Ecuador vs. Colombia

(Friday, 17 July 2009)

I haven’t been for too long in Ecuador yet, but there are things that strike me as in deep contrast with Colombia. Here are a few…

Ethnicity. While walking on the streets or riding in the buses you quickly realise you’re in a country where indigenous people if still a minority aren’t exactly a rarity. You can see from the way people look and dress that the mix of bloods skewed less towards the European side here than in Colombia. It reminds me of Guatemala, on that aspect.

Telephony. In Colombia you’d see people everywhere (and I really mean everywhere) advertising minutes of air time – that meant you could use their mobile phone(s) to make calls to any network for a fee. Here, in Ecuador, that role is taken by bricks & mortar stores, where you can make your calls in old-fashioned booths. Lower contribution to the employment rate, but better for the real estate business, I guess.

Dirt. With the honourable exception of some areas of Quito, there is a lot of garbage wondering around. Streets are often dirty and smelly. The sides of the roads are coloured here and there (actually with more frequency than what this expression conveys!) by plastic bags and bottles. No wonder - here goes an example... On my 12 hour long (!) bus ride from Puerto Lopez to Quito I saw with contentment the auxiliary taking the time to collect litter from the bus floor (good call – it was needing it!). My surprise when the man, with his hands full of garbage, struggles to open a window, with some effort and skill finally manages to do it, and there he goes – throws everything overboard, with the bus still in movement. Shocked faces aboard? Only mine…

Sports. If football is #1 in both countries in terms of media attention, people’s time is more often spent playing something else. In Colombia, it’s billiard. Even in the most remote village, in the least accessible Andean valley, you can be sure to find 2 or 3 large billiard & pool places, with a few tables each, likely with electrically heated cloths. In Ecuador, it’s volleyball. For every football pitch, there are 3 or 4 volleyball courts. Everyone plays, men and women, the young and the elder. But while in Colombia billiard & pool playing skills reach very impressive levels, the same cannot be said about how Ecuadorians play volleyball… Have you ever heard of the catching & throwing fault, people? And, by the way, what about trying to spike for a change?

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Volleyball action in a market. Now judge the skill level for yourself, namely regarding the catching & throwing fault and the need for a spike here and there! (photos & video taken on 22 July, in Latacunga, Ecuador's central highlands)