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..



TripAdvisor and LonelyPlanet are full of warnings that reckless or not, tourists should not wander around and not walk these narrow streets alone. As much as I agree that safety should always be on the forefront ones mind, I must say I am not sure I get why so much drama is being imposed. It is true that on my first day what stroke me as strange was that the organized groups of toursits, which I encountered a few, were accompanied by the police. It made me somehow uneasy to think that here I was all alone, while the 'normal tourists' are properly taking care of their safety.
What is more interesting, this uneasy feeling of being an easy target for Ecuadorian crime element is also fueled by local guides and tourism authorities (like Tourists Information for example). I met one local guide by chance, while having a late breakfast at one of the eateries. I was alone and he was having a lonely meal too, so we tried to communicate in broken English (he did not have much) and Spanish (I felt embarrassed for not speaking almost any Spanish). I pulled my map and he circle a small part of the Old Town where I should feel relatively safe. Outside of that circle - "not safe for tourists". It was one of several warnings I was going to receive that day.

Plaza Grande at dawn.

Apart from being on a mission of making me comfortable with Hispanic culture, trying to grasp some of the Spanish and finding local food, I also took on board a missions of selling my old electronics. Listen to this. In case you did not know, there is a strict policy on importing/ bringing electronics. In short world one cannot bring more than two pieces of each type of equipment with them. For example you can only bring one old/used phone and one new smartphone device. Only one used and one new camera. Only one used and one new laptop. The list goes on. Another interesting fact is that prices of electronic equipment are sky high in Ecuador, partly due to the market being closed I am guessing. This is also means that Ecuadorians are few generations behind what the current Western markets are offering.
Guess what.  If you dare, you can bring your old electronics and sell it there, and make it partially cover cost of your traveling. I am one of those doomed people who take challenges like that on board. So I brought with me 3 smartphones, partially hoping that I will be able to sell at least one of those, and use the other one for local communication. Another important point is that Ecuador's GSM network is 850 GHz frequency as the most common. It means that not all the phone/smartphone devices will be able to pickup the signal. (More info here: 3G 850 Mhz Claro; 3G 2100 MOVISTAR; 4G LTE CNT Mobile 1700Mhz).