My Dad’s side of the family lives here…I didn’t get to go to La Costa, but I did get to stay in Quito for a while. I’ve got LOOOOTTS of family there—somewhere in the range of 300 living just in the Quito area. Otabalo is nice, and there are a lot of Incans there(also some of my family).

One thing to REALLY watch out about though in ALL of Ecuador:

You skrew up, you go to jail. It’s an EXTREMELY corrupt system. Judges get paid off in either direction all the time, and so do cops.

You may also notice a lack of speed limit—BEWARE of this, people use their horn to communicate a lot more then anything else. Another danger is there there ARE a rew places with a speed limit, and if you get caught speeding, you may just have to pay off a cop. These places usually are things like tunnels or bridges—in the mountains there aren’t any really because physically, it’s harder for the car to run faster so they don’t need to be imposed.

WEARSUNBLOCK. You are on the equator—I’m a local in my skin ytpe and everything yet I even wear 50-70SPF this is ESPECIALLY true in the Quito area

If you are a Gringo, be careful with your passport (as you might in just about any country) and make sure your embassy knows you are there. The currency is in US Dollars, but that doesn’t mean you should flash it around. In just about any Latin American country (save Argentina and Costa Rica) it is EXTREMELY easy to spot and take advantage of a gringo—if you are at a hotel, be sure to ask one of the people about places you should stay away from and any extra local events going on.

ALSO, I know I didn’t get to do it my last time around, but the Galapagos is BEAUTIFUl—be sure to visit.