Ecuador's
capital, Quito
— the name
itself resonates
with wonder
and romance
— is regarded
as the most
beautiful
and stylish
city in the
Andes. As
you descend
towards Mariscal
Sucre Airport,
your first
glance from
the air reveals
an urbanised,
South American
Shangri-La
stretching
along a high
valley beneath
a string of
white-topped
mountains.
Taking a bus
or taxi into
town from
the airport,
you pass steel-and-glass
office blocks
and luxury
hotels, while
at the same
time experiencing
the traffic
jams and pollution
typical of
all major
cities.
Further south,
hidden away
in the old
part of the
city is a
world of cobbled
streets, ornate
baroque churches,
colonial-style
mansions with
tiled roofs,
and quiet
courtyards
with tinkling
fountains.
You have now
passed from
the New City
to the old.
Together the
old and new
form a fast-growing,
modern metropolis
woven into
the fabric
of an old
Spanish colonial
town. On the
pavements
office workers
in smart suits
talk on mobile
phones, while
local indigenas
in
colourful
traditional
costumes sell
blankets,
ponchos, chewing
gum and lottery
tickets. In
this city
of contrasts,
million-dollar
apartments
and shiny
shopping malls
co-exist with
slums and
impoverished
barrios where
the poor and
unemployed
from the countryside
live.
Aside from
its high altitude,
the most striking
geographical
feature of
Quito is the
length of
the city and
its bottleneck
narrowness.
From north
to south it
stretches
some 30 km
[19 miles],
yet it is
only three
to five kilometres
[two
to three miles]
wide. To the
north is the
residential
and business
district of
the new town,
to the south
is an area
of industry
and low-cost
housing, while
at its heart
is the historic
centre of
the Old City.
This narrow
strip of urbanised
land is wedged
between the
steep slopes
of Mount
Pichincha
to the west,
and a deep
canyon formed
by the river
Machangara
to the east.
In recent
years the
urban carpet
has spread
up the slopes
of the mountain
to the west
and into Los
Chillos valley
on the eastern
side of the
city.
Climate
Quito has
an almost
perfect climate
best described
as perpetual
springtime.
By midday
the temperature
usually reaches
a pleasant
high of about
22C [72F]
while average
night-time
temperatures
are 11C [52F].
Since the
city is only
a few miles
south of the
equator there
is little
climatic variation
throughout
the year,
though in
the so-called
winter months
[October
to May]
it often rains
in the afternoon.
In spite of
the agreeable
climate, clouds
often veil
the surrounding
mountain peaks.
Quitenos say
that they
have two types
of weather:
either sunny
with clouds,
or cloudy
with sunshine.
Last
updated 13th
June 2006
| |Article contributed by Dominic Hamilton||| |
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