quito living prices

Oddly enough, despite major events on Thursday, things here have returned to Quito-normal. The police are back to work, people are walking in the streets, and businesses reopened on Friday like normal. There's a slightly larger military presence in the streets than before, but things are fairly tranquilo here in Quito these days.

On Friday, I hit the jackpot- I realized that there is a local food market (a feria!) less than a block away from my hostel on Fridays. Although I am 100% confident that the vendors took full and complete advantage of me being a foreigner, things here are pretty cheap. For example:

3 mangos= $1
1 kilo of strawberries =$1
5 enormous carrots = $.50
more broccoli than I can eat in a week = $.50
6 eggs = $.60
4 heads of garlic =$.50

Keep in mind that these are definitely gringo prices- I'm sure Ecuadorians get better deals. These fresh fruits and veggies aren't as cheap at the Supermaxi supermarket right across the street (which is rumored to be one of the most expensive supermarkets), but other things are. Herbal tea with 25 bags, for example, cost me $.40. A liter of milk (stored in a tetrapak, not refrigerated) costs $.62.

Then again, I have paid big bucks for things that are luxuries- almost $3 for a chocolate bar produced by a local cooperative of indigenous growers who grow the cacao AND produce chocolate- almost unheard of. And gone are the days of cheap, delicious wine- I bought a Chilean wine for $8 that costs around $3 in Viña.

Taxis are also cheap, I can go almost anywhere for $2 or less. The bus costs $.25 and will take you across the entire city if you want, but you have to be careful not to be robbed. My 1 hour salsa dancing class cost $6. Rent in a decent apartment seems to be between $150-$300/month- the $300 would be a really nice place.

So all in all, one can live in Ecuador on a pretty cheap budget. As long as you don't eat too much chocolate.