Well, we’re now in Ecuador. Our original plan was to go from Medellín, Colombia to Cuenca, Ecuador (Cuenca is a smaller city popular with American retirees for its weather, livability and low cost of living). But to get to Cuenca, we had to go through Quito. There are no direct flights to Cuenca, so we decided to stay a couple of weeks in Quito. Several years ago, we stopped in Quito for a day on our way to the Galapagos Islands. We liked what we saw so we wanted to come back to explore this city.

Quito is the capital of Ecuador with a population of over 2.5 million. It is high up in the Andes at over 9 thousand feet making it the second-highest capital city in the world. The historic center of Quito has one of the largest, best preserved historic centers in the Americas and was among the first declared “World Cultural Heritage Sites” by UNESCO in 1978.

When our friends in Colombia asked us which country we’d be visiting next and we replied “Ecuador.” We generally got this response, “Oh, why Ecuador”? To which we would sort of stutter and shrug our shoulders because we didn’t really know why we’d picked Ecuador except that International Living magazine promoted it for retirees.

Our Arrival

Traveling from Medellín to Quito went off without a hitch. Both legs of our flights actually left early and arrived early. However, it took us over 2 ½ hours to arrive at our apartment. One hour to get through customs and another hour and a half to get through traffic to the Airbnb apartment.

Our apartment was located in the historic center of Quito and we were able to walk to all the cultural sites of the city. However, it was not necessarily a pleasant walk since we had to walk up and down steep streets, often several times a day. But on the positive side, it provided us a great view.

We stayed in this apartment for four days and then moved on to a more modern high-rise apartment outside of the historic center. This apartment is our home for a week and a half until we leave Quito. It also offers a beautiful view of the city.

Our Time in Quito

Since we are only in this city for two weeks, we are spending most of our time touring museums, churches, and landmarks. We feel like we are on a two-week vacation rather than actually living in the city. We walk around the city or take taxis, which are very inexpensive with an average fare of less than $3.

Since 2000, Ecuador’s currency has been the U.S. Dollar. It’s nice that we don’t have to constantly convert prices in our head. Ecuador is not allowed to print their own paper currency here, so they rely on commerce through trade to obtain paper currency. Because of this locals often lack paper bills and don’t have bills for change. Therefore, even twenty-dollar are sometimes not accepted, so we try to have smaller bills for transactions.

In addition to using U.S. coins, Ecuador mints a few of their own coins called centavo coins which match the size and value of U.S. coins. We were surprised to see the U.S. minted Sacagawea dollar coin. While these “golden dollar” coins are not common in the United States, they are very common and used daily in Ecuador.

Quito is a clean, diverse city. It has a beautifully preserved historic center and a modern city around it. People say that you can experience all the seasons in Quito in one day. Well, I think we have already experienced that. Because the city is 9,350 feet high in the Andes, it gets very cool at night (mid to low 50s). It is currently the rainy season, so it rains almost daily. In the morning it is sunny but by 3 or 4 pm rain moves in for an hour or two. Also, it can be sunny one minute and ten minutes later fog moves in over the surrounding mountains. Daytime temperatures climb into the upper 60s to low 70s. So, as we head out each morning we take our jackets and umbrellas for later in the day.

After a couple of days, we figured out how to navigate and get around the city. We were told by our host that the address of the apartment is not on the apartment building and you cannot search google maps with the address. We didn’t realize this the first couple of times we told our taxi driver our address. They were lost and confused as to where our apartment was located. After several times, we realized that the best way to navigate is NOT by address but by nearest cross streets or intersections. I asked a tour guide how do the addresses work here in Quito and he quickly responded, “I don’t how it works”.

We also realized that every street in this large city has a name. There are no street or avenue numbers like 24^th street or 24^th avenue. So, the street layout has no numbering system. You just have to know that “Mariana de Jesus” is one block from “Mariano Aguilera”. Some of the street names have stories or history behind them such as the street named “Av. 10 De Agosto” (Independence Day) or “Av. 6 De Diciembre” (the day that Quito was founded).

A few days ago, I experienced my first earthquake at 2 a.m. The sound of rhythmic clinking as a chain hit the lamp woke me and I felt the bed swaying from side to side. I jumped up and felt everything sway for a few seconds. I debated whether or not to wake up Kathy, but within a few seconds, it was over. It was 6.2 level earthquake 330 miles from Quito near the coastal town of Santa Elena. There was no damage in Quito, and I doubt people here paid any attention to it. I’ll never forget the eerie feeling but because earthquakes are common in this county of shifting tectonic plates and volcanoes, I am sure this will not be the last earthquake I will experience.

First Impression

We have enjoyed our time in Quito. It is a beautiful city with stunning mountains, colonial charm, and people have been warm and kind. All the history, Baroque architecture, churches, monasteries and cobblestone streets make for an interesting, character-filled historic center.

The historic center is also the most popular attraction in the city, so it fills with people and activity with a mixture of locals and tourists. We are glad that we made a stop in Quito.