Tour of Colonial Quito
My group and I went on a nightime guided tour of Quito's old churches from the 16th to 18th century.

The San Francisco church, just a 30 minute bus ride from my house. This church began construction in 1535, a month after the Spanish arrived, and took more than a century to finish! It was built on an Incan temple, so sits on a high hill. I'm not able to go inside because there is a large restoration project of the facade, but from my readings the interior has a mix of Catholic and indian symbols like many of the churches in Quito. It also has the statue of the Virgin with wings. Interestingly, in 1976 this same statue was replicated and blown up to 100s of times it's size by Spanish artist Agustin de la Herran Matorras and shipped over from Spain in 7000 numbered pieces. They put the pieces together and placed on the hill in Quito known as the Panecillo. There is an "olla", or old water tower here where rain water would collect. Pipes running from this tower would flow to a fountain that sits a few feet from the San Francisco church. This fountain would supply water to the town. The same fountain still sits by the church, but is no longer flowing with water.

More to come! On the day I landed back in the States I had to start my summer classes, so it's been quite busy since I've been back. I'll be updating bit by bit, and hopefully get the whole trip on this blog soon. There is so much to describe!