While in Quito we also visited a very nice fruit market, the Museo Nacional, a gigantic statue of a winged Virgin Mary, La Virgen del Panecillo, and a fantastic cathedral, Basilica del Voto Nacional. The Basilica was especially noteworthy since we were able to climb up through an amazing amount of spiral staircases, a wooden plank and then a walkway that went all the way to the top of the church. The view of Quito from there was spectacular, and it becomes apparent just how large the city actually is.
While in Quito we visited many things, among them Mitad del Mundo, a touristy area featuring a monument that is supposed to mark what was once declared “The Middle of the World.” Nowadays that has been proven inaccurate as the true 0° 0′ latitude is actually 300m north of the monument. While there we also tried a local delicacy known as “cuy” which we in America like to refer to as “guinea pig.” It was surprisingly good, although a little unsettling since the animal was simply fried whole and served to us, head, paws, teeth and all.
