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Previous: Colombia
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Capital: Quito
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Like Columbia, several independent civilisations had developed in Ecuador but they had recently been overrun by the Inca Empire when the Spaniards arrived in 1526. The Inca Huayna Capac had just died having weakened his Empire by dividing it between Atahualpa in Quito and Huáscar in Cuzco. Naturally the civil war that ensued favoured Pizarro who might not have prevailed with so few men otherwise. The earliest signs of organised civilisationin South America date from around 3 500 BC and were found on the Santa Elena peninsula of the Ecuadorian Pacific coast. Ecuadorian archaeologists claim this Valdivia civilisation predates by 500 years similar civilisations found in Colombia (Puerto Hormiga near Cartagena) and in Peru (Huaca Prieta in the Chicama valley and Aspero in the Supe valley) and by more than 1000 years, the earliest meso-american civilisations (the Olmec on the Caribbean coast). Whatever the age of civilisation in Ecuador, it is my favorite country in South America because it offers a lot of variety, because the people are friendly and interesting and because it is safer than Colombia or Peru. |
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I spent a month in Quito studying Spanish with a private tutor in this language school. Quito is a good place to study Spanish for it has more than 30 such schools competing with each other to offer the best courses at the lowest price (about 60 US$ per week).
I took room and board with a family for 50 US$ a week but I soon moved into the Hostal Coqui for 8 US$ a day to have more freedom.
Quito is one of my favourite cities in South America. It is just the right size (about a million), it is safer than many other cities of its size and it has a bit of everything. Old colonial Quito has not changed much for centuries while new construction was building modern Quito further up the valley to the north-east.
Here, black entertainers from Guayaquil on the Pacific coast are putting on a show on Avenida Amazonas, one of the main thoroughfares of modern Quito
El Ejido Park, between the old and modern Quitos, becomes an open air art gallery on weekends. It's a good place to go for a stroll to meet the people who are generally relaxed and friendly.
The Plaza de la Independencia in front of the Government Palace and the Cathedral, is the heart of Old Quito. I stayed mostly in New Quito which is safer for strangers at night. Quito is also in the mountains at the considerable elevation of 2800 meters but it does not get as cold as Bogotá for it is much closer to the equator.
Parque La Alameda, also between the Old and the New Quitos, is sometimes called Parque Simon Bolivar because of its large monument to the Libertador.
The Santo Domingo Plaza and Church in Old Quito.
This site was inhabited in pre-Colombian times by the Quitu people who gave their name to the city. They later intermingled with other tribes and attempted to resist the Inca expansion but when the Spanish arrived in 1526 Quito was already a major Inca city.
Calle Venezuela in Old Quito with the Basilica on the hill at the end.
Retreating before the Spanish, the Inca general Rumiñahui destroyed the city completely to prevent it from falling in the hands of the conquistadors.
Rumiñahui's memory is honoured by this monument in Otavalo's Parque Central, about a hundred kilometres north of Quito. The Otavalo Amerindians are proud of Rumiñahui who symbolises their contribution to the country.
The Otavalo Amerindians are well known internationally for their textiles to the point that the label Otavalo has become synonymous with quality. People come to the Otavalo textile market from all over the world so they must be very good at marketing their products.
Also north of Quito but much closer, is the "middle of the world". The monument behind me commemorates the determination of the exact equatorial line here by the French scientist Charles-Marie de la Condamine in 1735. I am straddling that line with my right foot in the southern hemisphere and my left foot in the northern hemisphere.
There are many thermal springs in Ecuador but some of the most popular are in the town of Baños, a half hour's drive south of Quito.
Soaking in hot sulphurous groundwater and cooling off in icy mountain runoff by day opens the appetite for an evening's dining in one of Baños fine restaurants.
The Ingapirca ruins constitute the most important site left from the Inca occupation of Ecuador. Some say it was a fortress while others believe that it had religious or ceremonial significance.
Whatever the reason for its construction, it does display the some of the Inca's finest mortarless stone-work and is worth visiting even though it is a bit awkward to get there if you're not going with an organised tour.
