The first stop of the day was exploring the district of the, “Estado Independentista de Guápulo”. The small plaza in the district has a statute of Sebastián de Benalcázar. This is because this explorer was one of the Spanish conquistadors that freed the city of the Quito from the Incas in 1534 and the district of Guápulo was located inside of the city of Quito when he conquered the land. Since then, it has become an independent district, apart from the city of Quito. The plaza where this statute is located is an ideal place for picture taking because of it’s high elevation. Here is a picture of the statute of Sebastián de Benalcázar, which is located on the plaza.

Here is a picture that I took from the plaza.

Here is a selfie that I took from the plaza.

The next stop of the day was to visit the, “Basilica del Voto National”.  This is a very famous Catholic Church. It’s unofficial Facebook page is located here. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bas%C3%ADlica-del-Voto-Nacional/132958213411270

Here is a picture that I took of part of the front of the church.

Here is a picture that I took of part of one side of the church.

 

 

Here is a picture that I took of the part of the church where mass is held.

The last stop today was the visit the, “Virgin of Quito”. This statute is on a mountain and can be seen from the entire city of Quito. Here is a picture that I took.

Finally, we went out to dinner at a very nice restaurant. Sadly, it was the last day of the trip and we would be leaving to go back to the US that night. Here is a picture of the menu at the restaurant where we ate.

In conclusion, this trip was one of the best I have even been on in 59 years of life. Thanks to our trip leader, Dr. Raul Leon from Eastern Michigan University for arranging such a great study abroad opportunity.