Day 5 in Ecuador!

Hi Everyone! This is Victoria and Elea again. We have just finished our last day in Quito and tomorrow we begin our journey to the Galapagos Islands. The whole team is feeling the mixed emotions of being excited for the Galapagos but feeling sad about having to leave Quito along with the amazing USFQ staff we have met. 

We headed off in the bus bright and early. We got to see the beautiful mountains and the valley of Cumbaya. We first started our adventure at the statue “Virgen de El Pacillo” which was a metal replica of a smaller version of the Virgin Mary. We got to walk around the large statue while indigenous flute music was being played. There were also little markets and local artists selling their crafts around full of colorful trinkets. We then headed into town to visit Quitos Historic Center. We got to see an array of churches built by the Spanish including Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus and the Iglesia San Fransisco. They were so beautifully crafted with ornate gold ceilings that were truly mesmerizing. We walked through the bustling streets with markets selling all kinds of crafts and foods. We went into the Plaza Grande/Independence where we saw the older buildings like the Presidential Palace. We went to Claroscuro for lunch and some of us tried the traditional delicacy of cuy or otherwise known as guinea pig. It was so cool to try a part of Ecuadorian culture. 

One of the most unique parts of our trip so far was visiting the equator. We got to learn all about the Indigenous tribes that used to live in that area along with their methods of telling the dates and times. We got to see how cacao is made and even try fresh cacao. It was so interesting to see how the equator affects gravity so our guide challenged us to walk on the equator with our eyes closed. We did not succeed at all but it was super interesting to learn about all the impacts and shifting of our Earth around its axis. By the end of our visit we were lively with the fun tour we had along with all the chocolate we got.   

Buenas noches for now! 

Signing off, 

Elea and Victoria