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Quito Ecuador Photo Gallery - Quito, including Museo del Banco Central, TeleferiQo, La Mitad del Mundo, and the Hotel Quito

In August 2007 we traveled to Quito, Ecuador, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, and the Galapagos Islands

Ecuador Quito 01-01 Boarding Airplane On The Way To Quito We boarded the plane and took off for Quito, Ecuador.

Ecuador Quito 01-01 Boarding Airplane On The Way To Quito

Ecuador Quito 01-02 Peter Ryan Relaxing On Airplane On The Way To Quito Peter Ryan relaxed with his Ipod and DS on the plane to Quito.

Ecuador Quito 01-02 Peter Ryan Relaxing On Airplane On The Way To Quito

Ecuador Quito 01-03 Quito From Airplane Here is a view of Quito taken from north of the airport looking south. Quito is the capital of Ecuador with a population of about two million people, situated between two mountain ranges at an altitude of 2800m,

Ecuador Quito 01-03 Quito From Airplane

Ecuador Quito 01-04 Quito Airport We landed at Quito Mariscal Sucre Airport and quickly went through immigration and customs. We then met our Galapagos tour driver Xavier.

Ecuador Quito 01-04 Quito Airport

Ecuador Quito 01-05 Quito Marriott Hotel Our tour driver Xavier drove us to the 11-story pyramidal Marriott Hotel in La Mariscal, the tourist area north of Old Quito. The lobby of the Quito Marriott is open and airy. We had a very comfortable room and Peter enjoyed a quick dip in the swimming pool.

Ecuador Quito 01-05 Quito Marriott Hotel

Ecuador Quito 02-01 Museo del Banco Central Ouside The Museo del Banco Central (Central Bank Museum) houses a comprehensive showcase of Ecuadorian art, history and culture. The second floor is the Sala de Arte Colonial, which showcases masterful works from the Quito School of art, and the third floor is devoted to contemporary Ecuadorian art.

Ecuador Quito 02-01 Museo del Banco Central Ouside

Ecuador Quito 02-02 Museo del Banco Central Canastero In the Sala de Arqueologia in the Museo del Banco Central are a set of male characters in sitting positions called Canastero (Basket Men).

Ecuador Quito 02-02 Museo del Banco Central Canastero

Ecuador Quito 02-03 Museo del Banco Central Chorrera Whistle-bottle In the Sala de Arqueologia in the Museo del Banco Central are many fine examples of Chorrera ceramics (900-300BC), most famously the whistle-bottles in the form of various creatures like this acrobatic one. Hmmm.

Ecuador Quito 02-03 Museo del Banco Central Chorrera Whistle-bottle

Ecuador Quito 02-04 Museo del Banco Central Gigantes de Bahia In the Sala de Arqueologia in the Museo del Banco Central are large seated humans known as the Gigantes de Bahia (500BC – 650AD), which range from 50-100cm in height and show men and women sitting with their legs crossed or outstretched, wearing many fine ornaments and elaborate headdresses.

Ecuador Quito 02-04 Museo del Banco Central Gigantes de Bahia

Ecuador Quito 02-05 Museo del Banco Central Gigantes de Bahia In the Sala de Arqueologia in the Museo del Banco Central are large seated humans known as the Gigantes de Bahia (500BC – 650AD).

Ecuador Quito 02-05 Museo del Banco Central Gigantes de Bahia

Ecuador Quito 02-06 Museo del Banco Central Mummy The Sala de Arqueologia in the Museo del Banco Central even has a mummified body, discovered in a cave and dating from somewhere between 500 and 1400 AD.

Ecuador Quito 02-06 Museo del Banco Central Mummy

Ecuador Quito 02-07 Museo del Banco Central Radiating Golden Sun-mask The second room in the Museo del Banco Central is the Sala de Oro (Gold Room), which displays the radiating golden sun-mask that is the symbol of the Banco Central, from La Tolita 350 BC – 350 AD.

Ecuador Quito 02-07 Museo del Banco Central Radiating Golden Sun-mask

Ecuador Quito 02-08 Museo del Banco Central Cruz Latino The Sala de Oro (Gold Room) in the Museo del Banco Central also has a crucifix, Cruz Latino, made of 18 and 24k gold.

Ecuador Quito 02-08 Museo del Banco Central Cruz Latino

Ecuador Quito 02-09 Museo del Banco Central Nearby Street We walked the short distance between the Café Cultura and the Museo del Banco Central.

Ecuador Quito 02-09 Museo del Banco Central Nearby Street

Ecuador Quito 02-10 Cafe Cultura We tried to stay at the Café Cultura, but it was booked. So, we went there for a delicious lunch. Here is the entranceway at the Café Cultura in the Mariscal sector of Quito, with a nicely painted staircase leading to the rooms. Different artists have painted modern frescoes throughout the hotel, including the bathroom and the dining room.

Ecuador Quito 02-10 Cafe Cultura

Ecuador Quito 02-11 Jerome Ryan, Peter Ryan, and Charlotte Ryan Enjoying Lunch At Cafe Cultura Jerome Ryan, Peter Ryan, and Charlotte Ryan enjoying our delicious lunch at the Café Cultura in the Mariscal sector of Quito.

Ecuador Quito 02-11 Jerome Ryan, Peter Ryan, and Charlotte Ryan Enjoying Lunch At Cafe Cultura

Ecuador Quito 03-01 TeleferiQo The TeleferiQo is a 2.5km aerial sky tram that goes from the city at 3050m to the hill known as Cruz Loma at 4100m on the east side of the Pichincha volcano. At the top there are a number of restaurants, coffee shops and a variety of stores.

Ecuador Quito 03-01 TeleferiQo

Ecuador Quito 03-02 TeleferiQo Ruca Pichincha At the top TeleferiQo are hiking trails, including one to the summit of Ruca Pichincha (4680m) that takes about three hours.

Ecuador Quito 03-02 TeleferiQo Ruca Pichincha

Ecuador Quito 03-03 TeleferiQo South Quito Here is a view of South Quito taken from the TeleferiQo station in Cruz Loma at 4100m.

Ecuador Quito 03-03 TeleferiQo South Quito

Ecuador Quito 03-04 TeleferiQo View Of La Mariscal Here is a view of the La Mariscal, the tourist area north of Old Quito, from the TeleferiQo.

Ecuador Quito 03-04 TeleferiQo View Of La Mariscal

Ecuador Quito 03-05 TeleferiQo Amusement Park At the bottom of the TeleferiQo station is an amusement park.

Ecuador Quito 03-05 TeleferiQo Amusement Park

Ecuador Quito 03-06 Charlotte Ryan and Peter Ryan Taking a Break At Amusement Park At TeleferiQo Charlotte Ryan and Peter Ryan took a relaxing break from touring at the amusement park at the bottom of the TeleferiQo station.

Ecuador Quito 03-06 Charlotte Ryan and Peter Ryan Taking a Break At Amusement Park At TeleferiQo

Ecuador Quito 04-01 Mitad Del Mundo Long View La Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world), located 22km north of Quito at 2483m, is a large monument built in 1979 on the equator. This is the place where Charles-Marie de la Condamine made the measurements in 1736 showing this was indeed the equatorial line. His expedition’s measurements gave rise to the metric system and proved that the world is not perfectly round, but that it bulges at the equator. Leading up to the monument are busts of la Condamine’s expedition members.

Ecuador Quito 04-01 Mitad Del Mundo Long View

Ecuador Quito 04-02 Mitad Del Mundo Closer View The centre of La Mitad del Mundo is a 30m stone trapezoid monument topped with a brass globe, with each side of the pyramid facing a cardinal direction.

Ecuador Quito 04-02 Mitad Del Mundo Closer View

Ecuador Quito 04-03 Mitad Del Mundo Globe Close Up Here is a close up of the globe on top of La Mitad del Mundo. It is 4.5m in diameter, weighs 5 tons, and is encircled by a metal band indicating the Equator Line. The spherical metal globe represents the Earth with its respective relief of the five continents and the oceans.

Ecuador Quito 04-03 Mitad Del Mundo Globe Close Up

Ecuador Quito 04-04 Charlotte Ryan and Peter Ryan On The Equator At Mitad Del Mundo Charlotte Ryan and Peter Ryan on the equator at Mitad Del Mundo, or are they? Using a GPS it was determined that the true equator is not at the Mitad del Mundo monument, but rather 240m away.

Ecuador Quito 04-04 Charlotte Ryan and Peter Ryan On The Equator At Mitad Del Mundo

Ecuador Quito 04-05 Mitad Del Mundo Equator Line Here is a view of the equator line from the top of the La Mitad del Mundo. Behind are dozens of stores where you can buy things like souvenirs and clothing.

Ecuador Quito 04-05 Mitad Del Mundo Equator Line

Ecuador Quito 04-06 Mitad Del Mundo View To Entrance Here is a view of the entrance area with the busts of the expedition members from the top of the La Mitad del Mundo.

Ecuador Quito 04-06 Mitad Del Mundo View To Entrance

Ecuador Quito 04-07 Mitad Del Mundo Reserva Geobotanica Pululahua We drove for about five minutes to the lookout of an extinct volcano called Reserva Geobotánica Pululahua, declared a National Park in 1969 becoming the first in Ecuador and the continent. The volcano has been extinct for about 2500 years, so the bottom of the crater is grown over nicely. The two domes in the distance are not the other side of the crater but actually the domes from the most recent eruption. The domes are in the middle of the crater.

Ecuador Quito 04-07 Mitad Del Mundo Reserva Geobotanica Pululahua

Ecuador Quito 05-01 Hotel Quito When we got back to Quito from Cotopaxi and Chimborazo we stayed at the Hotel Quito, superbly located on the top of a hill overlooking Quito and the mountains. Built in the 1960s, the hotel is a little bit worn around the edges, but is not too expensive.

Ecuador Quito 05-01 Hotel Quito

Ecuador Quito 05-02 Hotel Quito View From Our Room From our room window at the Hotel Quito we had a great view of the other buildings on top of the hill and the hotel’s swimming pool and gardens.

Ecuador Quito 05-02 Hotel Quito View From Our Room

Ecuador Quito 05-03 Hotel Quito View Of La Mariscal We had lunch at Hotel Quito’s Techo del Mundo (Roof of the World) Restaurant on the seventh floor, with fantastic views of the city. Here is a view of Quito looking towards the new town.

Ecuador Quito 05-03 Hotel Quito View Of La Mariscal

Ecuador Quito 05-04 Hotel Quito View Towards Pichincha Here is a view across the Quito valley from the Techo del Mundo (Roof of the World) Restaurant in the Hotel Quito.

Ecuador Quito 05-04 Hotel Quito View Towards Pichincha

Ecuador Quito 05-05 Quito Airport Departure We took a taxi to Quito Mariscal Sucre Airport and boarded our flights home.

Ecuador Quito 05-05 Quito Airport Departure


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