the Avalon Tour for the next 7 days. During
our stay in Quito, we were told there was a serious problem of power shortage
due to the dry weather (they need water for their hydropower) and most part of
city may lose power during the night. We did lose power at 8PM at the
hotel for a few seconds before the power generator of the hotel kicked in.
Day 3 (11/21) ...
- Quito City Tour
The real Avalon tour started this morning when we
gathered at the hotel lobby at 8:30AM to start the city tour. We
passed by Basilica del Voto Nacional (only took a few pictures outside, but
we will visit it on our own on the last day), and went to the old town for a
chocolate tasting at Republica del Cacao (not as interesting as the
chocolate tour we had yesterday in Mindo) and walked around the Independence
Square (Plaza Grande).
Quito's historic center is among the largest and
best-preserved in the Americas. In 1978, Quito was one of the first World
Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO.
- Church of the Society of Jesus (Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, or
simply known as La Compañía by the local people)
Jesuit architects began
work on the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús in 1605. The church was finally
completed 160 years later, and is now considered one of the finest examples
of Spanish Baroque architecture in South America. Today the church is
widely regarded as the finest church in Quito and one of the most ornate
religious buildings in Ecuador. The church, and its rich internal
ornamentation, completely covered with gold sheets, is one of the main
tourist attractions in the city and an invaluable heritage for the country.
- Basilica and Convent of San Francisco (Iglesia y Convento de San
Francisco)
The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco , commonly known as
el San Francisco, is a Catholic basilica that stands in the middle of the
historic center of Quito. It is the oldest and most significant religious
site in Ecuador. The structure is the largest architectural complex within
the historic centers of all of South America, and for this reason it was
known as "El Escorial of the New World". The vast complex includes 13
cloisters, three churches, a plaza, more than 3,500 works of religious art,
and a library holding thousands of books and historic documents. The convent
was built for the Order of the Franciscan Monks, between 1537 and 1560. The
main church, an imposing baroque structure, was completed a century later,
together with additional cloisters.
- Middle of the World (Mitad del Mundo)
The Middle of the World (Mitad
del Mundo) is one of Ecuador’s most popular and unmissable tourist
attractions. The placement of the equatorial line was defined
throughout a 1736 expedition called the French Geodesic Mission (one team
went to the north pole, the other to the equator). Years after that,
it was brought to light that the "Geodesic Mission" had been wrong about the
exact coordinates where the line passed through—the measurements had indeed
proved the world was oblate and not elongated (egg-shaped) at the poles, but
their studies to define the placement of the equator were incorrect by 240
meters (790 ft).
A 30-metre-tall (98 ft) monument was constructed
between 1979 and 1982 to commemorate the first Geodesic Mission to highlight
the "exact" (or
not-so-accurate) location of the Equator. We climbed up the
monument to have a bird's eye view of both Northern and Southern
Hemispheres.
We were supposed to go to some nice restaurant to have
our first group dinner in Quito. However, due to potential road block
because of some protest/demonstration in the downtown area, our guide was afraid
we could not make it. So he arranged the take-out food from the restaurant
to be delivered to our hotel and we just had the nice dinner in our own room.
Day 4 (11/22) ...
- Flight to Galapagos
We had to get up
early (luggage out at 4:15AM and met at lobby at 5AM) to go to the airport
for our flight to Galapagos. The flight actually went to Guayaquil
(the largest city in Ecuador) first to drop off and pick up passengers first
(while we remained on the plane), and then continued to fly to Baltra
Island, Galapagos (UIO 7:51AM -- GPS 10:55AM). When we walked down
from the plane to the passenger terminal, we were greeted by a few land
iguanas lying on the pathway.
The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic
islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the Equator 900 km (560 mi) west
of the mainland of South America. The Galapagos are famous for their large
number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and
inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. The group
consists of 18 main islands, 3 smaller islands. The archipelago is located
on the Nazca plate (a tectonic plate), which is moving east/southeast, diving
under the South American plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) per year.
- Baltra Island
Baltra is a small flat island located near the center
of the Galapagos. The island is very arid, and vegetation consists of
salt bushes, prickly pear cacti and palo santo trees. When we landed
at the airport on the island, I thought we were back to the California
desert.
A short bus ride took us to the pier to transfer by zodiac to our
boat, Treasure of Galapagos (deck
plan), our home for the next 5 days (map
for the itinerary).
- El Chato Reserve, Santa Cruz Island
The Galapagos Islands are named
for their giant tortoises, which were more plentiful at the time of their
discovery (declined from over 250,000 in the 16th century to a low of around
15,000 in the 1970s). The Spanish word galápago derives from a pre-Roman
Iberian word meaning "turtle". Galapagos tortoises are
native to seven of the Galapagos Islands. Shell size and shape vary between
subspecies and populations. On islands with humid highlands, the
tortoises are larger, with domed shells and short necks; on islands with dry
lowlands, the tortoises are smaller, with "saddleback" shells and long
necks. Charles Darwin's observations of these differences on the second
voyage of the Beagle in 1835, contributed to the development of his theory
of evolution.
Santa Cruz has an area of 986 km2 (381 sq mi) and a
maximum altitude of 864.5 m (2,836 ft). It hosts the largest human
population in the archipelago.
Day 5 (11/23) ...
- Lava Fields, Santiago Island (8:30AM -- 10AM)
Volcanic activity has
been continuous on the Galapagos Islands for at least 20 million years.
At Sulivan Bay on Santiago Island, a recent (around 100 years ago) pahoehoe
lava flow can be observed. This island has an area of 585 km2 (226 sq
mi) and a maximum altitude of 907 m (2,976 ft).
- Sulivan Bay, Santiago Island (10:45AM -- 11:45AM)
It's snorkeling
time (for other people). We were dropped off on the beach at the
Sulivan Bay and had a great time to enjoy the pristine beach alone.
- Beach on Bartolome Island (3PM -- 4PM)
It's supposed to be another
time slot for snorkeling. However, the water and wave conditions were
not suitable for snorkeling so we all went to stay on the beach (perfect for
us!). There were plenty of sea lions occupying the shady side of the
beach. Bartolome island is one of the few islands that are home
to the Galapagos penguin which is the only wild penguin species to live on
the equator.
- Hiking on Bartolome Island (4:45PM -- 6PM)
Bartolome Island is a volcanic islet just off the east coast of Santiago
Island. It is one of the younger islands in the Galapagos archipelago.
We hiked up to the top viewpoint on the island to see the nice sunset.
Day 6 (11/24) ...
-
North Seymour Island (8AM -- 10AM)
North Seymour Island has an area of
1.9 km2 (0.73 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 28 m (92 ft). This island is
home to a large population of
blue-footed boobies and
swallow-tailed gulls. It hosts one of the largest populations of
frigate birds.
- Zodiac at the shore of North Seymour Island (11AM -- 11:30AM)
It's
time for other people to do another snorkeling (deep water snorkeling to see
sharks and rays). Woanyu and I had a zodiac ride along the shoreline
to see more birds.
- South Plaza Island (3:45PM -- 6PM)
South Plaza Island has an area of
0.13 km2 (0.050 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 23 m (75 ft). The flora of
South Plaza includes Opuntia cactus and Sesuvium plants, which form a
reddish carpet on top of the lava formations. Iguanas (land, marine and some
hybrids of both species) are abundant, and large numbers of birds can be
observed from the cliffs at the southern part of the island, including
tropic
birds and
swallow-tailed gulls.
- Sunset on board
We relaxed in the hot tub after returned to the ship,
and had a perfect sunset before dinner.
Day 7 (11/25) ...
- Punta Pitt, San Cristobal Island (8AM -- 10:30AM)
San Cristobal
Island has an area of 558 km2 (215 sq mi) and its highest point rises to 730
m (2,400 ft). This is the first island in the Galápagos Archipelago Charles
Darwin visited during his voyage on the Beagle. The wind-sculpted
cliffs of Punta Pitt were the first sight of land when Charles Darwin
arrived in the Galapagos aboard the HMS Beagle on September 15, 1835.
Behind the beach, crossing some thorny bushes, begins a trail that will take
you to the top of the cliff through a ravine. While you ascend, marvel at
the landscapes of this geological wonder, where it's possible to find
red-footed boobies,
blue-footed boobies, and
frigate
birds as well.
- Cerro Brujo, San Cristobal Island (2:45PM -- 5PM)
Cerro Brujo (Witch
Hill) is the remains of a tuff cone, and its primary attraction is a coral
sand beach that opens into a tranquil bay. It is a rich habitat for
marine iguanas, stingrays, white-tipped sharks, eagle rays, turtles, morays,
garden eels, and many kinds of reef fishes. I actually tried a little
bit of snorkeling here (well, just put on the snorkeling mask and put my
head into the water) although I could not really see anything without
my glasses...
Day 8 (11/26) ...
- Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island
We
disembarked and said goodbye to our ship at 8:30AM, and went to the
Galapagos National Park Visitor Center at the port town of Puerto Baquerizo
Moreno. The center explains a series of natural circumstances such as the
volcanic origins of the islands, their remoteness from the continent, its
ocean currents, its special climate, the arrival of different species, and
their establishment, etc. Then we had some free time to stroll
around the town (the street is only about 5 blocks long) before we headed to
airport to fly back to Quito (SCY 1:35PM -- UIO 5:33PM). On the
airplane, we tried the new
instant rice bowl
(Onishi Onigiri) which only need to add some water (room temperature
water is fine). It worked like magic and was really delicious!
Day 9 (11/27) ...
- Cotopaxi
I booked another tour from
Happy
Gringo to visit Cotopaxi. Cotopaxi is an active stratovolcano in
the Andes Mountains, located about 50 km (31 mi) south of Quito. It is the
second highest summit in Ecuador (after Chimborazo), reaching a height of
5,897 m (19,347 ft). Cotopaxi is among the highest active volcanoes in
the world. According to locals who speak Quechua, coto means 'neck'
and paxi means 'moon'.
Our guide Rocco came to pick us up at the hotel at
8AM, and start the scenic drive
to the Cotopaxi National Park. We stopped by the Cotopaxi National
Park Museum to learn about the destructive history of the volcano, and had a
short walk at Limpiopungo Lake to see some wildlife (but the volcano was
hidden behind the cloud), and then dove up to the mountain to have a trek to
the Refuge at the elevation of 4,864m (15,953 ft). Although the
trail was short (0.9-mile uphill),
the high altitude (the trail started at 15,150 ft) immediately had some
effects on our bodies. Our guide Rocco was very experienced to lead us
to climb in a slow and steady pace (we actually passed some teenagers who
were ahead of us but were walking too fast at the beginning). After we
got used to the pace, it was actually not too bad and we got to the Refuge
without feeling too tired (it took us about 70 min to walk up 0.9 miles, but
we stopped for quite some time to see the flying condors). From my
compass on my phone, the highest altitude we reached along the trail was
4,885 m (16,026 ft.).
- Quito Streets
It was a relaxed drive back to Quito (Woanyu and I both
fell asleep to rest in the car). We moved to Quito Old Town for the
night, but when we approached to our hotel in the San Francisco Square, we
found the roads were blocked because of some music festival (Fiestas de
Quito, a weeklong festival celebrates the founding of Quito and takes place
from the end of November to December 6).
- Casa Gangotena, Quito
After checked in to our hotel Casa Gangotena, we could enjoy the music and
view in our room. Nestled beside the iconic San Francisco Plaza, the
Casa Gangotena mansion is steeped in its own rich history. Once the
home of several Republican-era presidents, the residence was eventually
claimed by the prominent Gangotena family. The Gangotena’s took it upon
themselves to renovate it lavishly and embellish it with even more intricate
history, such that it would eventually become a part of the capital’s—a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After a short break, we went up to the rooftop terrace to
have some tapas and our free cocktails, and immersed ourselves into more music
from the square below (and even some fireworks).
Day 10 (11/28) ...
- San Francisco Square, Quito
- Walking through the Quito Old Town
- Basilica del Voto Nacional
The monumental Basilica del Voto Nacional is the most important neo-Gothic
building in Ecuador, and the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas.
The basilica’s origins date back to 1883, proposed by Father Julio Matovelle
as a monument to honor Ecuador’s consecration to the Sacred Heart. It took
more than 30 years to build the basilica. The first mass and the first
ringing of the bells took place in 1924. Pope John Paul II blessed the
church in 1985, and it was consecrated and finally inaugurated in 1988.
Technically speaking, the Basilica del Voto Nacional has never been
completed officially. According to local legend, this permanent state of
incompletion is due to a fairly weighty premise: if the basilica is ever
completed, the world will come to an end.
You could climb a series of
outdoor
ladders/stairs at the top of the tower to have an incredible view of the
Basilica and Quito.
- Virgin of El Panecillo (Virgen del Panecillo)
We took a Uber from the
Basilica to Virgin of El Panecillo. With a total height of 135 feet
(41 meters) including the base, Virgin of El Panecillo is the highest statue
in Ecuador and one of the highest in South America (taller than the Christ
the Redeemer statue in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro). It is also the
tallest aluminum statue in the world. In the 1950s, local
authorities and religious leaders agreed that the hilltop at El Panecillo, a
loaf-shaped, 656-foot-high (200 meters) hill in central Quito, was the
perfect place to erect a statue. After years of debate, they decided that
the statue would be a large replica of the Virgin of Quito, a 48-inch-tall
wooden sculpture created by Bernardo de Legarda, one of the most important
artists of the Quito School movement, in 1734.
We asked the Uber driver to wait for us for 10 minutes to
take some picture because many people have advised us not to walk to/from the
Virgin of El Panecillo although it was a short distance to the Quito Old Town.
We took the Uber down the hill back to the hotel at the San Francisco Square to
take a break.
- Quito Metropolitan Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana de Quito)
After
a simple lunch at the
Independence Square (La Plaza Grande), we visited Quito Metropolitan
Cathedral right beside the square. Located on the southwestern side of
the Independence Square, 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. In 1995, it was
elevated to the Cathedral of Ecuador, making it the seniormost Catholic
church in the country.
- Numismatic Museum (Museo Numismatico)
The Numismatic Museum of the
Central Bank of Ecuador shows the evolutionary process of currency in
Ecuador, from pre-Hispanic aboriginal peoples, colonial period through the
republican era, and the consolidation of the Central Bank of Ecuador through
its sucre issues until dollarization (we did not know Ecuador uses US
dollars as its official currency before this trip). It's a small but
interesting museum (with the help of Google translator), and it is free :-)
After the visit, we went to a cafe (San Ignacio) to have
some snack and coffee (but Woanyu did not let me buy some
big cookies...).
We got some traditional Ecuador desert
quimbolitos which
taste like Malay cake in Chinese dim sum.
- Cupolas of Church of the Society of Jesus (Iglesia de la Compañía de
Jesús)
I booked an exclusive nighttime visit to the Cupolas of La
Compañia through the concierge of Casa Gangotena. We were escorted by
the hotel staff from the hotel lobby at 5:45PM to walk to the church just
across the square. The guide at the church took us through the
courtyard and private entrance to the cupolas at the roof. Although we
have visited the church a few days ago, seeing the golden interior from the
inside of the dome was truly a unique view. When we stepped out to the
terrace facing the San Francisco Square, we were all amazed by the sight of
the historical old town with the colorful sunset sky.
We were back to the hotel by 7PM for our dinner at Casa
Gangotena. It's a nice high-end dinner in the beautiful dinning hall.
However, I felt I could not take such kind of fancy western cuisine anymore and
I really missed the simple Chinese noodle soup :-)
Going Home ...
After the dinner, we took a Uber to the Quito Airport for our flight at
1:30AM (on the next day). Ecuador is a really diversified country
with rich heritage for both humanity and natural world. Quito's old town
is definitely one of the best not only in the South America. The wildlife
in Galapagos is not only unique but also so approachable that makes it the
paradise for the nature lovers and photographers. It is a dream come true
to follow Darwin's footstep to visit various islands (each one is so different
from the other) in Galapagos to see the world in a different view.
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