Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chuchaqui
Kichwa word meaning 'hangover'. When you see someone looking dismal on a Sunday in
La Mariscal, it's because they're Chuchaqui.
Full
Ecuadorians like to exaggerate, and this Quiteño word can add an extra drop of drama to
any sentence. Another spin on an English word, 'full' means very or really. For instance, a
thunderstorm could be described as '
full lluvia
' or 'a lot of rain'.
Chévere
Chévere can be 'great', 'nice' or 'cool'. It's especially popular in Quito to dramatize
things by adding '-
azo
' at the end of a sentence, meaning that something was
really
great.
As in 'the Mitad del Mundo was chévere, but the Capilla del Hombre was
cheverazo
.'
Bacan
Unlike chévere, bacan is used namely by the younger crowd, meaning 'awesome'.
Neighborhood Guides
Centro Histórico
Quito's main attraction has to be the
Centro Histórico
, or Old Town, a centuries-old colo-
nial neighborhood built by pre-Colombian laborers and accentuated upon later by the
Spanish, distinguishing it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's narrow cobblestone
streets lined by squat houses awash in pastels are packed with foot and car traffic that cas-
cade up and down dramatic hills, routinely relieved by grand plazas steeped in history.
The Old Town's star boulevard,
La Ronda
(24 de Mayo and García Moreno), is a must-
visit that twists up an archaic street home to obscure café-bars and Andean folk bands that
serenade passersby. There's no better place to try your first
Canelazo.
The
Plaza San Francisco
(Simon Bolívar and Cuenca street) is a good place to start a
sightseeing tour of the Old Town; a broad square strewn with cobbled tiles where local
kids chase masses of pigeons and which basks in the shadow of
Iglesia de San Francisco
,
whose massive baroque structure dates back to the 1500s.
La Basílica
(Venezuela and
Carchi) is a majestic neo-gothic church that leads as the largest in the world. Inside, one
can gaze at bronze apostles, grotesques of Ecuadorian animals and climb the 377 foot
