Quito Viejo

Basilica. Note the animal gargoyles jutting out from about halfway up.

 Today we went on a tour of Old Quito.  That is south of where we are staying. New Quito has wide boulevards, but Old Quito has tight, steep streets, some cobblestone. With our guide Paula, we visited the Palacio del Gobierno, which was beautiful and opened onto a gorgeous plaza, Plaza Grande. We visited La Compania de Jesus, the Jesuit church begun in 1605. That was fantastic. The church is very symmetrical, but the only put one spiral staircase in the back, so they painted another staircase to match the real one. Paula showed us how the indios who did most of the craftsmanship worked their own designs into the church, including native plants and indigenous characteristics in the angels. We also saw the Basilica del Voto Nacional. It is a great Gothic structure, rather new by comparison (1926). Instead of gargoyles, the outside is covered with native animals, including boobies, tortoises, panthers and anteaters. The boys were very impressed with the idea of the crypts below the floors. The Basilica has a heart-shaped window, and, if you stand in the right place, you can look out, across Old Quito and see La Virgen de Quito, a gigantic statue a couple of miles away.

Narrow steep streets of Old Quito.

The presidential guard at the Palacio del Gobierno. Tegre touched the guard.

Plaza Grande.

Palacio del Gobierno.