Botanical Garden of Quito, Old Town and the Iglesia De La Compania De Jesus

Getting to Quito from Honolulu was a long haul.  Its nice when you finally settle into your hotel and begin to enjoy your time in South America.  Wouldn't know to go to Quito from Timbuktu but that is why the city is NOT overrun by tourists which is the great treasure. Indeed, its tough thinking you are going to some exotic destination to have to fight for every inch of real estate with your fellow countrymen.  This trip was planned to the T by Gary and so far it has gone as planned. The weather has been perfect, sun, a little breeze, an intermittent wisp of cool air flowing through your shirt to keep you comfortable and alert.  

From the Botanical Garden to the Old Town, the most famous church in Ecuador built in the 16th Century, and a bunch of other sites to feel the ebb and tide of the Ecuadorian people. A majority of the people have both Indian and Spanish blood, with the mixture creating a pleasant looking people, some looking more Indian and others more Spanish. Time has a way of erasing the memory of the progressive atrocities that were committed to each by the other in response to the previous assault. Atrocities that would make your blood boil, but then again, no one invited the Spanish to South America in the first place. 

Fast forward a half century and everything seems normal.  Quito gives the look and feel of many other Spanish cities.......old towns with cobble stone streets and pastel stuccoed homes with precarious looking balconies hanging for dear life overlooking the pulse of the city.  Other parts of the city modernized for the well to do, other parts poor and musty.  The people have somehow survived their history and have created a comfortable thriving country where oil is the main export followed by bananas.  Tourism comes in 4th in terms of generating income for this small country. 

Still it makes me wonder how the Spaniards and Indians would feel during the days when they were killing each other back in time if they knew that they would eventually assimilate as one thriving community.  Is there a lesson for today in all of this?  I'll ponder that thought as I prepare my clothes for tomorrow's adventure. Hasta Manana....