First senses of Quito

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Before arriving in Quito, Ecuador, I knew little of what to expect from the city, or from South America overall. I just hoped my 31 pound backpack and arsenal of altitude and anti-diarrhea pills would suffice for the 4 month journey, which would begin in Quito. On the plane ride, I was a bit more wound up than I normally am before travelling. What is the food like? Will the people be nice? How long before I am robbed? What does "pincha" mean in Español? Well, now that I have been here for one whole week, I have some of the answers. I thought I would share them with those of you who plan on going to Quito (and maybe for those armchair travellers who never intend to visit at all). At the risk of being cliche, I will take the easy way out and explain how the city stimuli assauled my senses in the first few days.

SOUNDS- LOUD. On the first morning, we strolled through Centro Historico (old town) at about 9 am. Each shop we passed had a boombox blasting the radio or Ecuadorian salsa music. I think that the shops must have started competing to see who could be loudest, but they all just ended up maxing out the volume. Also, when eating in many places, there is a TV blasting either the news or the telenovelas (soaps). The cars outside join in the cacophony too. They certainly are not afraid of their horns. In fact, they are a bit obsessed with them. At first I thought all the drivers must be palsied in their hands and arms, since they can´t seem to control the movement of their hand to the horn. They honk at other cars, they honk at people crossing the street, they even honk at people they think are walking too close to the curb. (Safety sidenote- The crosswalks are suggestions. Do not make the mistake of thinking this is like Rome, where you just have to get the courage up to walk out in the road and the cars will stop. That is suicidal here. Be patient and wait until you have enough space to dash across the street.) Not only are the electronics and vehicles loud, but the people on the street add to the aural assault. There are vendors calling to you to eat their street food, buy their fruit, get your shoes shined, etc. Yesterday I even saw a guy dressed in a clown suit yelling through a bullhorn, hoping to attract patrons to his restaurant. There are ladies selling the papers, screaming "DEE-ARIOS, DEE-ARIOS" over and over again. There are random crazy people yelling undecipherable things for no apparent reason, like the woman outside our window who yells something (in the tone of a wounded animal) I can not figure out every morning at about 7 am. Even as I write this, outside there is someone banging on the drums in the street, which is causing the neighborhood dogs to bark. We have come to visit at an extra noisy time, because the elections are coming up in a few weeks. And since voting is mandatory here, some of the over 200 candidates are out in trucks roaming the street with signs promoting themselves by shouting in bullhorns (and honking, natuarlly). The many sounds on the streets of Quito are an important part of the enviroment and something that obviously can not be portrayed in photos. It was a bit unexpected. I can not recall any other city in the US or in Europe that obtains so much of its personality from noise.

TOUCH- Okay, so for the purpose of this blog, 'touch' is beeing changed to 'feel', since the city doesn't have a texture (although "gritty" may count). But Quito, at 2850 meters (9300 feet) surely makes you feel a certain way. Since it is a city set in a high valley, it tends to be a little hilly in areas (unless you stick to the flat grindolandia area) so climbing a hill will leave you pretty breathless and more sympathetic to how asthsmatics must feel. The first two or three days will leave you a bit tired and very thirsty, so its best not to try to climb Cotopaxi volcano right away (30 miles outside of Quito, it stands at 19,388 ft high). If you are wondering about the weather, I can tell you a bit about my routine. I start the morning off with pants, long sleeves and a jacket. Then, by noon, I have lost the jacket and am wishing for short sleeves. Come 5pm, my long sleeves are comfortable... Then by 8:00 I need my jacket and even then I am a bit chilly at times. So dress in layers.

SMELL- Street food and smog. Those are the things that come to mind for the smell. The first and lesser scent can be found at many street corners, in front of bus stops and hospitals and in city parks. Though I am not quite sure I will muster up the courage to chow down on the street food, the smell isn't completely unappealing. Okay, it smells good... If you close your eyes and don't look at the actual food. But what fun would that be? You would miss out on all the hunks of bony chicken, stuffed empañadas, roasted pigs hooves, unknown hunks of breadlike food fried in lard, strange looking sausages and other various mystery meats!
Of course, the smog is present in Quito and it is not uncommom to see people walking around, covering their mouths with their shirt sleeves or hankerchief. Luckily, the worst of the pollution (when the wind doesn't blow it out of the city) can be avoided by walking off the main streets. Since the numerous buses that run through the town are the smog spewing culprits, all one needs to do is veer clear of the main roads and buses. Of course, at night, it is not always safe to use deserted side streets. So you can choose whether you prefer to sacrifice your lungs or your wallet.

TASTE- Before leaving, I couldn't figure out what typical Ecuadorian food consists of. Thus far, it is my experience that a typical 3 course meal consists of the following- Plate one is soup. Always soup. My spanish teacher explained that it is tradition that the woman of the house cook soup all day, every day. They eat it every day for lunch and dinner. The most common soups are vegetable (sometimes flavored with pieces of meat or fish), lentil or potato avocado soup. The main dish is grilled meat or breaded fish, serves with some veggies and white rice. For desert, there is chocolate brownie or fruit salad (usually with melons and papaya). And of course, to drink, there is juice. They have more types of fresh juice here than any other place on the planet. This is a prodcut of fruits being available from the coast, the mountains and the rainforest, all within a day´s drive. Most are delicious, but it is best to be careful at first. Juice is usually mixed with water and unless you are eating at a fairly fancy place, it may be mixed with tap water. If you want to know, just ask if it is "jugo con agua puro"- though the answer is likely yes, whether it is the truth or not. Also, these meals tend to be $2- $3 for lunch and usually less than $5 for dinner. The exception to this is if you are eating in Mariscal (the new town, AKA gringolandia), where you could easily spend $100 on a fine dinner with french wine without much effort. If you are trying to avoid most things Ecuadorian, Gringolandia is the place to go. If you are a Chinese food fan, you will have dozens of places to choose from, as well as international options from almost every region of the world. The ceviches are wonderful, if you are up to splurging $4 on the dish. If I get adventurous enough to eat more traditional foods (I'm not a fan of tripe) I will let you know. Also, I will be sure to relay how my first taste of cuey is. You may be familiar with the Ecuadorian delicacy from your childhood. Many of us owned the furry little squealers as pets. Here, they fry the guinea pig whole, fur and all. You crack open the crispy skin, and dig in to the meat. I hear is is similar to a very greasy piece of pork. Yummy. One more think on a tastier note... The fruit here is outstanding. It may be the best place in the world to fill up on fruit. The variety is staggerring (everything from your typical apple to unheard of exotic fruits) and it is incredibly cheap. Try the cayubena (I believe it is dragonfruit). It has a yellow skin with little soft spikes on the outside (see the photo). Just cut it in half and eat the inside with a fork. I would eat 5 a day if my teacher hadn't told me that more than one a day would keep my in the baño (bathroom) all day long. If you can't decide on a fruit, go to a place that has ensaladas de frutas. They are always fresh and you can get them with whipped cream or strawberry syrup.

SIGHT- Hmmm...let´s see. How can I say this with out sounding completely ignorant... Quito is rugged. Urban rugged. I know this is South America, I wan´t excpecting Paris or anything. But it did take a couple days to adjust. If you put an average Quito neighborhood in an American city, people would expect to be shot. Here there are only curious smiling faces and rickety ma and pa shops. Not every area is safe, but the majority is a lot more secure than it looks. The Centro Historico is beautiful with well lit plazas and gardens, as well as nicely kept cobblestone streets and buildings. We have walked in this area day and night without any problems. But it is always easy to take a taxi (usually $2 between old and new town areas- always take one at night in La Mariscal). The area is crawling with cops, who are always carrying a semi automatic weapon and/or a sword. (Yes, I said sword... I wonder under what circumstances the police man decides the sword is better than the gun....) So the police can be pretty scary looking too.

I could fill the website with the sights of Quito, but then you would have no reason to visit. However on a typical day, it would be normal to see the following:

-9 people in one car.
-A 7 year old in Indegenous garb with her one year old sister strapped to her back with a blanket. She would be in school, but she is helping mom beg for money.
-Lots of puppies being sold on the street.
-People playing futbol in the park.
-People selling fruit in the park.
-People peeing in the park.
-Plastic chairs. Most restaurants, cafes, etc. Have them because wood is too expensive!
-People trying to earn some spare change by doing any of the following: shining shoes, tying a sheet over their head and doing gymnastics, breathing fire, doing walking handstands, selling gum, etc.
-KFC... They love it here.
-Buses crammed to the brim with passengers.
-Instant coffee (only the fancy places have real roasted coffee)
-Ladies with high heels and one is broken off at a 45 degree angle, making it difficult for her to walk.
-People who want to speak with you and then smile as they help correct your spanish.
-Clear sunny skies in the morning with coulds in the afternoon.
-Lots of potato sacks, usually large ones carried in the backs of women over 80 years old.

So now amigo, whether you are planning a trip to Quito soon or not at all, you should have a better idea of how Quito may affect your senses. Please stay tuned for the next clichéd blog. Perhaps I will write abotu things I have seen in Quito that begin with the letter "s"... Sopas, safety, street snacks, soldiers, suicide (well...attempted...for the full story, you will have to read Matt´s blog (blogname Ponce De Leon..go figure). His blog is due out sometime this year.

So I will leave you with 3 travel tips:
1. When travelling by plane with another person, put half of your things in the other persons luggage and vice versa. That way, if the airline loses one bag, at least each of you have half of your stuff until the bag is found.
2. Talk to locals (or at least try), ask questions and don´t be afraid to interact. The people in Ecuador are incredibly nice. In Europe and the US you may have more reason to be afraid of the people.
3. Don´t carry much cash. You shouldn´t need to carry more than $20 at a time, unless you plan on going crazy in Gringolandia. Never carry more than one bank card or credit card. Then, in case you do get robbed, you still have access to cash through another card. As a tourist, you set the likelihood of getting your things stolen. The more loot or gear you flash around, the higher the chances. Remember that stealing your digital camera will pay for their rent for 4 months. It´s better not to tempt anyone.



Disclaimer- I have written this blog from my own experience. I do not stay in La Mariscal (Gringolandia), so I see a more typical part of Ecuador. La Mariscal has its charms, but if you only stay in this area, you will have a much different experience than the one I have described.

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Photos

Centro Historico- Plaza Real
Centro Historico- Plaza Real

Indeginous lady
A traditionaly dressed woman and her child trying to sell scarves.

kites in park
See what happens when kids don´t have TV.

Bambu View
A view of the lovely Quito from our terrace.

Passionfuit
Yummy...Fresh passionfruit..or is it dragonfruit? In spanish it is cayumbe.

soups
Potato Avocado soup and fruit salad

Tailor
Here you will see the local tailor, set up on the corner with his machine.

Street Vendor
Ladies selling nuts and fruit from their baskets.

Matt in old town
Here´s Matt looking stylish in Old Town

Centro historico- street
Typical street in centro historico. Sunday is a good time to visit because the streets are closed to cars.

breakfast
a sketchy breakfast. The lady had to leave us to go get bread from down the street.

Cops with swords
Policemen... look close for their swords

Calle Solano
The street in front of our hostal.

Street Vendor 2
Here´s another street vendor.

Gringolandia
The main square in La Mariscal, AKA gringolandia. It is early in the morning, there is usually more people!

Comments

[Sheri]

Fantastic!!
Great blog Chrissy! So informative - felt like I was right in the smog of Quito!