Quito

The capital of Ecuador welcomed us at 2900 meters.
For the riders out there I can say that it is quite easy to find directions in town.
The shape of the town is in fact long and thin, since it is sitting on a altipiano surrounded by volcanoes and mountains.
There are 4 main roads that run from north to south:
La sucre (avenida Occidental) on the right side
L'avenida 6 de decembre, on the left side
And the 2 main arteries the 10th of August and Avenida America running in parallel in the centre.
You are never too far from any of these 4 roads: you can't get lost.

This is the view of Quito North from "El Panecillo"

The old centre can be visited in 1 day and it is full of beautiful buildings and churches.

This is the church of "compania del Jesus" just around the corner from the main square and next to the main Cathedral.

Talking of which there are 2 frescoes in the main cathedral that attracted our attention:

The last supper, where Christ and the disciples are eating guinea pigs and drinking chicha, instead of the usual lamb and wine.

And the nativity where a llama has miraculously found its way to Nazareth.....

Wherever you are in the centre you can always spot El Panecillo in the distance.

El Panecillo is a "sugar loaf" hill in the middle of town topped by a statue of the Virgin Mary with wings.

We are told it is the only statue of the Virgin Mary with wings in the world.

Walking up the hill is tough and most importantly dangerous, since the area is very dodgy.

You are better off in taking a taxi....let the taxi driver rip you off instead!!!

A close up picture of the Virgin Mary with wings

In the far east corner of the town you will be able to visit la "Capilla del'hombre", a museum designed and built by 20th century most prestigious Ecuadorean artist: Oswaldo Guayasamin.

Guayasamín's images capture the political oppression, racism, poverty, and class division found in much of South America and part of the world.

This picture is called Los Mutilados.

It is made of 6 panels that can be moved and turned in more than 12 million different combinations and they will always produce a meaningful picture. It took the artist 7 years to paint.

Next door is the Fondation Guayasamin where it is possible to buy original paintings of the artist for as little as $300. We were seriously tempted to splash out, unfortunately it is not easy to carry a painting on a bike and therefore we renounced.

At the fondation are also exhibited 4 paintings called los culpables, probably some of our favourites of the artist.

Moving to the far west of town you will find the gates for the "teleferiqo".

This cable lift will take you almost on top of the volcano Pichincha at 4100 meters for amazing views of Quito.

We were obviously well equipped with wind/water proof jackets, alpaca jumpers, hat and scarves.

With us in the cable cabin was a young Russian chap, only dressed with jeans and a light shirt.

He also asked us to point him in the right direction to the 4 hrs hike to climb to the top.

He was either very brave or from Siberia. We wished him luck.

Views of Quito from Cruz Loma at 4100 meters.