handbags/fanny packs

[JAN FIORUCCI]

What do you advize for carrying combs, cash, etc. when on a tour?

[JOHN RUSCICA]

I suggest you keep valuables (trip cash, credit cards, passport) in an Eagle Creek Neck Wallet hidden under your arm which is never seen in public.  Inside zippered, SPF clothing from Tilley is good for securing cash and some items that need to be accessed during your day trips.  Be very careful with daypacks that can be knifed on the floor of a bus or on the streets.  They should always be locked.  Los ladrons (thiefs) have never gotten to me.

[COUNTRY EXPERT- SUZAN HASKINS]

If you are on an organized tour, you won’t have to worry about anyone cutting your bag. The bus will be private and safe.

I take the public bus frequently from Otavalo to Quito and those buses are also very safe — however on a public bus I always hold my bag on my lap — unless I have a seat to myself and can spread out. I would not put it in the overhead or on the floor.

When I am about on my daily errands in Cotacachi, Otavalo, Quito… I have a very small purse that I carry my phone, camera, cash, etc. It’s about 4 inches by 5 inches and it straps over one shoulder and across my body diagonally. I have never been pickpocketed either. Basically you need to be aware of your surroundings, as you would anywhere. Don’t pull out your camera or smartphone without looking around first to see if someone is watching you. (In Ecuador, I have a $30 phone like everyone else… no one wants to steal it.)

Don’t stand in crowds where people can press up against you and get a hand in your pocket. Don’t hang out in nightbclubs until the wee hours and them stumble home alone… Don’t walk around dripping in gold, diamonds and an expensive watch. Normal common sense stuff.

If I were by myself in Quito at night, I would take a taxi. But usually I am with my husband and we walk. We’ve never even come close to having an issue. I will say that the less you look like a tourist, the more comfortable you will be. If you’re wearing safari gear and pulling out a map because you don’t know where you are going, the more you look like a tourist.

[JOHN BUCHANAN]

Hi, Susan,

good info; My I-phone with Verizon service from the US is going to be useless for telephone calls (again) in S.A. I will be in Ecuador during and after the Fast Track conference and wonder what your recommendation is to have some phone for local as well as, hopefully, some international use?

The ‘geniuses’ at Apple do not recommend replacing the SIM card, btw.

John Buchanan

[COUNTRY EXPERT- SUZAN HASKINS]

You can buy a local phone here for about $40 or $50. You can use that, of course, for international calls (not exactly cheap) and/or texting. To make free international calls, if you have a laptop or ipad, you can use skype… from your hotel room, of course. If you don’t want to bring a computer, there are “cabinas” all over the country where you can easily pop in and make an international call.

[BOBBY PHILLIPS]

Susan,  Is the cell service there the same as in the US?  I thought I had read where you can only call another cell and not a landline phone. True?   And can you recommend a store where a cellphone can be purchased it Quito? Preferably not too far from conference site. thanks

[COUNTRY EXPERT- SUZAN HASKINS]

You can call land lines from a cell phone in Ecuador. You can text and do all the things you can with a cell phone in the U.S. I’m not sure where to buy a phone close to the conference, but across the street from the Swissotel is Ecuador’s World Trade Center — I’ll bet you can get one there. Look for red signs that say Claro…

[BOBBY PHILLIPS]

Thanks for the info Ms.Suzan

[JOHN BUCHANAN]

Yes, many Thanks, Suzan!

[EI EXPERT – EDD STATON]

Our other cell phone service provider is Movistar.

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