I really
should have known about this already. On
the last day of my month-long trip to Ecuador,
I had one day to explore Quito.
The sprawling UNESCO World Heritage city confused me. Where to begin? Googling among the many tours
and options I stumbled upon Free Walking Tours.
“Free? What’s the catch?” I
wondered. But reviewers wrote about the
guides’ passion, authenticity and knowledge as they explored “some great
places…that we wouldn't have otherwise come across.” I figured I had nothing to lose. I could just
split off if it was a waste of time.
Apparently I
was late to the game here because at the appointed hour I was one of 42 travelers
who assembled in the lobby of a lively youth hostel. Two young local guys
welcomed us in excellent English. Half of us went with Betto, a bearded Ecuadorian of contagious energy. I was the only traveler from the
US although everyone spoke English.The first thing he showed us was how to safely cross a street. I wish I had learned it when I’d arrived: you look the driver in the eye and give them a forceful thumbs-up. Magically, the cars part like the Red Sea. First stop was the
city’s central market. Surrounded by
towering mounds of tropical produce, street food, heaps of roses and hooks of
fresh meat, Betto plucked out unfamiliar fruits. He introduced us to babacoa
which resembles a papaya, a tomate de arbol also called tamarillo and a
naranilla that looked like an orange until he cut it open to reveal its green,
bitter fruit. Suddenly more informed, we
ordered blended juices and took a few photos.
I was amused by some of the menu translations that hung above the
stalls: “Potatoes with booklet”, “Rice
with leather”…
For three hours we walked through the historic district as he told stories. Betto’s pride in his city was evident.
Ecuador was the first South American country to
declare independence from
Spain. They’ve welcomed 400,000 Venezuelan
refugees. Their instant citizenship for
immigrants includes free health care and has made it the #1 place in the world
for US ex-pats according to International Living Magazine. He spoke candidly about the country’s
political upheavals. Some of its 44
presidents served only a few days or months. One was air lifted out of the
country as thousands of demonstrators stormed the palace. I was fascinated to learn the history of the
dollarization of the economy. Since
2000,
US
currency is the only legal tender in the country, a controversial situation
that our country had a strong hand in creating.
After a coffee break, we sat on the steps of a cathedral that was once an Incan temple. “For Incas,
Quito was like Mecca,
like Jerusalem,”
Betto said. Because the city is 10,000 feet in altitude and at the widest point
on the planet, the solstice is particularly evident here. There are no obstructions to the sun’s rays
and no shadows. Natives still blow conch
shells to commemorate it. All around us brightly clothed indigenous Ecuadorians
mingled with tourists and businessmen as past and present melded.
I had the
impression from my trip that
Ecuador
was experiencing a surge of grass-roots entrepreneurism and Betto was an
example. Would you say that
Ecuador is
prospering now?” I asked him. A new
president had just been elected and people were hopeful. “Have you seen anybody sleeping in the
streets while you’ve been here?” I hadn’t.
“How many do you see in
your big cities?” Point taken. “Free” really means “pay what
you will”. At the end of the tour, Betto gently suggested that the usual tip
was $10 to $20. The website explained, “…the power is
yours. You decide what the tour was
worth or what you can afford, if anything.” Almost everyone slipped a bill or
two into his bag. With over 20 people on my tour and two tours a day, he
probably does well. I hope so. He certainly earned it.
I was amazed
to discover that there are free walking tours in hundreds of cities all over
the world. Even in
Charleston.
In
Prague they “mix fantasy fairy-tale
settings and modernity”; in
Poznan,
Poland you can meet the city’s “fearless
pranger” and Bamber Lady; in
New York you can
choose from 30 free tours that cover everything from
Harlem
to Ground Zero. There are pub crawls,
bike tours, ghost stories, history and art tours …all free. “The mission is to make real local culture
and authentic, quality experiences easily accessible for more travelers,”
Freetour.com says. A traveler’s review puts it this way: “Since
I discovered the free tours, I do it every time I travel and it’s always really
interesting.” Now that I know, I will
too.
If You Go:
Apparently I
was late to the game here because at the appointed hour I was one of 42 travelers
who assembled in the lobby of a lively youth hostel. Two young local guys
welcomed us in excellent English. Half of us went with Betto, a bearded Ecuadorian of contagious energy. I was the only traveler from the 
For three hours we walked through the historic district as he told stories. Betto’s pride in his city was evident. 
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