7 Jul Sun - Instagram Day

 

7:00am   Mass at San Francisco or other church for the interested.

8:30am  Taxi out to Mitad del Mundo -  Tickets to enter the monument are $5 per adult. Also, they ask for an I.D., so we should bring our passports. They also asked us for an email.

When you get in, there are these huge colorful letters that spell out MITAD DEL MUNDO. First great photo op of the day. Then, of course, you can’t miss the monument itself. On each side, it denotes a cardinal direction: N(orte), S(ur), E(ste), O(este). You’ll come in on the side with E, as the north and south are on your left and right, respectively. There’s a small line to take photos — but there’s really no reason to wait there. You can wander to all sides of the monument, especially the other side, west, and get the same photo with almost no one else around.

This area is called “Ciudad Mitad del Mundo,” or “Middle of the World City.” The area is full of shops and restaurants for those who are visiting. The shop and restaurant workers are positioned outside their doors and will try to get you to come in, but a simple “no, gracias,” works if you’re not interested.  You can wander down some of the paths nearby. At one shop, there are two llamas grazing in a pen. Their owners are sitting nearby.  For 25 cents, you can feed them and get another picture!

Next, we walk to the famous “experiment” that is common at the mitad del mundo: balancing an egg on a nail. It’s supposed to work at the Equator because of gravity. Outside a shop, there's a sign that said “Experimento de huevo gratis.” Free. Another pic!  If you do it, you earn a prize.

In the middle of the main plaza, there are folkloric dance performances, even bringing up the audience members to join in the fun.  Another pic!

Museo Intiñan is an experiential history and science museum that visitors to the Mitad del Mundo shouldn’t miss. It’s another $5 to get in, but it’s well worth it. You’ll get a personal guide for your small group tour through the open-air museum. They teach about the history of the people who had lived in this area years ago.  He also shows a variety of experiments along the “real” Equator, which the museum boasts has been calculated with GPS. There was the egg-balancing experiment again, as well as one that showed the Coriolis Effect — how water drains in different directions in either Hemisphere. The whole tour lasts about an hour, and it was great to get some additional background on the indigenous peoples of Ecuador, some of which live in the same way now as they did hundreds of years ago.

One more thing before we wrap up. At both the souvenir shops in the Mitad del Mundo, and at the end of the tour at Museo Intiñan, tourists are offered to get their passports stamped. 

12:15pm  Boys:  Golf Outing  Grab a taxi and head to the Quito Golf and Tennis Club where you will have a 1:00pm tee off time.  After your outing, enjoy dinner in the restaurant and bar there, enjoy the swimming pool or other amenities.

Ladies:  Parque Itchimbia -  Grab a taxi and head to the park for a great Instagram opportunity!

The Itchimbia Park is situated at the top of the slope of the Ichimbia hill, located in Quito’s Historic Centre. At an altitude of 2,900 meters, the park is deemed as a naturally formed lookout point since it offers a fantastic view of the Quito Historic Centre, Pichincha Volcano, the modern city and the summit of Cayambe. Although it is a natural setting, there was a reconstruction phase to make the park what it is today.  In total, Itchimbia Park consists of 54 hectares, split up into 6,489 square metres of green land and 1,200 square metres of equipment for the whole community to use. 

The taxi ride will take around 20 minutes and won’t cost you more than two or three dollars.

Here at Itchimbia Park, you will be able to discover 400 species of flowers and 40 different types of birds. You can find a beautiful wetland area within the park too! Not to mention the different trees you can explore including species such as arrayan, quishuar, pumamaqui, alamo and capuli.

Itchimbia Park with the Crystal House

The major tourist attraction here is the Itchimbia Cultural Center, otherwise known as the Crystal House which is built from a metal framework and glass panels. Within this building, a lot of events take place from a variety of entertaining shows (muppets, painting workshops, yoga classes), cultural information and an art gallery which has permanent exhibits and seasonal ones too.  None of this is more important than the large QUITO sign that overlooks the city with Panecillo in the background.

 

2:00 Plaza Grande   I am trying to book us a tour of the Presidential Palace this afternoon.  Regardless, I have been told that if you find yourself in Plaza Grande on Sunday, then cancel your plans for the rest of the day. From morning to night, this square, no bigger than two soccer pitches, chimes with traditional music, vendors peddling their wares, theatrical performances, and religious preachers. On stone benches, gray-bearded men strum the hypnotic sounds of pasillo music. Sprawling up one side of the Catedral de Quito’s steps, hundreds of locals watch a group re-enact Ecuador’s fight for independence. Up the other side, howls of laughter bellow against the 16th-century white walls as a face-painted comedian delivers his routine. Then, as the clouds above the Presidential Palace turn a deep red later in the day, suited men divulge the secrets of the Bible in front of studious locals.  The plaza and surrounding streets are filled with artists, musicians, food vendors, dancers, clowns, mimes and living statues. We can enjoy all this, plus two art exhibits at the Centro Cultural, for free.

8:00 Dinner?  This may be a night we have dinner at the Airbnb since so many restaurants and bars are closed on Sunday nights.