Is Ecuador Safe For A Solo Female Traveler?🧍🏽♀️
Arriving in Quito was a major relief. 😮💨 I had a horrific experience leaving Paraguay (future blog post). Long dramatic story short, I almost got stuck in that country! Therefore, entering Ecuador felt like hitting the reset button on my trip.
💕 I had a Tinder date waiting for me.
👩🏾💻I had a follow up conversation scheduled with an ally who was helping me through a career change.
✅ I was excited to check another country off my list!
Things were looking up and I was overflowing with excitement.
Unfortunately, that excitement came to a screeching halt once I realized that there was a key element of my travel for which I had NOT prepared - the elevation. 😵💫
Since I hurriedly booked my Quito flight based on it being the best available option (price, flight time, Covid restrictions and border status), I did NO research prior to arrival.
To my dismay, my body forced 1.5 days of bed rest due to dehydration and elevation sickness. For reference, Dallas is 490 ft above sea level. Denver is 5,280 ft above sea level. Quito, Ecuador is a whopping 9,350 ft above sea level!!
To add insult to injury, I shifted from Asunción, Paraguay which was only 175 ft above sea level to 9.3k ft above sea level in a matter of hours - giving my body no time to adjust.
Upon arrival, my plan should have been to drink water and rest. Instead, I discovered the cutest coffee shop and explored the menu by trying one coffee beverage after another - exacerbating my dehydration!
After describing my ailments to the hotel staff using struggle Spanish, I thankfully obtained some coca tea from the pharmacy which saved me and my trip!
The bed where all the magic happened… my healing from elevation sickness.
Fully recovered, I resumed my Quito plans and had my highly anticipated Tinder date! I had been talking to this guy for weeks and we even had a video call. Communication was good and he looked like his photos. I was really excited to finally meet him!
To my disappointment, when he walked into the shop, I knew it wasn’t going to be a love connection. 😰 I towered over this man! Giving him a hug made me feel like I was going to crush him! Lesson learned: always check or ask for height!
Despite the disappointment, we had an enlightening conversation. I learned so much about his life in Quito. I don’t think I would have seen the city in the same way if I had not met him.
After my Tinder date fail, I decided to keep to myself. In Río, Lima and Medellín, I had access to WeWork coworking spaces and/or a hostel which caused me to be very social. Quito had neither of those things which made me feel a bit isolated and at times afraid.
Additionally, Quito was similar to Asunción in that there wasn’t much diversity in the population, meaning I was the darkest complected person I saw. 😕 However, a major difference was that the average height of an Ecuadorian (according to Google) is 5’6! Being 5’6 myself or almost 5’10 with heels on, I felt quite capable of defending myself on those Quito streets. 😌
If they were staring, it was obviously because of my stature! Right? 😅 I just assumed that to feel safer than thinking otherwise.
All in all, my experience arriving, residing and departing Quito felt quite safe. Everyone was incredibly friendly, helpful and mostly spoke English.
Based on my own experience, I can confidently say that the biggest danger you’ll encounter as a solo female traveler in Quito, Ecuador is the elevation! 🏔️
My favorite beverage at the cafe - Turmeric latte!
Are you kidding me?! Yep - had all three of these beverages in ONE visit!
