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The Legend about El Panecillo in Quito, Ecuador
“Leer, es otra forma de vivir; en realidad, una hermosa forma de vivir muchas vidas en una.” “Reading is another way of living; actually, a beautiful way to live many lives in one.” — Édgar Allen García, Ecuadorian author who writes about this legend Hill shaped like Spanish bread This is a legend about El Panecillo, a famous hill in Quito, Ecuador. It apparently got its name because the shape reminded the Spanish conquistadors of the bread baked in Andalusia, Spain. El Panecillo from Old Town Quito, Ecuador El Panecillo in Inca times Before the conquistadors arrived, the hill was known as Yavirac. The Incas celebrated Inti Raymi,…
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Calle La Ronda in Quito’s Historic Old Town
“Before, tourist operators wouldn’t bring travelers into the Old Town and tourists wouldn’t come here on their own either.” — Andrea Swigilsky, general manager of the upscale boutique hotel Patio Andaluz, in a 2008 article in the New York Daily News. Calle La Ronda (La Ronda Street) is a quaint cobblestone street in Quito’s Historic Old Town, the first city to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Take a stroll down La Ronda and see centuries-old houses, artisan shops and bohemian cafes. Calle La Ronda, Old Town Quito, Ecuador History Calle La Ronda’s history begins in the 1400s as an Inca trail. In the 1500s,…
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Six Hours in Quito: Layover Tour
Planning I recently had a twelve hour layover in Quito, Ecuador’s capital and second largest city. My initial plans were to read while at the Quito airport and not much else. My imagination had this layover seeming to last a very long twelve hours. Instead of staying at the airport, I decided to go on a six hour tour with Tours Around Quito. With my flight arriving around Noon, the tour would take me right up to a few minutes before the 6:30 sunset. Quito Airport Arrival Gustavo Tupiza, who owns Tours Around Quito with his wife, Elizabeth, picked me up from the airport and we headed straight to the historic…
