Colombia and Ecuador do not feel like neighboring countries to me. The differences are too obvious. The good thing about Ecuador is that everything is cheaper. What is less likable is that there are significantly more tourist, streets and buildings are dirtier, electricity gets cut couple hours a day, people are not as beautiful and as clean and maybe surprisingly Ecuador does not feel as safe as Colombia.
The safety situation here in Quito is especially sad. There are a lot of beautiful parts of the city but we are warned not to go there. Just two minute walk from a touristy area can bring one to a place where he is almost guaranteed to get mugged. True there are unsafe parts of Bogota and other Colombian cities but pretty much anything worth seeing is safe and there is police or military around, not the same here in Quito.
There was however a bright moment that improved my view of Quito by at least 100%. We took a cable car from 2850 to about 4000 meters and from there hiked about 3 hours to the peak of a Rucu which is at 4698.
I have been in Quito for a week and will stay for at least two more and quite a bit longer in Ecuador and I am sure I will get to like this place more. After all I was not exactly impressed when I arrived to Bogota and I fell in love with Colombia.
