Quito General Tips

maracuyá juice

Maracuyá is a tropical fruit that grows in most parts of Ecuador, even up here in the high altitude. I love the juice so much that I had it almost every morning here. Besides bearing fruit for food and drink, many houses feature the plant for decorative purposes.


	Catedral de Quito	Tip Rating:

By b1bob

on November 19, 2007

Catedral de Quito

Built between 1550 and 1562, originally of adobe walls and a straw roof, the Cathedral boarders one side of the plaza. The outer walls feature plaques of the founders. Inside this elaborately decorated church are examples of the Quito School of Art and the independence hero, General Antonio Jose de Sucre's tomb. Visiting hours are 8am-10am and 2pm-4pm daily.


	Go bananas	Tip Rating:

By b1bob

on November 19, 2007

banana crisps

Most folks, including me before I made this trip, thought there was only one kind of banana, which is yellow and sweet. I personally am not keen on bananas because of their overly soft texture. However, I tried a snack called banana chips and rather liked them. They are made from green plantain. They are fried, salted, and bagged rather like potato crisps Americans know. I also use them to add some salt and texture to ceviche.


	Coffee	Tip Rating:

Updated By b1bob

on November 19, 2007

giant restored coffee grinder

This could be a shopping tip, but it is more of a fond memoury. Sergio's friend Edwin Covos, who runs a graphic design business, found an old, abandoned coffee machine. This is not an old Mr. Coffee he picked up at a yard sale, rather a gigantic machine which takes the coffee beans all through the process. He restored the old coffee machine and now he has a side business of making coffee. I bought one of those gold bags you see in the background for only $5.


	Post Office in Mariscal	Tip Rating:

By tejanasueca

on May 21, 2005

There is a POST OFFICE in Mariscal on the corner of Colón and Reina Victoria (essential as Ecuador don't use stamps).

Hours:
M-F 8am-5pm
Sat 8am-11:45am

Fees:
Postcards to the US and Europe take about 2 weeks and cost $1.25 (I know, outragous!)


	Palacio Municipal	Tip Rating:

Updated By b1bob

on November 19, 2007

Palacio Municipio

Located opposite the Plaza de la Independencia, and the Palacio de Gobierno, city hall was built at the end of the 1970s. In the middle of all these old buildings, the new city hall looks awkwardly out of place. There are three murals by the Ecuadorian painter Gonzalo Endara Crow inside. One of them represents Quito, and the other two represent Ecuador. The ground floor of this building houses the Tourism and Information Centre.


	Cheaper, for the most part	Tip Rating:

By b1bob

on November 20, 2007

by b1bob, 1 more photos
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local crafts vendor

In general, things are cheaper in Quito than they are in the United States. One exception is blue jeans. Before I left, Sergio asked me to find out how much Levi's blue jeans in his size were. They were cheap enough that he asked me to get him two pair (for what he would have paid for one). Quito is a bargain by American standards, but go to the outlying areas like Otavalo and Atuntaquí for even bigger bargains.


	pedestrian bridges	Tip Rating:

By b1bob

on November 19, 2007

one of many pedestrian
overpasses

Quito has numerous pedestrian bridges over areas of high traffic. Some are between cliffs over busy highways and some are painted all manner of colours. I hadn't seen so many pedestrian bridges in any other city before. These bridges are helpful because there are many heavy-traffic intersections that it would take a month of Sundays to safely cross on the ground. It also makes sense to build these overpasses from a safety standpoint.

by travelmad478
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	Old Town	Tip Rating:

on February 1, 2004

The Old Town is the colonial section of Quito, a large and strikingly well-preserved area of buildings dating from the first appearance of the Spanish conquerors through the early 1900s. The majority of Quito's historical tourist sites are here, but amazingly, when we visited, my friend Vera and I were almost the only tourists around. Quito's Old Town is not just a museum, though--it's very much a living city, with offices, markets, shops, and restaurants filling the historic structures.

Although this part of Quito should be full of tourists, the businesses here are very much geared toward the local population. The tourist-oriented shops, restaurants, and hotels are all in the much less picturesque New Town.


	Some things are just like home (for Americans)	Tip Rating:

By b1bob

on November 19, 2007

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they use the U.S. dollar

As foreign as Ecuador can seem, it has a few things that are familiar and convenient for American travellers. First, since an economic meltdown round about 2000, Ecuador uses the American dollar, so there aren't any of the money exchange headaches associated with many foreign trips. Second, Ecuadorian electrical outlets are 110 volts which means Americans won't have to toil with a converter. Travelers from the east coast will appreciate the fact that Ecuador is in the Eastern time zone. Many assume that because Ecuador is on the Pacific side of South America, it is in the Pacific time zone. Its longitude is about equal to that of Keysville, Virginia.