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 | Quito Warnings or Dangers | Tips 1 - 10 of 40 |  |
Popular Warnings or Dangers | Miscellaneous Warnings or Dangers Tips | All Tips (40) The altitude in Quito is quite high, averaging 2800 m. (9200 feet). When I found out it was that high, I wrote into "Fox News Sunday House Call" and Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld read my submitted question on the air. Dr. Rosenfeld recommends a day to take it easy (certainly not bed rest) to acclimate yourself to the altitude. That means don't go higher into the mountains or do anything strenuous. The altitude didn't have any adverse effects on me until, well into the trip, I took the Teleferiqo up to 4100 m. (13448 feet). I managed to take all the photos I needed, but I was keen to get back to the base at 3165 m. (9680 feet). If you are older or have heart or respiratory problems, see your doctor before organising a trip to here or any other high altitude city. Leave a Comment
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Quito is surrounded by eight volcanoes: Cotopaxi (pictured at 5897 m. 19342 feet), Antisana, Sincholagua and Cayambe to the east; Illiniza, Atacazo, Pinchincha and Pululahua to the west. The most interesting of the lot is Cayambe, which is east-northeast of Quito. Although it hasn't erupted since 1786, it is the only mountain or volcano on earth that lies directly on the equator (the southern flank, at least) and has a permanent snow cap and glaciers. Quito is the only capital in the world to be directly threatened by an active volcano. Guagua Pinchincha, only 21 km. (13 miles) west, has continuing activity and is under constant watch. The largest eruption occurred in 1660 when over 25 cm (10 inches) of ash covered the city. The latest eruption was recorded on 5-7 October 1999, when a large amount of ash was deposited on the city. Although not devastating, the eruption caused significant disruption of activities, including closing the international airport. Activity in other nearby volcanoes also can affect the city. In November 2002, after an eruption in the volcano Reventador, the city was showered with ash for several days with greater accumulation than the previous closer eruption. The region also is vulnerable to earthquakes. The worst known earthquake to have hit Quito occurred in 1797 and killed 40,000 people. The most recent major seismic event, with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale, occurred in 1987 with an epicentre about 80 km (50 miles) from the city. It killed an estimated 1,000 near the epicentre, but Quito itself suffered only minor damage. About a year before my first visit, the city felt a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale, but no major damage was reported. While I was there, some said a small earthquake happened, but I sure enough didn't feel it. Leave a Comment
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While you have to be careful where ever you are in Quito (even though, in general, the north is safer than the south). There is one rule that should never be broken: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WALK UP TO THE PANECILLO. Take a taxi up there and ask them to wait for you while you check out the view. There have been plenty of misfortunate incidences with people who have tried to walk up. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Be very careful with your belongings and yourself | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The street corner shown in this photo doesn't look particularly dangerous, right? My friend Vera didn't think so either. We were on the other side of the street at about 11 AM, and she decided to change the film in her camera. I was walking a few steps ahead of her, heard a noise, and looked behind me to see, to my horror, that she was getting mugged by a twenty-something guy who was holding a gun. The two of them were each grabbing her camera strap and pulling on it. I was frozen to the pavement by the sight of the gun, while she kept yanking the camera away from the thief. Finally, he gave up, pushed her to the ground, and ran away. In the end, there was no harm done, but we were completely freaked out by the incident. The people across the street had seen the whole thing and asked if Vera was all right--she was, thank God. They told us that we had to be really careful, and after that, we were. Meanwhile, I was berating Vera for not just giving the guy the camera (thinking of that gun!), but she said that the gun was a toy. I took her word for that, but I think I'd have given up the camera anyway. In decades of traveling in nearly 50 countries, this was the first time either Vera or I had ever been the victim of a crime any more serious than getting ripped off by a taxi driver. We were both amazed by it. Later in the day, we saw quite a number of tourist police (their uniforms are marked with the words) around the Plaza de San Francisco. Apparently, Quito is very well known for this kind of mugging and theft. I am usually a pretty wary traveler, and thus not much of a target for crime, but this city appears to be a special case. Be careful! Leave a Comment
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| | | | Rotten drivers | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Save your hate mail on this one. It is my observation that many of the folks in Quito don't know how to drive. They take traffic lights as suggestions, they rarely signal, they never look where they're going, and they don't hesitate to cut folks off like the idiot in the picture did to us. (No, this isn't an isolated example. If I had a nickel for every time that happened down here when I was there, I could buy a round-trip ticket: first class.) As bad as the drivers are, the pedestrians are even worse! It's some wonder with the rain, fog, steep hills, bad roads, and a heaping helping of rotten drivers that there aren't more accidents on Quito's roads. Leave a Comment
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