San Francisco de Quito is the official name of Ecuador's capital.. At an elevation of 2800 meters the air is pretty thin here.
Quito is
the seat of government and generates most of the country's GDP.
The city takes its name from the
Quitus that lived here
before the Incas conquered Ecuador. When the Spaniards marched upon the city, Inca warrior
Ruminawi burned the place
to the ground and had all the treasures stacked away so thoroughly that they are still missing.
The victorious conquistadors rebuilt
Quito in 1534. Under colonial rule the city grew in importance and became the capital of the sovereign state of Ecuador in 1830.
250 meters to the north, in
the
Inti-Nan museum. Here they have used GPS to accurately locate the position of the equator.
We visited Quito in
May 2009 and found it a nice, friendly and clean place.
the Quito Cathedral at the Plaza de Independencia
the Independence Monument at the Plaza de Independencia
this chair and table were used to sign the declaration of independence
the huge statue of the Virgin de Quito on El Palecillo hill
the Mitad del Mundo Monument is set on the equator as determined by the Geodesic Mission of 1736
the entrance to the Cathedral on the left side
a nice view of Quito
construction of the Basilica del Voto National started in 1892
the Carondelet Palace is the seat of government
the upscale Hotel Plaza Grande
the Carondelat Palace is guarded by pikes
the Iglesia de San Francisco was the first church built, construction started in 1535
crossing the real equator
but the real equator is 250 meters to the north
it's easy to cross the equator
Corioles forces are way to weak to change the spin direction of water at the equator but it is a nice story
