On my first day in Quito, I explored the area close to my hostel. The building that stood out most was the Basilica, a grand church whose clock towers are more than eighty meters high.
The inside is spacious and rather sparsely decorated, creating a very serene and calming atmosphere.
The Basilica is lit entirely through stained glass windows. Many of them display religious imagery, but the biggest ones are just beautiful floral patterns.
One of the clock towers and the rear tower were open for visitors, so of course I had to climb both. Looking south, there was a great view of Quito's historical center and the hill overlooking it, the panecillo.
In the other direction, new Quito stretches almost as far as the eye can see.
After climbing down the steep ladders and stairs of the Basilica, I visited the nearby Centro de Arte Contemporáneo. One of their exhibitions consisted of seven projects looking at the relationship between humans and technology. The first project fascinated me most. The artist had created a robot with several plants on it. The plants were there for two purposes: they helped generate energy to power the robot, and purified water that the robot could pick up from contaminated water sources.
The installation included not only the robot, but also a great video showing the robot in action. If that is art - creating cool technology and presenting it carefully - then I want to be an artist!
The inside is spacious and rather sparsely decorated, creating a very serene and calming atmosphere.
The Basilica is lit entirely through stained glass windows. Many of them display religious imagery, but the biggest ones are just beautiful floral patterns.
One of the clock towers and the rear tower were open for visitors, so of course I had to climb both. Looking south, there was a great view of Quito's historical center and the hill overlooking it, the panecillo.
In the other direction, new Quito stretches almost as far as the eye can see.
After climbing down the steep ladders and stairs of the Basilica, I visited the nearby Centro de Arte Contemporáneo. One of their exhibitions consisted of seven projects looking at the relationship between humans and technology. The first project fascinated me most. The artist had created a robot with several plants on it. The plants were there for two purposes: they helped generate energy to power the robot, and purified water that the robot could pick up from contaminated water sources.
The installation included not only the robot, but also a great video showing the robot in action. If that is art - creating cool technology and presenting it carefully - then I want to be an artist!
