Old Town Quito

Guess who? This was taken on a hill at the southern edge of old town know as El Panecillo (the little bread loaf) where the "Virgin of Quito" (100 ft high) stands. The houses on the hills above old town cling to the steep terrain and are a good example of residential areas surrounding the city. Old town casts a small footprint in a sprawling city of 2 million. The street photo is typical of old town. These adorable "street urchins" approached us in the square and wanted to shine our shoes. When we said no thank you they asked us for "money for lunch" in english. They were so irresistable I started to get some change out of my purse, big mistake! Immediately I could see half a dozen other children around the square start walking towards us. So I walked away and tried to discretely get some change out. The girl followed & I gave her a quarter and walked on toward the church. The little boy came running after me and asked for more money for himself. I toughened up and walked into the church. There are people on the streets everywhere you go trying to sell you gum, candy or nuts. They even come up to the car windows when your are in a taxi stopped at a light. There is a tremendous amount of poverty here and people try to make a buck any way they can. Needless to say, we will be glad to leave the big city behind! We are heading south to Cuenca tonight on a bus. It leaves Quito at 10:00 PM and arrives in Cuenca at 7:30 AM, nine long hours. We are disappointed to be traveling at night because we will miss all the scenery along the way. We can't complain about the cost, $9 each. I'm sure you will be hearing about the trip in a later blog.