Fun facts about Ecuador

We’ve observed a few things about Ecuador you may not find in your local travel guide. As we make our way into Colombia, we want to leave you with this little list of fun facts we learned during our travels.

(All of these statements are said with great affection, since we have really grown to love this country.)

Transportation

• Stop = yield. This is no joke. A friendly tap on the horn as you approach an intersection is about all the warning you’ll get from an approaching car. And following behind the car in front of you? That’s for suckers. Ecuadorians continually tailgate and pass the cars in front of them. We’ve even seen buses pass each other at night on 2-lane curvy mountain roads. No one wants to wait once they get in the car (before they get in the car, that’s another story!).
• The “Ecuadorian Nanosecond” is the flash of time between the light turning green and the person behind you honking the horn.
• Buses will stop for anyone on the side of the road that flags them down. In fact, the bus driver is joined by a guy who’s job is to stand at the door calling out the bus destination and looking for new riders.
• The country uses the metric system, but gasoline is sold by the gallon.
• Trash trucks play music just like ice cream trucks in the US. I told our cab driver that children run after that music in the US, and he thought that was funny.
• In Baños you can pay the priest $30 to bless your car. We’ve come to realize that everyone in Ecuador must make the trek to Baños for this blessing so they can drive the way they do without fear.

Money

• Ecuador uses the US dollar, but no one has any change. If you come here from the US, bring plenty of 1′s and 5′s. You can’t buy anything with a $20 bill that doesn’t cost at least $18.
• As with many countries that rely on tourism, there is a local price and a “gringo” price. My Ecuadorian friends do not like to go to the vegetable market with me because it means they will pay more, too. As our Spanish improves we can haggle better, but if you don’t speak Spanish well, you’ll have to suck up and pay the gringo tax in many stores and markets.

Food

• Ecuadorians love fresh-squeezed juice, and you will find it at every meal. This is the most delicious juice you’ll ever taste and from some fruits and vegetables you’ve never heard of (tree tomatoes?).
• Street vendors sell roasted maize kernels with onions and salt as a snack, and it is really tasty. I tried making this once and had kernels flying all over the kitchen as they heated up, so it is better to have someone else make it. (I later learned that you hold the lid just over the pan as you roast to deflect the flying kernels.)
• Have you ever eaten a guinea pig? Guinea pig (cuy) is a delicacy here, and you can find it in many restaurants or buy a live one yourself at the animal market. We saw them plucked and roasted over a grill – teeth and tail included!
• Ecuadorians LOVE ice cream. You can buy it in just about every store, from carts on the street, and even from vendors who get on the buses to sell between stops. You can buy it first thing in the morning or last thing at night. The funny thing is that you can’t find medication for lactose intolerance in the pharmacy. I am jealous of the gift evolution has given them to be able to eat ice cream all the time without getting sick.
• Our favorite food discovery is ají. This is a delicious salsa on the table in almost every restaurant, and people eat it on everything from fish to meat to soups. We came to love this spicy sauce – and learned that a little goes a long way.

General

• You already know about the weavers, but did you know that Ecuador is also the maker of the famous Panama hat? The hats were originally shipped to the Panama Canal for worldwide distribution, which is where they got the name. In addition to Panama hats, Ecuador makes a variety of felt and leather hats, too.
• Ecuador is a huge exporter of roses. You can see the large greenhouses from the highway as you drive out of Quito. I was surprised to see them growing in the Andes because it is quite cool in the evenings, but I guess a greenhouse getting direct equatorial sun would be just about perfect for a rose.
• Ecuador does not observe Daylight Saving Time. Most northern countries in South America do not, and I guess with 12-hour days and 12-hour nights every day, there is really no need.

People

• Non-indigenous women in Ecuador wear really tight clothes. I’m not talking about the 20-year-olds, either. The vast majority of women we’ve seen wear really tight pants and shirts regardless of figure or age.Weasked if this was just an Andes thing and were told it was true all over. This really surprised us since it is a Catholic country and we expected more modesty.
• If you ask an Ecuadorian to meet you at 7 p.m., he will not be there until 8 or later. Time is more of a suggestion here (unless you are in a car or bus), and our favorite phrase is “tipo.” It means “somewhere around then” and is used along with a time, like “tipo seite.” If you are on a short trip this might drive you crazy, but it is easy to adapt to this sense of timing when you’re traveling slow.
• The indigenous people are quite short, with many not even hitting 5 feet tall. The general population is a bit taller, but still not tall. In fact, my “job” when shopping at the grocery store was to reach things on the top shelf for everyone else.
• There are very few beggars, at least in the areas we traveled. Instead, there are many vendors selling everything from ice cream to DVDs. In fact, most people we met held more than one job. Ecuadorians are a very industrious people.