DARWIN ON MY MIND: THE CLU GALAPAGOS TRIP, JANUARY 2005

Day 1: Quito, Ecuador

 This is the main square of Quito, Ecuador: the Plaza de Independencia. We walked around it and saw the Cathedral and the the Presidential Palace, where the changing of the guard caused lots of cameras to whip out. Alas, my photo wasn't very good, so I'll wait for someone else to give me a copy of theirs and put it here. We also walked into the Archbishop's Palace, now a bunch of stores and restaurants, where we some some lovely blown-up photographs of Ecuadoran wildlife. My guide on this day was Dulce, which means "sweet."

 

 

 

Here's a scene up the street as we walked to visit various cathedrals. The hill is Panecillo, and it's got a statue of the Winged Virgin on top. More on her later.

 

 

 

 

This is Iglesia de la Compania, a Jesuit church that is fantastic inside. I couldn't take proper photos, so these are postcard images (taking photos inside is prohibited).

The facade is baroque, 17th century (although of course it probably took more than one century to build).

This is the big altar, also 17th century. Yes, everything that looks like gold, is gold. Wood carving by Jorge Vinterer and gold leaf work by Bernardo de Legarda, the same fellow who did the Virgen de Quito statuette, which you'll see on the next page.

 
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