Ecuador was a nice country. We met so many friendly people. It felt very safe (with the exception of Quito). But nonetheless, Quito had police and security gurds around and people were helpful. We saw the pride of the people. They were very proud to be Ecuadorian. The people are also very effectionate with each other. Everywhere we went there were great parks with people spending time with families and "showing affection". Some of the men were very forthcoming. I was unaware to consider it rude, or flattering, but it got old. There is a lot of history in this country that is easy to find. Many monuments an museums filed with ancient artifacts.
The traffic laws are very much guidelines and not laws. If a horn on a car was ever broken, I have no idea how it would surrvive on the road. There are no center lines and safety laws. I saw a vespa scooter with a driver, a boy on the back about 8 holding an infant. No helments or seatbelts or carseats. It doesn´t exist. Some neighborhoods were more industrialized than I had expected and some are very dirty. I get mad when I see people litter. Its hard to get used to the little shops that line the streets. They sell everything in little shops. People say this place can be dangerous, but personally I had no problems.
The hard parts are seeing people begging. Old and young. It rips at my heart. Its also difficult to watch the animals wander the streets. It was also difficult to view the vandalism that occure on some of the historical monuments. Something that was great and beautiful has no been covered by grafiti.
The food is mainly chicken and rice, it got very old after a while. There are very little fresh foods and especially vegetables. It would be very hard to be a vegetarian and visiting Ecuador.
Overall I had a great time. We went to the Guayaquil, the Galapagos, Quito, Cuenca and Machala. It was a great first country but I am glad to be moving on.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Quito Day 16
Today we took advantage of the hotel. Check-out is not until 2:00. Once we had our free breakfast buffett we went to the pool and hot tub. Then the steamroom and sauna. It was a nice morning. I appreciate the hotel for giving me this opportunity, this free opportunity.
Once we checked out we went to the telefarico. A giant tram in Quito that runs up to the top of the mountain that gives a great view of this massive city. Once at the top of the tram it became a little rainy, cold and cloudy. We were in the clouds. We could watch the clouds roll over the hill. It was an amazing view. Once we were headed back to the hotel, we couldn´t find a taxi. A man overheard us and offered to give us a ride. He had a minivan. We accepted, because if we hadn´t. we would be stuck in Quito yet again. Later we found out he does private tours which made us feel more at ease.
Finally arrived at the airport and was on our way to Peru. I think it took us 4 days to get out of Ecuador. We arrived in Lima and was picked up by our hostal. The kid couldn´t have been older than 13. Later we found out he was 13. It was cute. We instantly crashed when we arrived in Peru and realized that we were no longer in Ecuador.
02/23/08
Once we checked out we went to the telefarico. A giant tram in Quito that runs up to the top of the mountain that gives a great view of this massive city. Once at the top of the tram it became a little rainy, cold and cloudy. We were in the clouds. We could watch the clouds roll over the hill. It was an amazing view. Once we were headed back to the hotel, we couldn´t find a taxi. A man overheard us and offered to give us a ride. He had a minivan. We accepted, because if we hadn´t. we would be stuck in Quito yet again. Later we found out he does private tours which made us feel more at ease.
Finally arrived at the airport and was on our way to Peru. I think it took us 4 days to get out of Ecuador. We arrived in Lima and was picked up by our hostal. The kid couldn´t have been older than 13. Later we found out he was 13. It was cute. We instantly crashed when we arrived in Peru and realized that we were no longer in Ecuador.
02/23/08
Quito Day 15
I still haven´t left Quito. We didn´t do much today because we had our flight in the afternoon and it was raining and cold. We also had to wait for our laundry to be done. (remember, I fell at the airport and got covered in nast.) So we made lunch and sat inside while reading our books. It was a really nice day actually. Then at the airport, finally going to Lima, the plane was overbooked. We were put up in a hotel for the night and a voucher for the flight. We are still in Ecuador.
The hotel was unbelievable. I have never stayed in a hotel as nice as this before. I was truely out of place. This was my true culture shock. As I am sitting in the lobby of the Dann Carlton, 4 star hotel in my jeans and t-shirt, while getting past by people in 3 piece suits. I was very out of place. The hotel had a swimming pool, salon and spa, casino, jaquzzi, sauna and steamroom. They even had slippers in the room and a bathtub. It was sureal. Sad that this was the biggest culture shock of the trip.
We had our dinner, snooped around, had a multicourse meal and took a bottle of wine to our room and drank and watched HBO. It was a side of Quito that I appreciated.
02/22/08
The hotel was unbelievable. I have never stayed in a hotel as nice as this before. I was truely out of place. This was my true culture shock. As I am sitting in the lobby of the Dann Carlton, 4 star hotel in my jeans and t-shirt, while getting past by people in 3 piece suits. I was very out of place. The hotel had a swimming pool, salon and spa, casino, jaquzzi, sauna and steamroom. They even had slippers in the room and a bathtub. It was sureal. Sad that this was the biggest culture shock of the trip.
We had our dinner, snooped around, had a multicourse meal and took a bottle of wine to our room and drank and watched HBO. It was a side of Quito that I appreciated.
02/22/08
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