Every day is another amazing adventure in Quito, Ecuador! By that I mean a great walk about to see new sights or a day trip to see something in particular. Each morning as seniors traveling we wake up & are amazed at the beauty of this city. It truly is a dream come true. Let’s get started!
Years ago we made a plan for retirement & travel. Our goal as seniors traveling was to put together a Bucket List of countries that we could adventure to find our piece of paradise – you know where we can see ourselves living cost efficiently on a budget while still being able to live a happy life. Does that make sense? At present we are in Quito, Ecuador to see how many checks on our list this city offers. In the past, we have written about yearly travels & vacations to great tourist spots for short periods of weeks. Don’t get me wrong who doesn’t love going on a ‘tourist’ vacation to be basically waited on but as senior travelers looking for our piece of paradise to live – well that is a little different.
As senior travelers searching for our piece of paradise to live puts us in another category – away from tourist. We visit countries to see what they may have to offer us as a future home – safety, cost of living, acceptance by locals, etc. Visiting the areas & getting to know the locals is the best way we have figured how to do this. Yes, we will see sites & definitely pass that on to you but our end all goal is to find ‘our happy place’ where we can live permanently on a budget – happily! That is the main reason Ecuador was a natural for our next stop. Quito answers a lot of our checks but we still have a few other places to check out. Let’s check out what Quito, Ecuador has to offer for seniors traveling!
Quito, Ecuador Weather!
One of the huge pros for Quito, Ecuador is the weather. During the month of January the range has been from 44 degrees in the night to a wonderful 65 degrees during the day. The length of sunlight is around 12 hours which means you have to dress in layers to cover the chill of the mornings & late afternoons. In between the morning & later afternoon you will be shedding the jackets to enjoy the sun. All in all, the weathr has been pretty nice. Occasional rains in late afternoons or nights but that is why everything is so green!
Ecuadorian Lunches!
The Ecuadorians are known for their one main meal of the day consisting usually of a large bowl of AMAZING soup [chicken, potato, turnip, fish, etc], meat, rice, salad, beans or potatoes & a glass of fresh squeezed juice! We have changed our eating plans & join the locals in eating our main meal at one of the many local restaurants between 1-4 pm. The price for all this food ranges from $2.25 to $2.50 each for the full meal. Some restaurants advertise lunches for as low as $1.50 which may be a piece of chicken & potatoes or a dressed hamburger & fries. Some restaurants throw in jello, gelato, flan or a piece of candy for dessert! What is not to like about that? You absolutely could not cook a meal at home for that price so for us it is cost effective for us to eat out everyday which makes this a win win toward cost of living.
Bakeries
For an evening snack we may have fresh croissants or a piece of baguette with tea or coffee. Ecuadorian bread is very good but I would not consider it ‘sweet bread’ like what we found in the Yucatán bakeries in Mexico.] We stopped today at our favorite bakery & bought, no kidding, a 3 ft long baguet, two large croissants & a huge chocolate cinnamon roll – wait for it – all for under $2! The cool part about truly immersing yourself into a neighborhood is that by buying from locals – the more they see you in their shops, the prices start dropping!
Local Ecuadorian Fruit & Vegetable Markets
Local markets are where to buy the freshest fruits & vegetables imaginable! We have found they are like the bakeries – the more they see you the prices may drop. One of the absolute best places we have found to buy fruits is off a street vendor downtown. We were told the secret of bagged fruits or vegetables for sale. If the fruit or vegetable is already in a bag than the price is set at $1! We bought 4 pretty good size avocados, a bag of cherries, a bag of mandarins & a huge bag of strawberries – each $1. I’ve paid $1 plus for a small avocado for it only to be brown on the inside when I got it home. The strawberries would probably have cost at least $4-5 at Costco, if not more.
Shopping Malls/Grocers for Locals vs American
We have gone to both a local & ‘American’ mall. Shopping at the ‘American’ mall or grocer can be very expensive compared to the locals mall & grocery stores but then you are paying for the fancy shops & probably import fees on some items. The larger mall & grocery stores are apt to have whatever you would want as they carry the name brands associated with the US & European countries.
At the local mall, the stores are tiny & they make use of every bit of space. The mall that we like going to is just a couple blocks from our Airbnb. It is smaller & not as fancy as the tourist mall but with a wide variety of stores. You will not find sizes to fit The Big Guy, go figure, especially size 14 wide shoes! On the other side of that if you shop at the ‘locals’ mall, they are apt to negotiate prices. We found a compact keyboard at one of the shops & were able to negotiate off the price! Not something you find in the American stores.
Ubers/Taxis
Ubers/taxis seem to be a little more expensive but still doable. Since Quito, Ecuador is technically a long city, it is probably best to take a Uber or taxi to a drop off point & then walk to your hearts content. After lunch, then Uber back to your stay. We might walk to the grocery store but then Uber home with the groceries.
Tourist Sights/Tours
There are a lot of Tours that you will pay a price to go. I would suggest a tour guide for historical sights as it, to me, is well worth the interesting history. Let me just say that Quito, Ecuador is full of FREE sights that can easily be seen by walking! Here are just a few ideas for your trip!
I’ll go into this more on another post but number of Cathedrals in this city is amazing & most of them allow you to enter free as long as you do not interrupt services! There was only one Cathedral that charged a $5 fee [that one we did not enter].
Parks are wonderful places to spend a day especially on the weekends with live entertainment & sidewalk art sales!
Local markets in neighborhoods geared for the tourists & FREE to wander through.
A Few Cons about Quito:}
Don’t get me wrong Quito has a few minor cons. It can be expensive depending on where & what you are shopping for. The altitude of the city alone takes a bit to get use to & your skin may pay a price [I’ve never used so much moisturizer all over my body in all my life:)]. We have been told & have seen some of the concerns regarding the 500,000 refugees in Ecuador which makes for some uncomfortable moments but Ecuador is not alone in dealing with that issue.
Quito, Ecuador Should Be on your Bucket List!
Bottom line, Quito is amazing & definitely should be on your Bucket List! We haven’t seen all of Ecuador that we want – yet – but another trip is expected. The locals have been warm & inviting for the most part! The Andes Mountains are beyond beautiful. We are both so happy that we put Ecuador on our list all those years ago. Yes, there are many cities in Ecuador that could be that ‘piece of paradise’ for us or for you? We are really liking what we are seeing here in Quito but we are finding that honestly you need three to six months, for us, to really get a feel of the land.
For now, we are spending our time here in Quito so follow us to check out more sights & sounds of Quito, Ecuador! See ya soon!
