Celebrity Xpedition - Day 2 - Equatorial Line Monument

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Following lunch at El Crater we boarded our motor coaches for a short ride to the Middle of the World (la Mitad del Mundo) Monument. This famous monument marks the equatorial line: the centre of our planet earth: 0˚-0'-0" Latitude. It is possible to straddle both hemispheres at the same time.



This 30-meter-tall monument, located 10 kilometres north of the city of Quito, Ecuador, marks one of the points where the equator goes through the country. Inside the monument is a museum about the indigenous ethnography of Ecuador. The first thing we did when we got inside the musuem was to take the elevator to the observation deck which offers spectacular views of the surrounding area.

After touring the museum we did some shopping at the boutiques located on the grounds of the monument. A special Equator passport stamp is available at the museum. The stamp is also available at the Celebrity Xpedition hospitality desk at the JW Marriott Hotel.

This stop concluded our Quito tour. We boarded the motor coaches and returned to the hotel where we had some free time before our group dinner.

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Celebrity Xpedition - Day 2 - El Crater

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After visiting Quito's historic Old Town, we boarded the motor coaches for a ride to El Crater Restaurant. This restaurant is built inside a volcanic crater and offers 360 degree views of the crater Pululahua.

The Pululahua Geo-botanical Reserve is located 30 minutes North from Quito near the Mitad del Mundo Monument. Pululahua means "smoke of water" in the indigenous language Quichua. The Pululahua is an inactive volcano which its last eruption was believed it happened around the year 500 B.C.

Fog was starting to roll in when we arrived at the restaurant so our guide suggested that we take our pictures of the crater before going inside for lunch. We took his advice and took several pictures which you can see in our Quito - Lunch Stop photo album.

Our menu included choice of beverage including local beer or a blackberry smoothie made from locally grown fruit. The entree choices were chicken and beef along with potatoes and vegetables. We enjoyed our meal while viewing the crater from the restaurant's windows.

Following lunch, we once again boarded our motor coaches for a short ride to the Equatorial Line Monument. I'll talk more about our visit there in my next post. Our day in Quito was quite lovely so far with Celebrity Xpeditions staff providing a very organized tour.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Quito Photo Albums:

Quito - Old Town
Quito - Lunch Stop
Quito - Equator

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Celebrity Xpedition - Day 2 - Quito Old Town

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Saturday, August 30th we began our day in Quito with a breakfast buffet in the Executive Lounge on the 9th floor of the JW Marriott Hotel. There were a selection of fresh fruits and juices which were so different than the ones back home. The pineapple really stuck out in my mind - it was a lighter color and very sweet. There also were a selection of hot foods and pastries.

Celebrity Xpeditions pre-cruise stay includes complimentary use of the lounge. Besides breakfast, snacks and Hors D'oeuvres are served there later in the day. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, and bottled water are also complimentary. One glass of wine or local beer is also included.


After breakfast we met the Xpeditions staff in the hotel lobby and boarded one of the four luxury buses that were chartered for our group. Celebrity Xpeditions staff really pays attention to details to make the cruisetour special. The bus seats were covered with the Xpeditions logo (pictured above).

Our first stop was at the Basilica of the National Vow, (Spanish: Basílica del Voto Nacional) a Roman Catholic church located in Quito, Ecuador. The basilica stands on a steep hill to the northeast of the old town and can be seen from almost everywhere in the city. We only had enough time for a photo stop both exterior and interior. It is unfortunate that we didn't climb up the bell tower because it offers several vantage points of the city. The stained-glass windows in the church are outstanding, equaling those that we've seen in Europe for example.

After a short bus ride, we arrived at Plaza de Independencia, in the heart of the Quito old town, which is walled by the four pillars of society, the Cathedral , Presidential Palace (Carondelet Palace) , the Archbishop’s Palace and the Municipal Palace.

We entered the Presidential Palace from its north side, passing the guards. Two ‘toy-soldier’ guards, decked out in antiquated gold and blue uniforms, the Grenadiers of Tarqui, flank the main entrance. After getting pictures taken with the palace guards, we toured the exterior of the palace.

We toured several of the other historic buildings in the old town area including the monastery, before boarding our coach for the drive to El Crater Restaurant for lunch.

As we headed away from Old Town we got a glimpse of El Panecillo (the Virgin Monument) which towers over the city of Quito. View our Quito Old Town album for many more pictures.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Additional Quito Albums:

Quito - Lunch Stop
Quito - Equator

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I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.

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Celebrity Xpedition - Day 1

Friday, August 29th seemed like any other morning as we got out of bed, took our showers, and got dressed. We went downstairs for some breakfast as usual. Sounds pretty normal - right?

You are probably starting to wonder why I'm telling you about what appears to be a normal day.
Did I mention it was my husband's birthday? Ok, but that still doesn't explain why I'm telling you this. I suppose you want some more hints, so I'll oblidge.

If you were at our house, you would have noticed duffel type suitcases and backpacks lined up by the door. (I can't give you a bigger hint than that.) Now it's making sense, this must have been the departure day for a cruise. You guessed it!

Since the end of July 2007 we had been waiting for this day to arrive. While aboard Celebrity Century on our North Cape cruise, we booked the Celebrity Xpedition 10 night Galapagos cruise. It seemed like an enternity since we made our reservation.

Celebrity Xpedition has a capacity of 92 passengers, so it is necessary to plan far in advance. There were several dates we could have gone but we selected the August 29th departure to take advantage of the Labor Day holiday. It would mean my husband could take one less vacation day. Also, we would be able to celebrate his birthday in Quito, Ecuador.

We had an early morning flight to Miami, Florida where we would change planes for Qutio, Ecuador. There was a slight delay in Miami, but for the most part, it was an uneventful travel day.

Arriving in Quito, we deplaned and walked down a long corridor to baggage claim. The first thing we noticed was a sign that said slow down you are at an altitude of 2,850 m (about 9,350 ft). Since we were pulling a carry-on bag, we did take their advice.

Celebrity Xpeditions staff greeted us as we arrived in the baggage hall. We completed the customs and imigration process and took our luggage to the waiting buses. Our guide gave us bottled water and explained that we had a short ride (about 15 minutes) to the JW Marriott Hotel, Quito.

We arrived at the hotel and went inside to register. There were tables set up in the lobby to accomodate us. After checking in, we took the elevator to our room. The luggage was brought to our room shortly after that.

Our hotel room was located on the eighth floor. We had a beautiful room with a view of the pool area and Quito. Click on the picture above or for a closer look, view my J W Marriott Quito album.

The rest of the night we were on our own. We stayed in the hotel room, unpacked a few things, and watched some television. The next morning we'd have breakfast and embark on a city tour.

August 29th wasn't a normal day for us afterall. We woke up in one continent, North America, and went to sleep in another, South America. This was just Day 1 of an amazing journey that I will share with you.