Getting around Quito is really quite easy. These little yellow cabs are my favorite. Rumor has it there are 9,000 of them in the city and most are driven by the great-great offspring of the Lost Tribe of Jehu that intermarried with the Incas.... :) They will pick you up at the store and drive you most anywhere for a dollar or two. I think this cab is delivering a major appliance. The more of these drivers I see with gray hair, the better I feel that my chances are of surviving the ride. If there is no exchange of paint, you aren't too close. If there aren't enough lanes, make a third out of two. When you are bright yellow, surely everybody can see you. If not, honk, swerve, and honk. There are also big buses like you see in the picture and even trolleys, but I love the little yellow guys. Only once has one started to drive off before I got both feet in the door. They don't mind at all stopping traffic to let you off, or turning on a dime to go in the direction you want. I usually carry the gold colored dollar coins that you get as change in a US post office stamp machine, and they do the magic of getting me to where I need to go. You just haven't lived until you take a yellow taxi in Quito.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Getting around Quito
Getting around Quito is really quite easy. These little yellow cabs are my favorite. Rumor has it there are 9,000 of them in the city and most are driven by the great-great offspring of the Lost Tribe of Jehu that intermarried with the Incas.... :) They will pick you up at the store and drive you most anywhere for a dollar or two. I think this cab is delivering a major appliance. The more of these drivers I see with gray hair, the better I feel that my chances are of surviving the ride. If there is no exchange of paint, you aren't too close. If there aren't enough lanes, make a third out of two. When you are bright yellow, surely everybody can see you. If not, honk, swerve, and honk. There are also big buses like you see in the picture and even trolleys, but I love the little yellow guys. Only once has one started to drive off before I got both feet in the door. They don't mind at all stopping traffic to let you off, or turning on a dime to go in the direction you want. I usually carry the gold colored dollar coins that you get as change in a US post office stamp machine, and they do the magic of getting me to where I need to go. You just haven't lived until you take a yellow taxi in Quito.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Back to normal
September 30th this beautiful little country came to a screeching halt. There was trouble. At first we thought it was just a labor strike among the local police. The scene quickly escalated and the police and the president were in a 
head to head conflict. Confusion abound. The Ministry of Education closed all school so we had to scramble to get all 530 kids home safe. We found a few gliches in our evacuation plan but for the most part everyone pitched in and we called parents, arranged rides home, made lists and tried our best to keep track of everyone until they were picked up by an authorized adult. Once home, we sat glued to the TV trying figure out what was going on. As the evening wore on we could hear the bullets flying at the police hospital where the police supposedly had the president. We were able to watch on TV as the special forces rescued the president.
head to head conflict. Confusion abound. The Ministry of Education closed all school so we had to scramble to get all 530 kids home safe. We found a few gliches in our evacuation plan but for the most part everyone pitched in and we called parents, arranged rides home, made lists and tried our best to keep track of everyone until they were picked up by an authorized adult. Once home, we sat glued to the TV trying figure out what was going on. As the evening wore on we could hear the bullets flying at the police hospital where the police supposedly had the president. We were able to watch on TV as the special forces rescued the president.Was it all staged? We don't know. Was it an attempted coup? I personally think it was labor unrest that the politicians took advantage of. Whatever it was, life is back to normal. The malls like the one above on the right are full of shoppers. The little neighborhood stores are busy again. The Indian women in their felt hats and long braids hanging down their backs are on the street corners selling fruit and vegetables. School is going strong. How long will this peace last? We hope for a very long time. Pray for stability in Latin America. God is doing some wonderful things in this place. Opportunity always stands under the shadow of risk.
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