First day in Ecuador and I have risked my life more than once, according to some

I'm not joking with that I went far today, in terms of crossing norms that are reserved for tourists. I will be trying to catch a night bus to Lago Agrio as soon as I finish my English tea (which is a weird thing in Ecuador, they do not celebrate tea time at all here). It is a little challenge to get where I need to be without using taxis. But hey bus tickets will cost me 0,5$ while taxi is 10$ ;)))

View of the Quito Old City from the El Panecillo (45-meter-tall stone monument of Madonna)

I hope you can appreciate how beautifully located Quito is.

$10 is a small charge, insignificant almost, so why bother with public transportation? Because taking taxis or private drivers it takes away all the fun of catching local buses. There is a point where having a private driver can enhance traveling experience, if you are fluent in local language and can engage in a meaningful conversation with your driver. That can be enriching and I wish I could speak Spanish! Otherwise using public forms of transportation lets me experience how people move about their daily lives.  So how did I risk my life today? Well..

Let me tell you about my day. After a short night - I arrived in Hostel Minka well after midnight - I hit the streets of Quito at a reasonable 9 am around with a plan to walk all over the Old Town left and right. First impression wasn't exactly favorable. You know how it is, you arrive in a strange city in a strange culture, how to make it easy to assimilate and blend in? It is a tough job. Sundays in Ecuador are particularly strange because most businesses do not open and the only thing that keeps people moving is the mass attendance. This produces a view of empty streets and only churches being full. I happen to have arrived on Sunday so my first impression was just that!

But I did not get discouraged, rightly so. As the day developed more people were coming out to hang around. Around lunch time it was busy enough to make me feel more comfortable. My first steps have been to the Basilica, as I was so close to it. Surprised faces of people watching be go around the beautiful inside of the church.  

The back view of  the Basilica of the National Vow (Basílica del Voto Nacional). Not many people take on the challenge of climbing the hill and taking the rear view. It is really beautiful though.

I admired the details of the Basilica, I found it harmonious and well designed.

I stumbled upon this cute little celebration in from of the Basilica. Apparently these young ladies have finished their rehearsals and took the opportunity of having their pictures taken by a family photographer. All of their friends and family were there to celebrate their accomplishment together. It was fun to watch them posing.

El Panceillo hill, the Basilica in the background.

Here I was taking this shot while climbing towards El Panecillo. It is a steep climb, hundreds of steps and narrow street. The top part, after you pass a little football court, goes through private possessions and the street is narrow enough for one person only. There are dogs lying on the steps and chilling, if you dare to pass them on your own.. I did not. I waited for local hosts to be outside and possibly heading in the same direction than me. They have a way of dealing with the dogs which I am not going to explain here..

on the way to Ecuador first taste of drama

The thing is that you never expect things to go wrong before you hit the road. If you are familiar with risk management you may try to build complicated mitigation plans and alternative plans in case you plan A does not work. The truth is that while on the road anything and everything can happen. 
When I was on the bus to Cape Tribulations I was forewarn specifically that land slides and river floods were not uncommon. In the event of unlucky weather conditions one can get literally stuck, separated from any means of transportation. God forbid if a life threathening injury occurs during this time. You'd better have air evacuation purchased with your insurance premium. 

my anti mosquito artilery

Equipped with all past learnings and experiences I did purchase evacuation package with my premium ;) I dont intend to get friendly with anacondas or piranias of this world, but better be safe than sorry. Even a simple injury can become deadly if not treated and prolonged for a long period of time. I feel I am loaded with all the first aid medicments, the stuff I never use in a daily life. Antiobiotics, oitments, 6 types of tablets for all sorts of medical problems, bandaids, headcold infection, nasal infection, throat soureness, headache, pain... makes me feel sick just writing all of it. You are probably wondering. All this because I dont speak local language and from what I udnerstand it can be quite challenging to obtain meds that are legitimate. A lot of medical products get forged or is simply unavailable. It was even stronger case in South Asia. Besides who wants to spend time looking for GP recommendations when I can simply diagnose myself and take what I think is right for me at that particular time. You need to know yourself, this is also true. Are you prone to indigestion or infections? What are the typical symptoms that make you look for medication and what symptoms are known to sort themselves out? Are you pain-sesitive or can you cope? 
This time I decided to take Malaron with me. As you may know it is a globally known anti-malaria drug. In the past, when i Mekong Delta or up country Burma I was taking a risk with not taking this drug. The side effects of the drug scared me and the number of people who suffers from side effects seems greater than other drugs (it is ~5%). Not this time, I have a feeling there will be lots of options for me when I arrive in the Oriente and I may decide to stay in the lowlands for longer time that all my previous times in malaria reported areas. 2-4 days I can risk, but if I go longer say 5-10, I think the risk goes significantly up. Using DEET at least 40% (lower % does not have sufficient protection from amazonian mosquitos) reduced the risk, also knowledge what species of mosquitos are active at what times and what diseases they can spread. All this fun stuff to learn! ;) 
I dag out my mosquito repellent I brought from Burma. By average a 150-200ml DEET container lasts me about two weeks. By the time I was on my third week in Burma I run out of my American DEET and I was forced to go and explore local options. It turned out that this India produced repllent did excellent job, so I brought few tubes with me and now I have it with me here in Ecuador. Backup plan, tested.