We arrived in Quito without a hitch. That is always a good reason to be thankful. The scenery and cooler temperatures were a welcome change. We were greeted by Mauricio, a driver we arranged in advance to take us (about 90 minutes) to our apartment in Quito.
I love the feeling of entering a new country. I've never been to South America, so I was particularly excited. Michael and I took in the amazing scenery during the drive while the kids took on their usual, 'I'm in a car, so I must sleep' attitude. Mauricio spoke very little English, so it was a pretty quiet ride.
We loved our apartment for the week. The views from all windows were amazing. When it isn't cloudy, you can see snow capped mountains in the distance.
The view from our apartment bedroom window
Liam getting settled in his room
Our first excursion was perfect for our first full day. We took the double decker bus tour of the city. Quito is huge. It has 2.6 million people spread out over 125 sq. miles. At an elevation of over 9,000 feet, Quito is the highest capital city in the world. So all that seemed to be a good reason for the bus tour, plus it wasn't that expensive. The kids were especially enthusiastic about sitting on the top part of the bus. Mind you, they didn't seem to pay too much attention to the city facts presented on the loudspeaker. Instead, they pointed out every stray dog and oogled over those for much of the tour.
One view from the top of the bus
Maeve and Liam enjoying the ride
The Basilica the baby of the churches at 100 years old
A cool upside down rainbow in the sky
Quite the hike up these stairs
Entering the historic district near the Plaza Grande
There were many sections of Quito. The historic section was the most interesting to us. It has one of the most well preserved historic centers in the Americas. It was named the first World Culteral Heritage site by UNESCO in 1978 (along with Krakow). There was certainly no shortage of churches. We stopped in the Plaza Grande (in the historic center) and found a local cafe for lunch. No one really spoke English and we had to sort of figure it out. Eventually, I discovered that many of the lunch places have a set menu. You get soup, juice an entree and sometimes even a dessert. Our server seemed a little surprised when I didn't want the chicken soup. She accommodated the kids and myself by presenting two vegetarian options. We paid $11 for this meal....one dollar more because the kids also had a soda. Not all eateries are this inexpensive. You have to find a local spot and most of those seemed to be in the historic center.
We hopped back on the bus and continued our tour to the monument of the Virgin Mary on top of El Panecillo (a hill almost 10,000 feet above sea level). The bus stopped at the top of this hill and we were able to get out and walk around and even enter the monument and climb up a bit for an even better view of the city.
El Panecillo in the background. The streets can be steep.
One view from the monument
Another family selfie on the monument
We continued on to another section of town called La Ronda. This is a very quaint and more recently renovated area with many local businesses.
La Ronda
The other side of the Plaza Grande
Liam waiting at the bus stop
The entire bus ride would take 2 hours and 45 minutes if you didn't exit the bus. It was a great way to get acquainted with Quito and to gain more knowledge on its history. It began to sprinkle a bit toward the end of our tour. The bus had an automatic top to cover us. The kids thought this was pretty cool. The rain stopped us from exploring a park at one stop. Some family members seemed pleased about that. That left something else for us to explore another day.