Clubbing in Quito

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Last night was my first proper foray into Quito nightlife. I and another 20 or so others headed for Bungalow 8 - a favourite of gringos in Quito.

The club itself was great with excellent music and enormous goldfish bowls of coloured vodka for $4.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring myself to spend much time in there. When I arrived (at 11pm) we were greeted by 4 children under the age of ten (the youngest around 3) touting cigarettes and lollies to passersby from trays hung around their necks. I quickly befriended one of the girls, Ankele, who told me that her ‘parents’ required her to be out there until she earned a certain amount of money (none of which she could keep - all went to the adults).

Although there was little I could do for any of them, it felt wrong to be inside when there were kids alone outside and, as a result, I spent ten or twenty minutes in the club at a time before it all seemed wrong and I went outside to sit in the gutter with them - where I spent most of the night. In truth, I was probably hindering more than helping but instinct didn’t allow anything else.

Since then, I have heard about an organisation for los ninos en la calle (the children in the street) and I think I may spend some time with them sometime during this trip.

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Photos

9 year old Ankele
Midnight in Quito with her shop around her neck