Some familiar, some not...

---

It’s been pretty much a full day here in Quito with me exploring and I have much to write on my observations. I actually did not bring my camera with me yet today as I wanted to get a feel for the city and where I should or shouldn’t go with an expensive camera. That said, I will be fine taking pictures tomorrow and will publish them to the blog (plus have just for the sake of having them). That said, check out this blog after tomorrow night. I should be able to add pictures to this particular blog that fit this blog, plus do a new one for what I see tomorrow and the coming days.

There’s two things to talk about that are easy to start with: the weather and the news. Obviously, anyone could look online and see the weather for this city but there is something about actually being in the city and experiencing it. There’s this mental mind game that says being basically on the Equator, it should be warm and sunny. Ah contraire...it seemed more like Minneapolis in September (or maybe London...I’ve never been there). It was cloudy most of the day with occasional rain. The temp struggled to get out to 60F, I’d guess. What is probably more fascinating is knowing that really not all that far away we will drop 9300 feet to sea level and the temp will warm to what you’d think Equator is supposed to be like.

The second item...let’s get it out of the way. Yes, there is all sorts of bad news going on right now regarding Ecuador and Colombia, with Chavez in Venezuela thinking he needs to get involved because he gets to twist stories around and remind us how much he hates America. You may all be waiting to hear about the anti-American wrath in the Ecuadorian people (since their government is not happy with President Uribe of Colombia for entering their country and killing people, plus with Colombia apparently being backed by the United States). I’ll tell you - though everyone is going about their business in the city just like every other day, I can tell they’re plotting. Even when they all seem to walk by this gringo and hardly give a second look (though, I am definitely in the minority...at times the lone gringo) I bet they’re thinking as they walk by “down with America!” As I walk by the coffee shops or cafes, I can see them sitting there talking. No doubt quietly planning their protests and eventual run on the U.S. Embassy. It’s just electric in the area the plans they are planning...

Okay, I’ll stop...if this country is near the brink of war, they sure aren’t showing it in Quito. People are going to and from work, shopping, catching buses to wherever they are going, playing games in the parks, going out for dinner, all those things you normally do in your life. Perhaps the only sign of trouble is one spraypainted spot that, if I understand correctly, calls for the assassination of President Uribe of Colombia. That certainly isn’t good, but you can see similar graffiti even in the U.S., and this graffiti wasn’t explicitly anti-American. In fact, I really have seen basically no explicitly anti-American sentiment. Things could always change but right now, there seems to be little to worry about. I will tell you, for all my worriers back home, I am registered with the Embassy should things suddenly get ugly, and I did find the Embassy today should the need arise. Finally, I emailed an American who has lived in Ecuador for about two years and his sense - for what it’s worth - is that it will hopefully calm down in a few days - it’s mostly a war of words. Finally, the trouble is currently at the northern border of Ecuador and Colombia - nowhere near Quito and nowhere I was planning on going anyway. That said, let’s talk about my observations of what’s similar and what isn’t...

I suppose we can start with food. Yes, while there’s the somewhat typical food you’d expect to see in Latin America, don’t worry about me. I have yet to see a restaurant serving cuy (I’ll let you Google it if you don’t already know...) That said, if I get too desperate, Quitenos apparently like KFC and McDonalds isn’t too far away. Now, what happens once outside the big city remains to be seen, but for now as long as I can stumble through some Spanish words I’ll get some food I can eat. As far as KFC and McDonalds being here (the McD’s even has an “Auto-Mac”, or drive thru), so much for not having an American influence on the country. However, if KFC or McD’s sucked, it wouldn’t have likely made it here, so viva the free market!

I couldn’t help but observe the buildings, at least in the Mariscal Sucre and Simon Bolivar neighborhoods I was in today is that many of the buildings seem rather utilitarian and, to be honest, pretty drab. Very “boxy” and either in drab colors, left in unpainted concrete, or in need of new paint desparately. There are then those buildings that are in some state of either being built or in complete disrepair - I couldn’t usually tell which other than there didn’t seem to be much evidence of cranes or other equipment leading one to think it is currently being built. I will say most of the areas I visited today don’t seem to hold a lot of tourist promise, but then again they maybe aren’t meant to be. I can find interest in just seeing life in general, but realize a typical tourist isn’t looking to see daily life - even if it is quite different from our daily life.

I also have to warn you about sidewalks. They do exist throughout all the areas I was in, but are uneven to say the least. I almost tripped a few times and definitely you would want to stay alert. It goes up and down, is uneven, and is missing on occasion (though not terribly so). It is good to have them as the drivers here don’t seem particularly concerned about pedestrians, but just be careful on those sidewalks.

As far as traffic, it seems to go okay and somewhat follows stopsigns, uses turn signals, etc., if you are a pedestrian you have to do a balancing act between being agressive enough to just go as soon as you can manage, but yet step lively. Again, with the drivers not so concerned about you walking, you have to get yourself out there to get where you want to go, but know they are unlikely to be very patient.

You should also know about police and security officers - they’re seemingly everywhere. I am told by Pete (a cousin of a co-worker at the Holiday Inn who has traveled extensively as a tour guide), it is just the Latin American culture - definitely so here. The National Police (as opposed to a city police force) were very visible much of the time in the city and all carried guns, of course. However, many of the private businesses employed guards to stand at the door, much more so than you see even in places like New York. I think it was about 50-50 if these guards had guns, but had mace or big batons if no gun. They will all civil and unless you deserved it you’ll have no trouble, but something of which to be mindful.

There are some definite positive things about Quito, however. I’m not sure what I was going to expect, but probably somewhat compared it to Managua, Nicaragua and my previous visit there. Quito is a reasonably well-lit city. I don’t recall any area where there were not at least some street lights (which is different from Managua). I am also pleasantly surprised by the lack of begging. I was approached very few times, but was never hassled. Frankly, I’ve been begged for change more in big cities back home than here (not the least of which my home town Minneapolis). It is to Quito’s credit that there seems to be such a small problem with begging. To be honest, I don’t remember even that many blatantly homeless people. I’m sure they’re there as you can see some signs of poverty, but this part wasn’t so obvious.

There also is an energy in the city. Managua was so spread out and there never seemed to be a “city synergy” or feeling you were in a core. Quito, however, seemed to have people out and about. A fair amount of people were “dressed up”. There was this feeling that this is not a desperately poor city, even with signs of blight. I didn’t really ever feel unsafe where I was (lost at one point, and it was starting to quiet down on those streets, but not really unsafe). The city did start quieting down around 6-7PM like many big cities, but the action was then moving back towards the area I’m staying in, Mariscal Sucre...

Mariscal Sucre appears to be definitely one area where nightlife exists and one can go for drinking, dancing, and dining. Now, it is nicknamed “Gringoland”, and for good reason. It is where a lot of us gringos gravitate towards as the sun goes down (though there were many Quitenos too), and the prices reflect it being more of a touristy, “gringo-y” area. That said, I still had a sit down dinner that was filling (a typical Venezuelan dish that included rice with black beans, shredded beef, and plaintain with cheese...sort of like a cornbread?), plus I had a rum and coke that seemed nearly half rum that came to $11 with tax and tip included. Frankly, not so bad...back home it would have easily passed $20 at a comparable restaurant. And, again, this was in the more trendy, touristy area in a restaurant that was full service with china and a flat screen television. By the time I got to really eating dinner, I was past looking for the cheaper local option, though I’m sure I could find one.

Another interesting thing I found by chance today while walking was the “Espiral Shopping Center”. The stores themselves weren’t particularly memorable (other than there seemed to be a high proportion of “video games” stores for kids to go play -not buy, just play- X Box or whatever) but the layout was a little crazy. Picture a big cylinder or silo. The stores were situated along the outer edge of the building and on the inside was a spiraling hallway. You either were constantly walking uphill or downhill, depending on your direction. It went about 9 stories high! It was odd to see all the stores level but unless you walked into one you were on a spiraling incline to the store. I have to go back and get pictures of it...

Finally, there was one more thing I noticed about Quito, the hostals. Perhaps it’s a sign that the city hasn’t quite reached a status of being able to support too many full-fledged hotels but rather mostly just budget travelers right now looking for something different to explore (maybe something I can contribute towards changing?) However, hostals in this town are sort of like Dunkin’ Donuts on the East Coast - you’re hard pressed to swing a dead cat and not hit one. In Quito it’s hostals, on the East Coast of the U.S. donut shops. It is amazing to me there is enough demand to support this many hostals. Admittedly, hostals are cheap to stay in and presumably to run, which may be why there are so many. However, if you got here without a place to go my guess is there is almost no chance you’ll have to sleep on the street. Just go to “Gringoland” or anywhere near and you’ll find a hostal. Eventually, one has to have an opening (of course, there is the question of whether you’d want to stay at that one, but that’s another issue.)

Overall, while I am going to “Ciudad Viejo” (the Old Town) tomorrow for what I think will be more tourist oriented attractions, one could be in this town and not feel completely depressed (even with the drab buildings).

Okay, time to do some other putzy stuff online and call it a night. I did a lot of walking today...

---