On my second day in Ecuador, I felt it was time to visit some museums and start exploring Ecuadorian history. My first stop in the morning was the museum of aboriginal cultures, which boasts to have more than 5000 exhibits. I thought they would be better off if they removed some of the exhibits and added some more explanations. In terms of learning about history, this apparently wasn't the place to start. Nevertheless, they had some interesting pieces, such as these big jars with heads and hands:
In the afternoon, I visited the central bank's museum. The museum is huge, but the only part with any connection to the central bank is the numismatic museum. It has a comprehensive collection of Ecuadorian coins and bills. The only point where the museum's explanations suddenly fall short is where the switch from Ecuador's old currency, the Sucre, to the US dollar is concerned. Maybe this isn't something the central bank is particularly proud of?
The other parts of the museum include an archeological part explaining the history of settlements in Ecuador, and an ethnographic part with exhibits from many of Ecuador's indigenous peoples.
The museum also has an outdoor part - the ruins of Pumapungo, the inca settlement preceding the founding of Cuenca. When the Spanish arrived, the buildings of Pumapungo already lay in ruins due to the civil war caused by two brothers fighting for the right to rule. This means that in terms of ruins, there wasn't all that much to see. However, the gardens and agriculture on the site have been recreated according to old descriptions. I found it fascinating to see the variety of plants and animals that seem to have been cultivated by the inca.
In a misguided attempt to recreate the location as closely as possible, however, they felt compelled to build an aviary with all the exotic birds - macaws, toucans, and others - that supposedly populated the site in inca times. I hate seeing imprisoned animals! This one, for example, was forced to live in a cage with a diameter of about three times its wingspan...
In the afternoon, I visited the central bank's museum. The museum is huge, but the only part with any connection to the central bank is the numismatic museum. It has a comprehensive collection of Ecuadorian coins and bills. The only point where the museum's explanations suddenly fall short is where the switch from Ecuador's old currency, the Sucre, to the US dollar is concerned. Maybe this isn't something the central bank is particularly proud of?
The other parts of the museum include an archeological part explaining the history of settlements in Ecuador, and an ethnographic part with exhibits from many of Ecuador's indigenous peoples.
The museum also has an outdoor part - the ruins of Pumapungo, the inca settlement preceding the founding of Cuenca. When the Spanish arrived, the buildings of Pumapungo already lay in ruins due to the civil war caused by two brothers fighting for the right to rule. This means that in terms of ruins, there wasn't all that much to see. However, the gardens and agriculture on the site have been recreated according to old descriptions. I found it fascinating to see the variety of plants and animals that seem to have been cultivated by the inca.
In a misguided attempt to recreate the location as closely as possible, however, they felt compelled to build an aviary with all the exotic birds - macaws, toucans, and others - that supposedly populated the site in inca times. I hate seeing imprisoned animals! This one, for example, was forced to live in a cage with a diameter of about three times its wingspan...
