This day would end in Cuenca, a charming little town (I kid, it's the third largest in Ecuador, but is quaint on all the right ways). There was a lot of internal debate (e.g. my talking to myself the pros and cons) on whether we should take an early flight to Cuenca so I could see the city during the day (which I won't be able to do given I'm a gainfully employed adult working Monday through Thursday while there) or should we take a later flight so I get the day in Quito. When we decided to do the Cotopaxi tour on Saturday, which would basically take the entirety of that day, the decision became easy.
That said, I didn't see everythign Quito has. Yes, maybe that is partially because I only got up at 9:45 and left the hotel at 10:10, but also because there is quite a lot to see, most things close by 4 or 5, and it's always nice to leave a few things to see on a second visit. Yes, there will be a second visit. Don;'t know when, because as good as Quito has been I would still rank Lima, Rio and Santiago ahead of it when it comes to great South American cities - but Quito vs. Buenos Aires is definitely a debate in my mind. Let's get back to today though, and worry about rankings later.
My first stop was halfway between our hotel in the northern half of downtown Quito (the more commercial, professional area) and the historic city center. The place was teh National Museum of Ecuador, which is a fascinating building still very much in construction. Basically there lied an old brick and stone museum that they are turning into a glistening modern building, with still the old stone floors of the old. It's about ahlfway complete, so half the museum was closed and it was free. That said, the part I did see was quick, efficient and excellent, first three rooms focusing on pre-colombian art from 10,000 BC through the Incas. The second floor was all art from a famous Ecuadorian artist Irene Cardenas. Her art was modern, with bold colors, sharp angles and geometry - the type of art I adore I've come to learn.
That was a quick stop, allowing me alos some time to walk through the large park next to it - this area of Quito is open, green and lovely. Other parts are lovely too, but this is so unexpected in what is a city defined by narrowness and hills to have an area so relatively flat, open and pristine.
That said, let's not say that openness is better, as I would learn. It took a while for an uber to take me into the historic city center, my first stop being teh Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy, a chirch first built in the 1500s. In the end, I got out of my uber about five blocks away and walked the rest (eight minute walk vs. 12 minute drive - some one-ways skewing that slightly). The alleys and life turned from caucophony where I was dropped up to pristine old-world charm by the time we got to the plaza around the Basilica. The Basilica itself is painted a white of a brightness that is hard to describe. I would soon learn this seems to be just a thing in Quito. The inside however was stunning in its oldness, paegentry, gold - it was typically South American as i've learned from visiting other old main cathedrals in Lima, Santiago - but this one might be my favorite. There is a large, giant gothic Basilica in Quito as well - but I saved the relative newness of that one (1800s) for this old gem.
Didn't hurt that two blocks away is the main square / plaza - like all great Latin American cities. The Quito one is notable to me as it was easily the best combination of grandeur and life - the grandeur aided by that same shade of white that was painted on every buikding from another church & convent, to the Presidential Palace (sadly, closed), and the life aided by the bustle of people, christmas decorations, music and general merriment. Sime places like Lima only have the former. Others like a Oaxaca are only the later. Santiago I guess comes close. Random aside, but I do dislike the fact I so quickly turn to these comparisons.
My next plan was a quick walking tour of the historic city center, from teh Plaza Grande to the equally impressive, equally white Plaza San Francisco, which houses the Church & Convent of San Francisco. Sadly, the church and adjoining museum closes every day from 12pm - 3pm, which wasn't ideal when I shwoed up at 12:15. Either way, I had other things on my list, from walking through a few of the more ntoable alleyways in the old town, to the final stop of this visit - a trip to the Casa del Alabado Museum of Pre-Colombian Art.
The museum is housed in an old house (hence the name) which has been converted into a really great museum showcasing Ecuadorian artifacts, art, statues, and beauty from the same 10,000 BC or so up to the Incas. Much like a very similar museum in Santiago, it is also similar in style, with the galleries being the sides of the house with a lovely open courtyard in the middle. The museum isn't as large as the Santiago one, but then again - Quito is smaller, narrower and quainter than Santiago. For this place, it fit - and it raelly had some unique pieces in what seemed to be a really well curated museum - mostly some of the more intricate, ornate and lovely figurines of old gods, shamans and priests.
This took longer than I expected, so really after that only had time for a quick lunch, to which I went to Casa Warmi, a notable restaurant in the Floresta district (which, to once again dip into my comparisons, could easily be a neighborhood in Lima or Santiago) known for its seafood-focused sharp cuisine.
Before we get to lunch, a quick look back at the city center. it is bustling, and the roads are packed and crowded leading up to it, but in a weird way, I find that whole area better than say Lima's. There is a sense of life, of common people just living their lives and having fun. Even the lanes aroudn it are paragons of middle class-ness in a way you don't feel in Lima where their Plaza Mayor is arguably prettier and more well built up, but also more staid and lifeless, or targeting the bottom of the barrel, rather than Quito, where I feel I was almsot intruding on real world rather than visiting a place built for people like me.
I first got a starter of fish corviche (little manioc balls with fish inside, this time topped with other fish and onion) which were excellent, if too many (six of these little croquette-type things), and then a truly inventive as hell ceviche of octopus, squid and fish, with the leche being guayabo, which as a perfect combination of funk and tart for a ceviche. It was just excellent - as was the setting of Casa Warmi, which doubles as a handicraft store on the side. This was more or less my last real thing in Quito, but a good one (this was a late lunch).
From there, headed back to the JW Marriott and went off to the airport - a drive that was quicker than we had mentally anticipated leaving us more time in the airport than we wanted. But not really, since Avianca boards 60 minutes ahead of departure for domestic flights. This is the last flight of the year for me on a Star Alliance carrier - so in other words the last flight where I have any sort of status. Tough life for me I guess.
After a 45-minute flight, we descended into Cuenca. I'll ahve way much more to say about Cuenca, but as a way of knowing how much of a smaller place this is than Quito, it was a relative ghost-town. Granted, many places are come 8:30pm on a Sunday. For dinner, I had picked out one of the few places near our AirBNB that was open late on Sundays - this being the restaurant in teh Tryp hotel named Zircus. It has quite good reviews for it being a hotel restaurant, and the food showed why. We split a "Bisque de Mariscos" which was more just a seafood soup, but it had a ton of seafood and the brilliant idea to put plantain chunks in the soup (inspired!). For my main, I got a Ribeye with a onion, tomato and pepper sauce, which was way, way better than I expected from a hotel restaurant on 9:30pm on a Sunday. Cuenca may be quiet, but made a great first impression. Adding to that impression was the safety of the place letting us go for a little walk after dinner, adn the christmas tree lights dotting their main road.
As mentioned, I'll have more to say on Cuenca, but to wrap up Quito, I don't think I could've had a better experience. Cotopaxi as the centerpiece tourist element was unbelievable, and the weather Gods really shone on us on that one. The city itself met its mark in every way as well - from the restuarants (the cheap lunches to Ukro as a great tasting menu spot) to the craft beer to the cocktails. The sites were good and there's still a good days worth at minimum I've yet to cross off for my next trip here. I don't know when that will be, but I continue to be drawn to this continent, and Ecuador's capital added to that draw tremendously.
