Quito Ecuador Main Square

I wound up in the Quito Main Square by accident. I just started walking around the Old Town and I eventually wound up there. The truth is that it’s hard to miss. Like most parks in Ecuador , it’s well maintained. On the weekends, there’s quite a crowd there. It’s a great place to stop and people-watch.

Quito Ecuador Old Town

The Old Town of Ecuador is not only on the UNESCO World Heritage List, it was the first property to be added to the list. That strikes me as something of an honor. Now I’m not saying it’s the coolest Old Town I’ve ever been in. What I am saying is that I think Ecuador is worth a visit and, if you find yourself in Ecuador, you should make a visit to Quito. I was surprised how much there was to see and do there. But whatever reason you might use to justify a visit to Quito, it would be an absolute shame if you didn’t take some time and visit the Old Town. It’s one of those great walking-around experiences. Go get lost.

Quito Ecuador Basilica

One of my disappointments is that I didn’t make the time to go and see the Quito Basilica. Lord knows it wasn’t because I couldn’t see it from miles away because I could. The architects that designed it made sure that people knew it was there. What’s even worse was that I kept getting reports from people who had gone there and walked up a few hundred steps to the very tip-top of the Basilica where I was told the views were simply incredible. Just don’t be there when the bells go off.

Quito Ecuador KFC Chicky Park

Okay, it was my first experience with a KFC Chicky Park. I hope it won’t be my last, although I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to see one again. Let’s face it, the term Chicky Park doesn’t exactly inspire confidence and it certainly doesn’t give the same type of impression as “finger-lickin’ good” does. But I don’t think it matters. People everywhere in the world buy the Colonel’s chicken and they seem to really like it.

Quito Ecuador Policia

A little background is in order. I needed to find the office of one of the international bus companies that operate out of Quito. Normally, when I’m looking for something I have an address. This time I didn’t. All I had was a dot on a map. Usually, that suffices. Get to the neighborhood, show the map around and pretty soon someone sends me right to the place. It’s a system I’ve used before This time it wasn’t working well. Remember, I speak very little Spanish and the neighborhood people speak very little English. In desperation I approached these two guys who were stopped on their motorcycles. They were great. They helped me find the place and because they were with me, the offices opened up when they appeared closed. The manager came out and I found out everything I needed to know as the officers helped me to translate. During all the time I was with them, these guys, who didn’t speak a lot of English, really seemed to take an interest in helping me. I felt like we formed something of a bond and did our part for international relations.