22nd September - in Quito

Wed. 22^nd September

Decided we must have ‘sneakers’ for the cruise round Galapagos, a la written instructions from the tour provider. Caught a trolley bus to an out of town shopping centre on the advice of the tourist office. Queued with the locals for the place to open at 10am, feeling extremely out of place. Did buy some very nice snorkelling equipment which I was glad of on the boat though. At least we have now been on a local bus instead of scurrying around by taxi in fear of getting mugged – a real danger in Quito. One of our later acquaintances on the boat told us how she was scammed in Quito by a woman telling her she had bird mess on her rucksack. Despite protesting that it was jam and trying to get away, the accomplice cut the strap of her $500 camera, in full sight of half a dozen security guards and policemen. A pre-prepared statement helpfully provided by the police, describing the events almost exactly, confirmed her suspicions that the police are fully aware of the scam, and are failing to do anything about it, despite heavy police, army and private security guards on almost every doorway. Looking back to this stage of the trip, I realise we should have taken day trips out, but we seemed to be enervated by the hustle and bustle and traffic, and the scares about personal security, so we wasted a lot of time trying to enjoy a city that I found I simply wanted to escape.

[Visited the Grand Plaza and up to the hill overlooking the city to see the Panecillo, the statue of the virgin. Changed rooms at the hotel and hoped for a better night's sleep. P]