Quito, Ecuador It's been a long day. I'm writing this at 7:35 PM; we've just gotten back to the hotel and will be eating dinner around 8. We're all pretty exhausted, but today was definitely worth the energy we put into it. We spent most of our time driving through the Cloud Forest - part of one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. We didn't see a whole lot of wildlife, but as we were hiking through the woods the students and I saw some sort of critter. It took off before we could take a picture, but it looked something like a rabbit with the head of a beaver. Some sort of cryptid? For me, the highlight of today was learning about the indigenous history of this country. For some reason, the story our guide told us about the significance of this place haunted me all day. At the risk of writing too long of a post, I'll go ahead and tell it: Ecuador was not always called by that name, but it was always considered significant because of its geographical location. The capital city of Quito straddles the Equator, the very middle of the world in terms of latitude, and for the indigenous Quitocaras, this meant that this land was as close to the Sun--their most powerful god--as they could be. (As a side note, these ancient peoples did know the exact location of the equator. To them, it was "Intinan" - the Path of the Sun. In fact, they were more accurate in terms of where the middle of the world lay than the French scientists who were dispatched in the 1700s to divine the Equator with mathematics.) The Quitorcaras were not the only people who worshipped the Sun God, however, and therefore, not the only people who coveted the land of the Sun's Path. The Incas--conquering northern neighbors--had not only the fervor to fight for the land, they also had the propensity for violence. So it was that the Quitocaras and the Incas (along with several other groups) fought on behalf of their gleaming god. Decades (centuries?) of Holy War. And then a Spaniard called Francisco Pizzaro arrived and made all quarrels over who owned Intinan irrelevant by way of the flaming tips of his muskets. I feel there's some sort of lesson to be had here. The obvious lesson, I suppose, is that there's always a bigger fish. Sure, the Quitocaras had their hands full fighting off their powerful Incan neighbors, but what could any of them do against the Gods of the Galleons who crossed the sea? But I think that's too simple. I think the irony of the nature of their conflict is truly where the significance of this story lies. The Quitocaras, the Incas, they fought for the the love and worship of their god. Pizzaro, he was in it for wealth. The region of Ecuador wasn't even his first stop; he joined the conquistador Balboa in establishing Panama City long before he set his eyes on the highlands. There's a lot to unpack here. I could go on all night. But now it's time for dinner. - By Damian May
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