Some of the Catholic Heritage in Quito

We spent Wednesday checking out Old Town and all the shops there. There are cathedrals and Basilica's .... many, many of them. The pictures in this series are from the Basilica del Voto Nacionel, which is the National Church Building. Catholicism is the natinonal religion. The church is huge... I have many, many pics but here are a few highlights. It takes up a block. After taking some respectful time in the sanctuary, we walked through a courtyard on the side that reminded me of the Abbey in Sound of Music... way cool. We then took a small elevator that takes you on a self tour through the top of the church. We were walking over the ceiling.... I hope the pictures show that. Then, you clime up to where the low part of the spires are. Jerry and Mesias went up the nest two steep ladders to inside the spire. I was a bit nervous about that.... so I stayed on my level.

These picture are from two other churches. Like I said, I have so many, I would just bore you. That's gold on the ceiling and altar on the one picture. The other I was trying to show the original frescas had been covered up by plaster. Remember, these building are hundreds of years old.