Interesting things about Ecuador

This place is chalk full of taxis. It's like New York, honestly. Look at this random picture I took of a random street. It has about 7-10 taxis on it and that's really normal to find, even on less popular streets. They are also dirt cheap and usually a taxi ride is about $1.50. Speaking of...



Dirt Cheap: I've talked a lot here and there about how cheap things are, but I love it and will continue to love it. Today I went to the movies to see The Dark Knight. Cab ride: $1.50 (would have been a 25 cent bus ride if I had taken the time to see which to take), movie ticket: $4.25 (only 3 if you buy it online), 1 frappacino: $1.60. Everyday for lunch I go right up the street and pay two dollars total for: soup (a big bowl, too), the main dish (usually rice, small salad, and meat), juice (one time he brought out beer), and fruit for desert. Today there was a side of popcorn thrown in. Like a lot of restaurants, the lunch menu is set (something different everyday, but the same for everyone on that day, I think), but its really good. ESPECIALLY for only 2 bucks.


People sell things on the street everywhere. It's normal to have someone at your window at just about every street light. What's more interesting is a lot of times it is children. Like, really really young children, around five years old at times. These young children will be waiting on the curb of a busy street at the light and then venture out. Someone here told me that that I should never really buy from them because a lot of times they just give the money to their fathers who use it for drugs/alcohol. I think my Spanish teacher told me that. Also, things will often be sold on the bus as well. The person will just hop on, go up and down the aisles, and then hop off. It actually happened on the return trip from the beach. We passed with one very small town/community and a kid got on to sell bread and was dropped off 10 minutes later at another small town. And, this isn't exactly selling but its close enough to the same category: during stoplights its normal to see a group of kids run out into the streets and do cartwheels and hand stands for money. The first night I got here we were driving from the airport and a kid came up to the car and started juggling. It was like 11 at night.

Stray Dogs: They're everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE. Not just Quito but it seems Ecuador in general. I told you that one just waltzed in to the wedding I attended! But anyway, they are everywhere and in great abundance. All of them seem friendly and just looking for something to eat. This past weekend, though, when riding in a taxi a group of dogs ran out into the street barking and snarling at the car. It was bizarre, especially since they almost got hit. Also, if you feed one be prepared to gain a new best friend that will not leave you alone!

Bootleg Movies! I've mentioned them before and I will mention them again. The only one that has led me astray was The Dark Knight and that was because it had no English option (just Spanish voiceover) when I was told otherwise. Other than that, I now have 10,000 B.C., Indiana Jones, Narnia 2, Hulk 2, IronMan, and Hancock in my collection. I've seen about 10 different bootleg DVD stores since I've been here. Apparently they tried to shut them down a while ago but so many people depend on them for work that they are OK to do now.

The buses - I already ranted about the terrible bus ride experience to the coast, but this is more about the everyday buses that one would take around Quito. First of all, they are dirt cheap. I can ride one around the city for as long as I want for 25 cents. Trips outside the city might be 40 cents or, at most (the 3 hour bus ride we took to Otavalo), it's 2 bucks. Another thing is the nature of getting on and off a bus. There aren't designated bus stops. You wave one down like you would a cab and then jump on. And a lot of times if it is just one person getting on or off the bus the driver won't really stop. One time I saw this guy get on the bus when it was going at almost normal speed. He just ran with the bus, grabbed the poles, and swung on. I thought about doing that once but then thought better of it.

Pollution: I took this video of a bus starting up but it's really not a good representation. I just didn't want to be walking around Quito filming buses for an hour. I heard that the gas they use is actually outlawed in the United States. But it is not uncommon to find yourself smothered with exhaust 2-3 times from just walking down the block.

My friend Jim, who has recently moved on to more travels, first brought my attention to this. Outside of just about every restaurant (some other stores, too, but mostly restaurants) are armed guards! Really, I know there must be a reason for it, like problems in the past that have provoked such measures, but armed gunmen outside sit-down restaurants? Seems a little extreme. I thought it might not be wise to lift my camera and take the time to capture a photo of one of these guards so I used the video feature to be more casual about it.