By Garrett Sheets and Herman Trout
Casa Ilayaku
By Garrett Sheets
After an efficient experience at the Quito airport, we were greeted by Carla, our program contact from the university. She led us to where we got picked up by our bus driver, Henry. We made our way up the bumpy roads to Casa Ilayaku. It was dark when we arrived so we had no perception of the landscape around us.
Upon our arrival in the wee hours of the morning, we were welcomed by Marco, the owner of Casa Ilayaku, who welcomed us to the hotel and helped us to our rooms. The next morning we could spot the snow-capped peak of the Cotopaxi volcano in the distance from the windows of the dining room. Colorful birds frequented the feeders outside as we enjoyed our breakfast of fresh fruit, juice, eggs, and sausage.
Casa Ilayaku was originally a farm, and has since been passed down through generations to become the hotel it is today. The property was surrounded by steep hills with sparse concentrations of eucalyptus trees and native flora. Similar generational farms surrounded the property with the downtown city of Quito visible in the distance.
The typical Quito weather consisted of cool sunlit mornings with light fog along the hills, and then a gradual increase in temperature throughout the day with overcast cooler conditions in the afternoon, typically followed by rain.
Day Two: Historical District Tour
By Herman Trout
On our second day in Ecuador we went on a tour to the historical district in the afternoon. It began with a typical Ecuadorian lunch of a soup and then a delicious cut of steak with mashed potatoes and vegetables.
Afterwards, we visited the center of the historical district with the President’s Palace and three churches surrounding an open plaza. Next we visited the Church of the Society of Jesus, also called La Compañia de Jesus.
The interior of this Catholic cathedral was covered in gold and statues
of other religious figures with two massive paintings depicting hell and purgatory on opposing walls near the entrance. Our tour guide
recalled a story of how, as a child, he had been scared into being a “good” Catholic for years after seeing the painting of hell.
Next we went across the street to the museum of Saint Francis where we were allowed to go up a massive bell tower and see a great view of all of Quito. It began raining during this part of the tour which made it difficult to climb the last few steps of the tower. But this made for an even more beautiful view of the rain and lightning
coming down on the city.
Our tour ended by visiting the Virgin of Quito, a statue of the Virgin Mary as depicted in the Apocalypse in the Biblical book of Revelations. There, we got to see all of Quito and experience our first market where we ended the day by drinking warm canelazo (an apple cider type drink).
