Monday, 16 July (Part I)
Temps in Quito: 73F (23C) / 52F (11C)
In our pre-cruise room in the center block of the JW Marriott, we had to wait until we were outside the hotel to get a real reading on the weather. Not today; all we had to do was pull open the curtains to see that we had a gorgeous day in store for our last bit of sightseeing in Quito. Opening the window told us not only that it was going to be a beautiful day, but that it was also going to be a comfortable day temperature-wise.
We were still on the Celebrity package, which included breakfast, so after getting dressed, we headed down to Bistro Latina for the expansive buffet breakfast. Tummies sated, we returned to our room to consolidate the stuff in the bag we’d left behind at the hotel into our checked-bags for the flight back home. With that done, we were ready to head out and see what we could see of Quito in the time we had left to us.
We didn’t have a set plan when we left the hotel, but this map shows how our day unfolded.
In the order we visited: Guayasamin Foundation (blue marker); Iglesia de Guápulo (red marker);
Mea Culpa (where we had lunch; fork & knife marker); La Catedral (yellow marker);
and the Teleferiqo (green marker).
Our first stop didn’t quite turn out as expected. We wanted to check out the Capilla Del Hombre (Chapel of Man), a secular chapel of art dedicated to the history of mankind. By our own admission, we’re not “into art,” so this might seem an odd place for us to visit. However, I was intrigued by a picture I’d seen on the web (left) and thought it would be worth a quick look-see.
La Capilla was the brainchild of Oswaldo Guayasamin, Ecuador’s most famous contemporary artist; he didn’t live to see the project completed. As luck would have it, we didn’t get to see it either as the place is apparently closed on Mondays — something our guidebook neglected to mention. (Interestingly, I later found out that Guayasamin died in Baltimore, Maryland, just an hour’s drive from where we live in Virginia.)
Seeing as how we were in the area, we decided to check out the Fundacion Guayasamin instead. Cabs were few and far between in this residential neighborhood, but luckily we managed to grab the cabbie that had brought us to Bellavista as he was making a u-turn to go back down the hill. We could have walked the five blocks to the Foundation, of course, but since we weren’t familiar with the neighborhood, paying for a $1 cab ride made sense. Actually, the cabbie wasn’t going to charge us, but we thought it only fair to pay him.
The guidebook listed the hours as 9:00a to 6:30p, but a sign at the entrance contradicted that with a 10:00a opening. A short 15-minute wait and we were inside trying to pay the $4/person fee. When they couldn’t find the keys to the ticket booth, they told us to just go on in and pay on the way out!
The museum, which consists of three separate buildings, is on the grounds of what was once Guayasamin’s home. Housed here are not only the artist’s own work, but his extensive collection of pre-Colombian artifacts, and Colonial era paintings and sculptures.
The museum is on the grounds of Guayasamin’s former home.
I try to make my head look bigger so I can blend in with La Familia,
but I don’t think it’s going to work :-)
Hanging mobile sculpture
There was only one other person on the tour, which worked in our favor. It turned out that he was a real aficionado and the guide spent most of her time with him, leaving us to wander at our own pace — which was pretty fast. Photography wasn’t allowed inside the buildings, so I purchased a few postcards of Guayasamin’s paintings to scan for the blog.
From Guayasamin’s pre-Colombian bowl collection.
[I took this before I realized all photography was prohibited, not just flash photos.]
Manos de la Protesta (Hands of Protest) — from the "Age of Anger" Collection.
[scanned from postcard]
Quito Rojo (red Quito) — a version of this sold for over $300,000 at an auction in NYC.
[scanned from postcard]
Madre con Niño (Mother with Child) — from the “Age of Tenderness” Collection,
a series of 100+ works in tribute of love to his mother … to all mothers.
[scanned from postcard]
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I couldn’t resist photographing the painting on the left from outside the building where
Guayasamin’s collection of Colonial Art is displayed; it reminded me of a similar painting
I photographed in 2009 (right) at the Seminary and Church of San Antonio Abad in Cusco, Perú.
Both paintings are from the escuela Cusqueña (Cusco school of art).
I guess the question is: was spending time here worth it for a couple of non-artsy types? I think so. Granted, I’d be hard pressed to say that we’d want Guayasamin’s work hanging in our home, but there was an edginess to it that drew us in.
I’d read in the Fodor’s guidebook that the nearby village of Guápulo was a “preserved pocket of colonial architecture” and that its off-the-beaten-path church, which dates back to the 17th century, was worth a visit. Since we were in the vicinity anyway, we decided a quick look-see was in order. So, after finally managing to pay the entrance fee at the Fundacion Guayasamin, we asked the museum guard to help us flag down a taxi to the Iglesia de Guápulo.
Aerial view of the Santuario y Iglesia de Guápulo.
today, The building adjacent to the church houses an international university.
[scanned from postcard]
A site of pilgrimage for centuries, the sanctuary is believed to be the oldest in Quito and is said to be located next to the road the Pizarro/Orellana expedition took. (That expedition led to the discovery of the Amazon in 1541.) Although the current building dates back to 1649, the original church on the site was built in 1596 to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe. The name of Guápulo was derived from Guadalupe, which the indigenous people had trouble pronouncing correctly back in the day. After being ravaged by a fire, the sanctuary fell to ruin and it wasn’t until 1930 that repairs were made.
20th Century historic photo of Iglesia de Guápulo.
[scanned from postcard]
As it was nearing lunchtime, the doors leading into the church were already locked. So, I took what photos I could of the exterior and the entryway. Unfortunately, the square in front of the church was blocked off for construction, so my options for photographing the façade were severely limited.
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Exterior and entryway of the Iglesia de Guápulo.
The altar of the small chapel in the entryway (center) and the murals on the walls.
When we approached the caretaker to buy a couple of postcards of the interior, Mui asked if it was at all possible to see inside the church. Before we knew it, the doors were unlocked for us to take a peek at the altar and the 18th century pulpit. The latter is deserving of its description of being one of the most intricate in South America. No photography was allowed, so I’ve scanned the postcards to post here.
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The Retablo Principal (main altarpiece) | This sculpture of the Virgin of Guápulo |
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The pulpit (left) and the Retablo de La Virgen de la Nube (Altar of the Virgin of the Cloud).
Thanking the caretaker, we exited from a side door that took us through the university campus next door. Since we were in a busy neighborhood, we figured a taxi would show up sooner rather than later, so we walked over to the stand across the street. Quite a few cabs came by during the ten minutes we were there, but they already had passengers. A helpful guard suggested that we walk the short distance down a nearby cobbled street to the taxi stand on the main thoroughfare. That worked; five minutes later, we were headed towards the Colonial City. We weren’t sure what we’d be doing once we got there, but getting a bite to eat was quickly becoming a priority …
