Afternoon in Quito

After lunch we visited the colonial part of Quito. There we saw one of the most beautiful churches in all of Latin America, decorated with gold leaf and known for its ample central nave. It’s called the Compañía de Jesús and was founded by the Jesuits. Mariana de Jesús is considered a saint in Quito for the sacrifices she made to save the city. She is lies in a sealed casket beneath the alter. All the iconography tells many Christian stories, which served to teach the indigenous about Christianity in the 18th century. Construction of the church began in 1605 and ended in 1765. Unfortunately photos of the inside were not allowed.

We finished our tour of the city by visiting the Madonna statue, also know as la Virgen de Quito, which overlooks the city from the top of the 200 meter volcanic hill known as 'El Panecillo'. She was constructed in 1976 from 7,000 pieces of aluminum and stands on a pedestal shaped like a globe. She is 45 meters tall and is holding a chain attached to a snake that she is stepping on. This signifies her stomping out the evil that exists in the world, serving as a protector of the people of Quito.