Tips for visitors virtual and real

Money: on the American dollar so no changing hassles. Bring small bills. hundreds are impossible to change. Cash cards are good, but usually a charge for getting money. Few places take credit cards except in Gringolandia.

Culture: many public diplays of affection, bare breast-feeding, spitting and nosepicking

Personal services: bring shoes that need to be shined; it costs 50 cents to get them to "shine like mirrors". also come scruffy; haircuts and shaves are 1-2 dollars for 45 minute salon treatment.

Pedestrian rights: are nonexistant. have almost been run over while crossing on a green and not looking to my left. One driver in English told me to "check out the light". yeah it´s green, but for cars turning left into crowds of pedestrians too. Don´t fight with the vehicles you won´t win. I´ve tried.

Mauricio es mas macho

Many stray dogs = many stray turds

Bring SPF and sunglasses. Those of us from cloudier climes forget about that big, warm sun in the winter.

Bring umbrellas. It is the rainy season although it has been dry here. Often it will rain for about half an hour and then clear up and be warm and sunny.

The sun rises everyday at 6:30 am and sets every day at 6:30 pm no variation. you don´t really even need a watch, unless you have somewhere to be in between those hours.

The temperature is between 50-70 degrees F. every day. bring pants and one or two shorts or sundresses, sturdy shoes. always have a long sleeve shirt to put on for when it clouds over and the temp drops. I have put on and taken off said long sleeves 5 times in an hour.


That´s all i can think of for now. Any veterans please jump in and contribut and or correct any misinformation.

Be prepared to enjoy amazing scenery, friendly people, a plethora of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Asta luego

walk from Ambato to Salcedo

no mincing words

fumar mata= smoking kills, printed on all packs of cigarettes

big flora in the cloud forest

On our hike up to the ziplines. THis is a main road in Mindo.

mariposario

At the butterfly (mariposa) farm in Mindo.
This is what I took about 100 pics of and killed the battery on my camera so it wasn´t available for the water slide.

Teleferico to Pichincha

Some very enthusiastic hikers at the top hiking to Rocu Pichincha. We didn´t make it; the altitude got us.

Riding the Teleferico up to Pichincha. There are two peaks. One is an inactive volcano called Rocu Pichincha (old man) the other is active called Huahua Pichincha (child). The Teleferico is a cable car. It is in Quito and also has an amusement park which has the highest altitude rollercoaster.

spa

recuperating after a hard day of sightseeing in El Centro (old town) where we live.