Changing of the Guard

Monday, Oct. 22, 2017--Quito

Not much is available for tourists here on Mondays.  All museums are closed.  Maybe that is why they have a Changing of the Guard ceremony on Mondays at the Plaza Grande in front of the Presidential Palace at 11:00.

When I left the apartment at 9:30, I went the opposite direction to explore Parque la Alameda.  There were several reasons.  Besides seeing the grand sculpture of Bolivar and the building housing the oldest observatory in South America, I wanted to find the Teatro Capitol to see if any concerts are scheduled for this week.  Unfortunately, the only one is for Saturday, the night after I will have left.  Also, I wanted to search for the new temporary stop for two of the rapid bus transit lines, since I will need to go there on Friday for the first leg of my trip to the airport.  My map shows the stop in front of the supermarket where I shopped on Saturday, but the street is closed there for construction of a station for the new metro line that is being built.  Fortunately, I found the temporary stop across the park just about 1 1/2 blocks from my apartment.

Having done that and taken photos in the park, I headed toward the center of the Old Town taking more photos along the way.  When I got to the main plaza about 10:15, there was a huge crowd of people.  Some were carrying banners, others were dressed in green, and occasionally there was chanting.  Metal barriers were up and lots of policeman were on duty.  It seemed to me to be a political rally. 

I went inside the nearby Casa Cultural Metropolitan which is a large colonial building which is beautifully restored and houses the library and a museum.  I wandered through it enjoying the architecture.  I was even able to go out on the rooftop where I saw that the crowd on the plaza had not moved and was apparently there for the changing of the guard, since it was then 11:45 and guards on horseback were forming below.  (It was also interesting to see on another part of the rooftop a mural painted on the attached wall of an adjoining church that was critical of the Church.  It showed a nude man tied to the church by a rope attached to his penis with the claim that the Church keeps the people down.)

As I left the building, I noticed a few people standing on a raised (because of the slant of the ground) sidewalk in front of the Cathedral.  Up there, it was like standing on a balcony.  I was able to stand behind two short Ecuadorian men and look down on the plaza and the ceremonies.  There probably couldn't have been a better observation area.

Soldiers with long flagpoles topped by small banners positioned themselves between columns on the second and third floors of the palace.  Then a band, while playing, marched across the second floor balcony, down the side stairs on to the street, and into the center of the square.  They were followed by buglers coming from the opposite side, more soldiers with banners from both sides, and mounted guards from both sides.  Honored guests on the balcony were recognized, the national anthem was played and sung while the flag was being raised over the palace, the buglers played a fanfare, and the band played another patriotic song which the audience sang.  Then the procession was repeated in reverse with each group exiting on the opposite side of the palace from the one where they had entered.

It was a great ceremony.  I understand that the President sometimes makes an appearance on the balcony as part of it.  He didn't today, but I thought I heard the vice-president being introduced among the dignitaries.

Rain, with a 90 percent chance, had been forecasted to start at 9:30, but it was still sunny at 11:30 when the ceremony ended.  I walked further into Old Town and walked down La Ronda.  It is a narrow, cobblestoned street which is one of the oldest in town.  It is lined with galleries, restaurants, bars, artists' workshops, etc., and the buildings are painted in bright colors.  It was rather dead around noon, but I think it is liveliest in the evenings.

On the way home, I stopped at a bakery and bought two pastries.  I had one with coffee when I got here at 12:30.  At 13:30, the rain finally arrived with lightning and thunder and continued for about two hours.  Then it remained cloudy.  I didn't go back out, because I seem to be developing a sore throat.  I already have food for tonight including the second pastry, so I have stayed in bed resting and reading.