Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Life around La Merced


La Merced is a church in the centre of Quito - the capital city of Ecuador. I went there without expecting anything in particular but instead I found a hive of life buzzing all around it. Here are a few images of what I saw.


[Above and below] Friar Carlo was very kind. The church wasn't open for visitors at the time I passed by but he happily invited me in.


[Below] This young boy was playing the saintly goal-keeper as his older brother was attempting to score against the high wall of the church.


[Below] These shoe-shine boys were sitting on the steps of the plaza in front of the church. I did eventually get them to smile.


[Below] Shoes of a shoe-shine.


[Below] The weathered hand of a young boy forced to shine shoes to survival.



[Below] A lovely lady waiting for the doors of Iglesia San Francisco to open so she could continue volunteering with its renovation. She invited me to several church services.


[Below] The view from the steps of San Francisco Church.




* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Related Posts

- Holy architecture
- Iguanas in Ecuador
- Chiropractic in Ecuador



4 comments:

dancuré said...

Beautiful pictures. Reminds me of when I went there visiting.

You just missed one very important thing: the street in front of the church is called CHILE:

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4007/dsc00370c.jpg

As an extra, I'd like to share with you a picture where you can see my sister (white female to the right), my dad (white hat, next to my sister) and my brother (green shirt, next to my dad).

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/8890/dsc00371i.jpg

And... Me... I took a dump on a little shopping center across the street, on a corner (by the fountains).

As I was sitting "on the throne", I could see a little incense clipped against the door, on the outer side. The place was such a small place and with no windows, that that's what they thought was the best to fight odors:

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/7773/dsc00373o.jpg



Un gran abrazo desde el Puerto Querido,
Dan.

Fun & Fact said...

What a BEAUTIFUL site-such a treat when you can't go yourself-wonderful photos!! Thanks so much

Ara said...

Dan - haha... I'm very glad to have been walking the same footsteps as you, once again. Thanks for sharing those photos. And my apologies for forgetting to mention the street with the fantastic name. :)

Saksham - thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments. I hope you continue visiting frequently in the future. :)

Vacation Deals said...

great place..
amazing pictures..
you really give emphasis to the church and the peopel surroundiing it..
love the idea..

Post a Comment