On my first day in Ecuador the entire cast was finally united and we strolled through Old Town on our way to El Panecillo (the Little Bread Loaf), a famous hill with incredible views of Quito.
Perched on the hill and presiding over the city is an enormous statue of La Virgen de Quito, apparently the only Madonna in the world depicted with wings and – get this – a chained dragon at her feet. At first you don’t notice the dragon because the statue itself is so regal and impressive. But then you realize that she’s holding a chain…attached to a dragon and you think, Wow, this virgin doesn’t mess around.
Aside from the astounding views, we fell in love with a stray dog we named Zeus, and bought him some crackers in lieu of taking him home with us, which we seriously debated.
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Holy crap what is up with Ecuadorian symbolism? How is that canon?
La Virgen de Quito is most likely the Blessed Mother, aka the Mother of Jesus. Ecuador, like most Latin and South American countries, is predominantly Catholic and statues are often found throughout South America honoring Mary. There is a very remote statue perched on a tiny bit of rock in one of the final, very narrow, passages at the southern most end of the ferry route in the Chilean archapeligo that is dedicated to St. Mary as the patron saint of sailors. The “dragon” at her feet, is most likely a serpent, representing Satan and the chain and her standing on the serpent represents Mary’s triumph over him/sin. Your blogs are excellent, informative and definitely give the flavor of the places you are visiting. looking forward to more.