Quito, Ecuador - Street Scenes - Photo Sketches

The first thing that will strike you about the streets of Quito are how incredibly narrow they are!  They are also composed of volcanic rock, since that was something this city in the heart of the mountain area has readily available and was readily available when the town was first built by the Spanish.

La Ronda

As we drove over the bridge, our guide had us look down on the street called La Ronda.  He said this is the first street that the Spanish completed in Quito.  It’s a very quiet side street now, but I’m guessing it was busier when they first completed it!

Quito Neighborhoods

This isn’t a street scene, but I just wanted to give you an idea of how close all the houses are as they sort of climb up the mountainsides around the city.  They look like little honeycombs in this sketch, and looked like that in real life as well!

Quito Street Scene

I actually jumped out of the car to stand in the middle of the street to capture how narrow the streets are – and check out the line of cars just sitting in traffic!  You can also get an idea of how the city just seems to curve up the sides of the mountains.

Quito Street Balcony

One of the things I noticed was how frequently there were small balconies that hung out over the streets.  They were so charming, with the pots of flowers hanging over the railings.

Quito Street Vendor

One of the other common sights to see were street vendors that seemed to line certain streets.  Altho they were very quaint to look at, we were warned not to eat or drink anything from them.  The water, altho safe for natives to drink, might contain some things that could make us ill.  So, it’s a safe to not drink anything made from the water or eat any fruit or veggies that have been washed with the water.

Quito Town Plaza

Something that is quite common in these old cities built by the Spanish are plazas in what were once (and perhaps still are) the center of town.  Our perspective for this view was from the home where the President of Quito has his offices and could also live.

Enjoy!