Hot Tips for Ecuador: Quito Part 1

Good morning/afternoon/night! There are a lot of miscillaneous things that I've learned from my time so far in Ecuador that I think are worth writing about, but don't necessarily warrent their own blog post. Hence the first installment of my soon to be epic series "Hot Tips for Ecuador." These are the kinds of tips that you can not find in any travel guide; things that I wish someone had told me before arriving, and/or random things that I find funny and want to share. So here goes nothing!

1.) Wear a lot of hair gel. This one is somewhat of a personal choice, but if you're trying to look like a local it's definitely the way to go. Quito is a pretty windy place, and I believe that is what motivates this early 2000s-esque obsession with hair gel. Most Quiteños wear their hair short to medium length, spiked up in a faux-hawk, and always well crusted with gobs of super-hold hair gel. If there's one thing this look accomplishes well (and I'm pretty sure there is only one thing) it is to keep that hairdo in place all day long, through wind, rain, or hurricane.

2.) Don't trust the buses. This one is important, you must always ask the bus drivers where they are going. Buses in Ecuador are not terribly organized. They all just have a sign in the window that is supposed to say where they are going. Though often times the signs are incorrect, or at the very least hard to decipher. I have several times climbed on a bus only to end up in some foreign neighborhood far from my desired destination. Don't get me wrong, there are many things about public transport in Ecuador that I love, in fact I would say that as far as efficiency, Ecuador beats out any major city in the States. You just have to be careful and ask the driver where he is going before climbing aboard. Most drivers are happy to help a confused gringo.

Ecuadorian buses are awesome, notice the transformers symbol in the upper left

3.) Don't climb the walls. People into Quito are very concerned about home-security. Every house is surrounded by an 8 to 10 foot stone wall barred by a metal gate. These old stone walls often look tempting to climb... don't be fooled. Every wall is topped by some combination of barbed wire, electric fence, or my personal favorite: broken glass. Yes Quiteños do recycle their old glass bottles, they are simply repurposed as home-invader deterrents.

An example of the broken glass defense

Ouch!

4.) Watch your step. Here is another important one. Sidewalks in Ecuador are often a disaster. In a lot of places it looks like they just let Jackson Pollock loose on the wet concrete. Potholes, huge steps, big cracks... it's a potential minefield. In my first week here I was tripping every 30 seconds. If you're not careful you will fall flat on your face. This is why when you're walking around the neighborhoods of Quito you HAVE to look at your feet. Always look down, seriously, because if you shift your attention to that passing car you will trip and embarrass yourself. Not to mention that the whole "pooper-scooper" idea never really caught on here, so that's just one more thing to watch out for. I repeat: always look down.

Well, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for part 2 of "Hot Tips for Ecuador: Quito"