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Quito is to high for (Malaria-)Mosquitos There is no danger.But if you visit the coast or the Rain-Forest its nessesary to carry on the medicaments.It depends of your activity. some people need the medicaments in advance. I had medicaments just for case of emercency.
I've had people tell me to stay out of old town, day or night, unless you're with a group. I didn't get that feeling from old town, I think you'd be fine during the day as long as you stay on the main streets. It is probably not, however, a place you'd want to hang around in after dark.
The center of new town and hence where most tourists are, Mariscal Sucre, can be a bit dodgy at night. The main streets aren't too bad, but avoid straying down dimly lit side streets and don't linger on Avenue Amazonas unless you're with a group.
Quito and Guayaquil, as every big city with poverty problems, is not exempted from crime issues.However, using common sense and avoiding wandering alone at night in certain areas should be enough to keep away from big problems.
Buses are the main (if not the only one) way of transportation in Ecuador, except for a few expensive liaisons between the most important cities of the country.The network is well done and works quite normally. But it may hairraising to take the bus, especially in the Andes. And the only thing you may do (ask the bus rider to go slowly is totally useless) is... pray!
Pollution is just unbearable in Quito. It's mostly coming from the buses (old ones), and also from cars (olds ones too). Only one bus company is non-polluting : it's not enough, and I don'tu understand that the municipality doesn't give much more attention to this matter, as it's so proud to declare that the city belongs to the Patrimony of Humanity (UNESCO), whereas the pollution has permanent damaging effets on the concerned buildings.La pollution est tout simplement insupportable a Quito. Elle vient principalement des bus (vieux et sans pots catylitiques) et aussi de pas mal de voitures (meme probleme). Une seule ligne de bus est notoirement non-polluante. C'est trop peu et je ne comprends pas que la municipalite, si fiere de sa cite, patrimoine de l'humanite, ne saisisse pas le probleme a bras de corps, eu egards aux repercussions nefastes de la pollution sur les edifices classes...
They loooove throwing things at you, during Carnaval. In Guaranda, we were lucky enough, it was only water... But it was raining so much that we didn't really understand why they went on with water bombs or water riffles !!! That's weird !Ils adoooorent vous balancer des trucs, pendant Carnaval. A Guaranda, on a eu de la chance, finalement, c'etait que de l'eau. Mais comme il pleuvait grave, on comprenait pas pourquoi ils continuaient avec leurs bombes et fusils a eau !! C'est dingue !
The tip is there, in this third part... If you see big queues in front of the banks' offices, do not hesitate to ignore them, if you want to withdraw cash money. Sometimes, these queues occure in front of the ATM... but, there is nothing to do but waiting, in this case !! On doit donc passer devant ces files d'attente quand on vient juste retirer de l'argent. Parfois, ces files ont lieu devant les distributeurs (le montant etant directement credite sur les comptes) et la, c'est la meme galere !!
Except from managing the museums, banks also receive the tax declarations and are the managers of the social security system. Each month, hundreds of women wait in front of the banks' offices, exchanging babies before entering the office and begging for the monthly ammount givent to unemployed women with children (about 10 to 12 USD a month). This is a real show, in which elderly people play also their part, coming for their retirement pension (15 USD a month !!). The queues are not prioritary and can last 8 days or so...Hormis leur role de gestionnaire de musees, les banques recoivent aussi les declarations d'impots et gerent le systeme d'allocations sociales, et ceci, dans des conditions douteuses. Chaque debut de mois, des centaines de femmes se pretent leurs enfants (ou petits freres), avant de penetrer dans les banques, afin de faire valoir leur statut de mere inactive pour...
The first branch of the State is the Bank. When you know this, you better understand the external debt of the country ! Bankers tend to go away with the cash in their saves, put there by the State, public companies or honnest citizens. Here, the bankrupty law often works for the banks... And notwithstanding the fact that the State, taking some incredible economic decisions, may freeze the current accounts....La succursale premiere de l'Etat, c'est la Banque. Et on comprend mieux pourquoi le pays est crible de dettes ! Les banquiers ont une facheuse tendance a se casser avec tout le fric que l'Etat, les societes publiques ou les braves citoyens ont bien voulu deposer au sein de leur futur-ex etablissement. Ici, les faillites de banques, c'est courant, sans compter que l'Etat, par des mesures economiques hallucinantes, peut forcer les banques a ne plus exercer leur metier aupres des petits...
Four Points by Sheraton Quito Quito
6 Reviews and 82 Opinions I knew this hotel as the Sheraton Quito, but I suppose that it was, at least at one time, a Four...
Hotel Victoria Cuenca
1 Review and 46 Opinions I arrived without a reservation at the end of a long and exhausting day (see my Alausi page). The...
Samari Spa Resort Baños
33 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Ecuador attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Ecuador sightseeing.
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Q: Hello I leave in Ecuador next month and i'm looking a spanish school, located in the Pacific Coast. I know there is a school in...
A: Hello Enrico You're right, Montanita is such a touristic place. I understand you want to avoid it. Last year, I have spent one month in a spanish school in Sua, near...
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