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Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Quito

My first business trip for this year was in Ecuador, a 2-week assignment in one of the refineries in Esmeraldas. It was my first time in South America. Prior to my flight, I searched for information on what to do in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador and the point of disembarkation. I have few hours to go around the city before flying to Esmeraldas.

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I stayed at Hilton Colton and as per google search, Quito Old Town was just few steps away. Since I couldn’t sleep because of jet lag, I had an early breakfast and tried to find the tourist attraction. But it wasn’t easy. I got lost but it was fine. I spent a couple of hours but the old town was nowhere in sight. Instead, I found myself in what it seems a residential area. There were vandals, or to some, street arts. Houses were a throwback to past centuries.
  
quitoquitoquitoquito

My feet were a little too tired of walking, I was about to give up when I started to ask for directions. Most of the people I met do not speak English, so sign language was the only option. Then, there was this angel, a jogger, who volunteered to walk with me to the Old Town. She spoke little English and I spoke very little Spanish but we were able to enjoy our conversation. She tried to be my tourist guide for the day. I realized that the place was not that far if only I followed the main road.

quitoquitoQuitoquito

footsteps from the past 
architectural delight 
throwback centuries 

The architecture made me drool. I kept on taking photos in amazement. I promised that I will come back again if I had the chance again. So before flying back to Japan, I went back to the old town, this time, at night. The architectures had another life with the lights.

churchquitoquito

I will be writing about the Equator on my next post as I thought it deserves a separate post. If you can see, the above photos were a bit different from my previous shots, this is because I tried to use snapseed as editing software. Yes, I did it on my phone. 

 /totomai 
2016/02/23 

Photos taken with Nikon D7000, Nikon P310 
Lens used : Tamron 11-16 2.8f

36 comments:

  1. Quaint and picturesque!

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  2. So good to see you back Totomai - and what a fantastic post - all that on a phone - the colours are amazing and i felt like i visited too..there is a sense of movement with the steps and the train and the men walking and running..daily life playing out old walking into new

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    1. It's been a while Jae. Been caught up with work lately. Thanks a lot.

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  3. Love your photos... The footsteps does really echo in the stones of those buildings,

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    1. I can still hear thr echoes until now. Thanks Bjorn.

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  4. Your photography (and eye of course) makes every place you visit enchanting. How lucky you were to meet that angel!

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    1. Was so thankful for her, Robin. I almost gave up looking for the attraction.

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  5. These are amazing photos, Totomai. I don't know anyone who has experienced Ecuador, so this was a real treat. You gave us an insider's view. You gave us the flavor of the place, including that graffitti on the walls, the street with the flags of various embassies, the view of the city from atop a hill. Definitely 'footprints from the past.' And I shall very much be looking forward to your post about the equator! Thanks, Totomai!!

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    1. Lots of Spanish architecture. I really enjoyed my visit in Ecuador, Mary. Though I went there for work, I saw to it I go to some tourist spots.

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  6. thanks for this virtual tour full of delight...

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  7. Totomai, it is always such a treat to come to your site and enjoy your travel photos, which are always spectacular. I very much enjoyed these, especially those of the Old Town, those concrete dwellings going up the hill are amazing. Wow. Dont forget, Mary is always looking for photos for the Pantry. Yours are always something special, full ofcolour and life. Yay. Thanks, kiddo. Made my day.

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    1. Sure, Sherry, will share photos soon. It's been a while since blogging. But if I have a chance, I'll share always at the pantry.

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  8. Your post is delightful. Thanks for the architectural treat. Hope you had a good time and didn't work too hard.

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    1. Two weeks at refinery was tough but enjoyable. Thanks Myrna.

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  9. Thank you for your photo-poem, again a delight.

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  10. Some most excellent shots phone or not you have captured the essence of Old Town, thanks for sharing

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    1. I am becoming lazy to edit the photos using PC lol. Thanks :)

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  11. The architecture looks stunning. I'm hoping to go to Ecuador someday (perhaps to live, even!), so I really enjoyed this post :-)

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    1. It's a good country. Hope they can communicate more in English though. Thanks CC

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  12. Wonderful photos! And delightful words, verse and prose.

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  13. I am completely jealous. The architecture of Old Town Quito looks so much like that of my Dominican Republic's Zona Colonial. And your haiku describes the area perfectly.

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    1. Maybe because both were colonized by Spain. Thanks Magaly

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  14. Wow! Another awesome post - wonderful photos and verse - and an edifying narrative. Thank you!

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  15. Thanks!for the wonderful trip
    ZQ

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  16. thanks for sharing this travelogue. the country has an old world charm about them, with its colonial buildings.

    i loved that photo called "structures". those iron bars poking at the sky creates a very powerful picture, and in monochrome too! :)

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    1. Structures was taken outside of my hotel. I also liked it very much.

      Thanks ds!

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any thoughts to distill?

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