Quito, Ecuador. Friday 11th August 2006.

Today is a new day and I am more than willing to give Quito another chance.

The staff in my hotel are a delight and I have greatly enjoyed my discussions with the two young ladies who operate the reception desk. They have been more than helpful and they personally feel responsible for any negative experiences that guests may have.

This wonderful family owned, and run, hotel is a must in Quito. It is very comfortable, very welcoming and very reasonably priced.

www.eugeniahotel.com

Today is an official holiday to celebrate Ecuadors´ independence day (which is actually August 10th).

I begin my day at the packed Cathedral for morning worship. The packed church, the robes of the clergy...this could be England in the 1950´s.

The altar of the cathedral is stunning, rich in gilt decoration. The Cathedral ceiling is a mirror of the ceiling I saw yesterday at the Monastery of San Francisco.

The congregation are praying to La Virgen de Quito.
The spectacle as it unfolds is most colourful with priests and nuns, monks and bishops as far as the eye can see. It is during this service that I attract my latest friend...a stray dog, who befriends me. He follows me into the Cathedral and all around outside. At least I might look like a local out exercising my pet?

Today was definitely the day to visit the Cathedral, as the procession gathers in the neighbouring Church (that I visited Wednesday).

The pageantry outside is a joy to behold. On García Moreno, the street fills with the smell of incense and the singing of hymns as the procession makes its way into the Cathedral from the Church of El Sagrario.

During the procession I play a game of cat and mouse with a local lady, who finally agrees to having her photograph taken.

I leave the people of Quito to their celebrations and make now for La Compañía. If there is an Aladdin's Cave in the world of churches...this is it. I thought I had seen gilt but this church is beyond words. Sadly, though correctly, photography is forbidden.

This church is beyond kitsch, it is simply stunning. The craftsmanship, the attention to detail and the love that must have gone into building it are beyond compare.

The sacristy is like none I have ever seen with its beautiful paintings and highly polished wood. In the main church the high altar is a marvel and the central dome of this church could grace any cathedral.

The description that comes to mind to represent this gilded palace are the Tsarist Palaces of St Petersburg. If there were ever a demonstration of the medieval wealth of the Church then this is it. Ignoring the negative connotations of that statement, this is also a triumphant demonstration of man's appreciation of the glory of God.

In this peaceful environment, it is difficult to accept the turmoil of our world today...but then possibly such a demonstration of colonial wealth is one of the roots of our present evils?

Guide books will tell you this is Quito´s most ornate church...they don´t do it justice.

La Compañía de Jesús was consacrated to St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Order of the Company of Jesus...hence why the church is known as La Compañía.

Begun in 1605 (and still incomplete) the first service was conducted in 1613. The church is based on plans from the Gesú of Rome and building was directed by Napolitan Brother Marcos Guerra S.J.. The German Jesuit priest Leonardo Deubler initiated the construction of the stone facade in 1722, and this was completed in 1765 by the Italian Brother Venancio Gandolfi S.J..

This was the church where Mariana Paredes y Flores, a Quiteña, consecrated her life to Jesus Christ within the Jesuit spirituality. She made a public offering of her life for the salvation of Quito which had been afflicted by both epidemics and earthquakes. In 1950, Pope Pius XII canonised her, and her remains rest in the ornate high altar of this church.

In 1767, the 'Pragmatic Sanction' issued by King Charles III (of Spain), expelled the Jesuits from the Royal Audience of Quito.
La Compañía Church was abandoned and from 1807 until 1850 it was entrusted to the Camilo Friars. In 1860, President Gabriel García Moreno returned the church to the Jesuits. However, the 1868 earthquake destroyed the church tower (the tallest in Quito) and again in 1987 earthquake struck partially destroying the church. Fate was not kind when in 1996 during restoration works a serious fire affected several sections of the church...but the masterpiece (and it is such) has survived, I hope for eternity!

It is easy to see why this city is a world heritage site. Renovations are going on all around. It must, after all, be difficult to preserve such wonders amongst all the pollution (particularly from the buses).

I am having a much better day today in Quito and I must share with you the joy I get from sitting in the plazas, in the streets, on steps...and just writing about the world I see before me.

I decide to put Quito to the test and I head up Venezuela on foot to the cities unfinished Basílica. The residential area surrounding the Basílica is run down and you get the clear sense of social depravation. As I walk the belching fumes of the traffic are hard to ignore. São Paulo was polluted by the sheer volume of its traffic (the cars in general were relatively new). In Quito however I find pollution that would choke a horse...the old time cars may be beautiful, but boy do they pollute. They also know how to use their horns in this city, with everyone hooting constantly. If you think the French and Italians are nuts when it comes to driving...come experience South America.

Building at the Basílica began in 1926 and the sense is more abandoned than unfinished.

In this city of architectural gems, I find the Basílica to be a diamond. It has the most stunning stained glass windows, but yet it is basically abandoned. The building has row after row of empty side altars. The high altar has the sad appearance of a provincial church. This building is so inspirational to the writer...

It stands as a monument to the abandoned dreams of a forgotten generation. There are similarities with the Cathedral in São Paulo (both churches are of a similar era)...but this Basílica is an eerie symbol of unspoken dreams; of aspirations never achieved. It stands like a monument to the lives of the people living in this section of the city.

You have to be let in by a guard, and it seems that the Basílica is not on most tourists radar...Why?...It is one of the most romantic places I have ever been...it is a building speaking to you...a symbol of much more than depravation...it is a symbol of the way the heart of the world bleeds for the ignorance and materialistic symbolism of our society.

I had expected to find a plaza filled with tourists where I could dine. Instead the walls that guard the majesty of this building are strewn with graffiti...possibly a reflection of the abandonment our young people feel...how appropriate that the expression of such feelings find their outlet here at the monument to unfilled dreams.

Today has been great here in Quito and the only issue comes from a couple of locals outside the Basílica. I explain to them in no uncertain terms where to get off...my Mum always says I would fight with my own shadow...It´s true I know! I might appear to be a tourist on my own, but I am NO target!!!

I head off (by taxi) to Mirador de Guápulo to take in the spectacular views from the cliff-side out over the Sanctuary of Guápulo. From here I decide my next job is to investigate the Mariscal area. I walk around until my senses tell me that it is not safe.

Travel should not be a dangerous activity, but you need to be careful. Play by "the rules" and always have a get-out plan.

Across from the hospital in a small park I have noted the prostitutes plying their trade and the drunks littering the walkway. I have learned from being a South London boy, and in the many other big cities I know well around the globe to keep my wits about me. Turning on my heels, I head out of an atmosphere I don´t like and back down Veintimilla to the corner of Mera & Wilson and dine at El Español.

As I enjoy my sandwich and beer I watch one of the staff taking loving care cleaning his Chevette...It takes me back to my childhood when we had a wonderful Chevette (CGD 565 X) in bright orange with brown tartan seats. You see so many Chevette´s here.

I decide late in the evening that a Friday night in Quito is the time to test the safety of the Mariscal area. I dine at Siam, where I enjoy wonderful Ecuadorian seafood with a Thai twist. And Gail (I didn´t have to peel the prawns...what a novelty!).

The reality is that this could be Kuta or any other backpacker's paradise. The shacks look the same and the venue is one of teenagers on a rite of passage. The reality is that Quito at night is no less safe than any big city, the problems are the same teenagers with too much alcohol who then find themselves in trouble.

A question that must be posed in this homogenous world of backpackers is how much we in the West are responsible for the bastardisation of local cultures and economies? The advent of the backpacker and the Western ideal of finding oneself stands in contrast to the organic growth of indigenous society.