Twenty-four hours ago, I was in Quito, only a few miles south of the equator. Now, after an overnight plane ride and two bus trips, I am in Pucon, three-quarters of the way to the end of South America. It's both exciting and disorienting to have traveled so far in such a short time.

    So how did I spend two weeks in Quito? I'm not sure. There were only 4 things about the city I really loved: the sound of the trolley bell, a ready supply of Chinese dumplings, Papayanet Internet Cafe, and my hostel with its big, fluffy cat. As you can tell from that list, Quito isn't exactly a special place. Still, it was what I needed at the time. Specifically, Gringo Ghetto -- 4 blocks of tourist restaurants, internet cafes, and hostels -- was what I needed at the time. After ten weeks on the road, no matter how much you enjoy traveling, a little taste of home is exactly what you need. I can't really account for what I did in those two weeks, but very little of it was cultural. I read lots of English-language books and spent lots of time watching my hostel's cable TV. When I do things like this while traveling, it's hard for me not to feel guilty, but I think the break was well-deserved.

    In spite of all my lounging about, I managed to learn a few things about Ecuador. Most of the restaurant and bar owners in the tourist neighborhood speak fluent English, so I had a surprising number of opportunities to discuss the politics and economics of the country. What I heard was depressing. At first glance, Ecuador is much more developed and prosperous than neighboring Bolivia and Peru. Buses drive through actual towns instead of collections of metal shacks. Farmers live in houses. They don't have to weight their roofs down with stone to keep them from blowing away. Since I don't see outhouses every few feet, I assume that many have running water. Downtown Quito looks like an American city -- wide, paved roads lined with banks, hotels, and fastfood joints. It's not pretty, but it seems to signal a thriving consumer culture. But according to the people I speak to, Ecuador is in the process of becoming poor. Two years ago, faced with rapidly growing debt and a steadily devaluing currency, the government of Ecuador decided to dollarize the economy. Paying down the debt has gotten easier, but it's made life much worse for the average Ecuadorian. A bartender tells me that before dollarization, a beer cost 16 cents. Now it costs a dollar. Eseentials like clothing have grown even more expensive. Pants that once cost $2-3 now cost $20 or $30. Restauraunt owners and bartenders speak English now because only foreigners can afford to go out at night.

    The more I look, the more Quito seems a city of faded glory. The Old Quarter is full of grand old buildings, many of which were built after colonial times. Now they've fallen into decay. A beautiful old opera house, complete with red velvet curtain and frescos on the ceiling, is now the bargain cinema. Others beautiful old buildings are rotting and decayed with no effort to restore them. Most dramatic of all is the cathedral. Standing on a hill above the city, its spires soaring into the air, it seems to belong in Paris or Rome. Up close, it's no less splendid, but it's surrounded by grimy office buildings. Instead of replacing broken windows, the caretakers have glued glass shards along the sills to prevent vandals from crawling inside.

    On a more humorous note, Quito is home to the most forward men in South America. Only in Cairo did I receive more male attention. Thankfully, most of the guys who come to talk to me aren't creepy. They ask me whatever they have words for in English, which often turns out to be quite random. "Are you religious?" is a favorite question. If they didn't continually talk to my boobs, I might be willing to go out with some of them. All the same, being universally attractive is kind of fun. I don't have to dress up or put on make-up or make any attempt to look nice. The mere fact that I'm white is enough to insure that three or four guys will talk to me every day.

~Meredith