San Francisco de Quito (Jan-March 2009)
I wanted to write a post about the city of Quito, partially to give you a better idea of how my trip went and also because the city is such an interesting place. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is situated in the Andes Mountains which run north-south through the center of the country. To the east of the Andes lies the rainforest, and to the west the coastal areas.
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| The Andes cut through the middle of Ecuador, separating the coastal and interior regions |
The city of Quito is in a fairly narrow valley, so as it has grown development has stretched primarily north and south, with the modern affluent areas to the north. The central part of Quito is home to many old colonial Spanish administrative buildings, churches, the presidential palace, and hundreds of small shops. The population of the city is around 1.5 million, and with the surrounding areas it is close to 2 million; a decent sized city, but with the shortage of flat land the population density is quite high, making the city feel larger.
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| Old downtown Quito |
As I mentioned before my apartment was in the north-central part of the city, on a main road running north-south. The surrounding area was full of similar 10-15 story apartment and condo complexes, mostly modern like you might expect to find in a US city. There was a park within walking distance where I could go to run and where students would occasionally meet to play soccer or basketball (and yes there were basketball courts there). I got lucky not only with the location but also the view – the windows in our kitchen and dining room looked out west over a stretch of high rises with snow capped mountains in the distance. It was always nice to sit down for a meal and see the city sprawl out before me, with peaks reaching 20,000 plus feet in the background.
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| some modern apartment complexes with a few of Cotopaxi volcano, visible from much of the city |
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| Paque Carolina in Quito |
Between the historic city center and my apartment is a district called La Mariscal, home to the Andean Studies Program, where we took classes. To get to school I would simply get on the bus that ran right past the apartment (with a stop next to our building), head south for about three miles, and then walk another 5 minutes or so.
As a side note: the buses were the primary form of transportation for many of the city’s residents, and during rush hour they were severely overcrowded. I would often have to wait for several to pass before one came with enough room so I could get shoved onto it and stuffed against half a dozen Ecuadorians. On the bright side, during off hours it was usually quite spacious! Honestly I didn’t mind too much, but I know some students had more trouble adjusting to the lack of space. I’m sure many of you have found out that Americans are used to a lot of personal space, and we often avoid getting physically close to strangers at all costs.
As a side note: the buses were the primary form of transportation for many of the city’s residents, and during rush hour they were severely overcrowded. I would often have to wait for several to pass before one came with enough room so I could get shoved onto it and stuffed against half a dozen Ecuadorians. On the bright side, during off hours it was usually quite spacious! Honestly I didn’t mind too much, but I know some students had more trouble adjusting to the lack of space. I’m sure many of you have found out that Americans are used to a lot of personal space, and we often avoid getting physically close to strangers at all costs.
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| In the newer part of town buses often have their own lanes |
The area surrounding the school was also full of bars, clubs, hostels, coffee shops, and tourist hot spots. La Mariscal is definitely the nightlife hub of central Quito – what a coincidence that we were there every day for school! To be sure there are lots of other neat spots to go out around town, but the majority of the time, when we went out, it was to Mariscal. Lots of Ecuadorians went out there too, which was nice knowing that we weren’t just surrounded by tourists.
There were also a wide range of places to go – sports pubs, upscale bars, clubs, more low key spots, and restaurants. While in Ecuador I tried to learn salsa, considering seemingly everyone there knew it. I definitely came to a greater appreciation of dancing on a night out, and not how typical American college students do it – a bit of grinding after about ten drinks so that you aren’t so self conscious.
There were also a wide range of places to go – sports pubs, upscale bars, clubs, more low key spots, and restaurants. While in Ecuador I tried to learn salsa, considering seemingly everyone there knew it. I definitely came to a greater appreciation of dancing on a night out, and not how typical American college students do it – a bit of grinding after about ten drinks so that you aren’t so self conscious.
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| Typical night street scene in La Mariscal |
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| At a bar in Quito with classmates |
The modern section of Quito stretched further north past my apartment to the airport, Mariscal Sucre International Airport (I hope the names don’t confuse you!). Just north of the city lies the equator (and hence the name Ecuador), although since Quito is over 9,000 feet in elevation it rarely gets much warmer than the low 70s Fahrenheit. All year round the average high is in the mid 60s and the lows are typically around 50, only occasionally going lower than the upper 40s. The winter months are the rainy season, but there was plenty of sunshine when we were there as well. It was a great way to avoid winter at Ohio State! And if you wanted even warmer weather, the beach and the rainforest were not too far away – more on that later when I talk about the group excursions.
Here is a link to the wiki page on Quito if you are interested – I know Wikipedia is not always the most reliable, but it gives a good overview of the city.
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