Latacunga vs Bloemfontein

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Latacunga (Spanish pronunciation: [lataˈkuŋɡa]; Quechua: Latakunga) is a plateau town of Ecuador, capital of the Cotopaxi Province, 89 km (55 mi) south of Quito, near the confluence of the Alaquez and Cutuchi rivers to form the Patate, the headstream of the Pastaza. At the time of census 2010 Latacunga had 98,355 inhabitants, largely mestizo and indigenous. Latacunga took its independence from Spain on November 11, 1820.Latacunga is an hour and half south from Quito on the Pan-American Highway. It was previously also on the old road from Quito to Guayaquil, and has a railway station between those cities. It is 9,055 ft (2,760 m). above sea level. Its climate is cold and windy, due to the neighboring snowclad heights, and the barren, pumice-covered tableland on which it stands. The active volcano Cotopaxi is only 25 km. away, and the town has suffered repeatedly from eruptions. Founded in 1534, it was four times destroyed by earthquakes between 1698 and 1798.

The neighboring ruins of an older native town are said to date from the Incas Empire. Latacunga's most noted food is chugchucaras, empanadas, plantains, popcorn, and tostado (a type of toasted corn). Often, food is mixed with ají, a type of condiment that can be mild to very spicy depending on its preparation. The Latacunga economy is dependent on agriculture, floriculture and commerce. It has an international airport, the Cotopaxi International Airport, that is not used for international passenger use, but as an Air Force base and some special commercial flights. The local volcanic activity has led to the accumulation of pumice deposits which are currently mined, as well as the presence of natural sparkling water, which is bottled under the brand name San Felipe. The airplane scene in the film Maria Full of Grace was filmed out of the Latacunga airport using local extras. The landscape seen from the plane is the area surrounding Latacunga.

Source: Wikipedia

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Bloemfontein ( BLOOM-fon-tayn; Afrikaans: [ˈblumfɔntɛin]; also known as Bloem) is the capital city of the province of Free State of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals (the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital) and is the seventh largest city in South Africa. Situated at an elevation of 1,395 m (4,577 ft) above sea level, the city is home to approximately 520,000 residents and forms part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of 747,431. It was one of the host cities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The city of Bloemfontein hosts the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, the Franklin Game Reserve, Naval Hill, the Maselspoort Resort and the Sand du Plessis Theatre. The city hosts numerous museums, including the National Women's Monument, the Anglo-Boer War Museum, the National Museum, and the Oliewenhuis Art Museum.

Bloemfontein also host sub-Saharan Africa's first digital planetarium, the Naval Hill Planetarium and Boyden Observatory, an astronomical research observatory erected by Harvard University. Bloemfontein is popularly and poetically known as "the city of roses", for its abundance of these flowers and the annual rose festival held there. The city's Sesotho name is Mangaung, meaning "place of cheetahs". Its !Orakobab name is ǀʼAuxa ǃXās or ǀKxʼauxa ǃXās (Khoekhoegowab spelling: ǀAuxa !Khās), which refers to Jan Bloem II, known as !Xās-aob or Blumtseb who was a gaokxʼaob (chief) of the ǀŨdiǁʼaes (Springbok Clan) of the !Ora ("Korana") nation, whose kraal was the original settlement before the city was built.

Source: Wikipedia