Of the equator and orchids
Trip Start
Dec 30, 2007
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46
50
Trip End
Jun 22, 2008
Quito,
Ecuador
Friday, June 20, 2008
Quito is the last of the Andean cities that we were to visit, at an altitude that makes it cool even though it is practically on the equator. It is well known for its churches which have been built on a quite grandiose scale - one is said to be covered with 7 tonnes of gold leaf. Spectacular though this no doubt is, and perhaps inspired by Inca excesses in the same vein, we resisted the urge to see it.
However, we clambered around a gothic basilica through the spindly towers, along the walkway that runs between the roof and the ceiling, up into the belfry (which involves passing through the inside of the gigantic clock) for great views over Quito. It is the first truly gothic church we have seen in the entire trip and it made an interesting change.
We decided to see the vivarium and the orchid gardens while we were in town
orchid
. We started at the vivarium and spent an hour or two looking at pythons, vipers, frogs and the odd turtle. I think that the prettiest were the pythons, especially the bright green emerald tree python, but the most curious was a knot of boa constrictors curled up together. I counted three heads but it was impossible to follow head to tail, much worse than those children's puzzles where you have to choose the right path among various squiggly options. They had some nice frogs too, and it was interesting that they did not insist we leave the room while they returned the deadly equis viper to its vivarium (it's called equis because the stripes on its back form an x - equis in Spanish).The botanical gardens are practically next door and sport an amazing orchid garden. The variety and outlandish nature of these flowers is extraordinary. It is a very diverse family, and flowers range from the miniscule to things the size of a rose (and those just the ones in flower while we were there). We spent ages in one hothouse, were impressed, and then discovered another. Although we couldn't identify it, signs claimed that they had the orchid on display that was the original source of vanilla (and also that the Mayans used to extract the vanilla and drink it with their chocolate - clever people the Mayans).
Then we left for the Galapagos Islands (see separate entry) before returning for a day of sightseeing, which took us to the equator.
The equator has long been known to run through Ecuador (hence its name), and was fixed just out of Quito by the 18th century French expedition led by Condamine. The expedition suffered enormously (and one member was murdered over a woman, I think), but succeeded in pinning the equator
orchid 2
. Or so it was thought for a long time. Now, any fool with a GPS receiver can see that they get it wrong by 7 seconds of latitude, which equates to about 240m. That doesn't stop locals and foreigners flocking to the mislocated monument. We went to the actual equator, and the bizarre museum there. The displays are a hodge podge of things. A few artifacts from the Guarani indians, anaconda skins, a shrunken head from the Shuar. You can try a blow dart gun, and a range of 'equator games' (balance an egg on a nail head, walk on the equator line with your eyes shut), admire the trickery of water going down the plug different directions on either side of the line. None of this serves any real purpose, but it is fun in a gimmicky way. It is supposed to be less touristy than the main complex in the wrong place, but it is hard to think how that could be.
It is interesting to look to the ridge overlooking the tourist spectacles where you can just see an indigenous monument, a large stone circle bang on the equator.
