Today is my 2nd day in Quito and whilst my altitude sickness is starting to ease, my unease with the city is not.

It’s 5pm and I’m sitting in my hostel room just having spoken with a couple of other women here about our lack of affection for Quito. I mentioned that I don’t particularly like it here and they both echoed my feelings of unease when traveling around the city. The feeling itself is hard to describe, something is just off. One of the women said it’s like the whole city is in a bad mood. I don’t necessarily feel overly unsafe, but there’s something that’s just not right.

When I checked into the hostel yesterday I was warned about various areas and activities in the city. Do not walk on the street at night alone, always take a taxi. But try to get in an official taxi, even through the false taxis look almost the same as the official ones. If you do get into a false taxi, which you probably will, they will try to rip you off. But don’t worry all the taxis are fitted with security cameras.

If you go up to El Panecillo (the Virgin of Quito statue) make sure you take a taxi and never take the stairs, tourists always get attacked on the stairs by the same gang. But go because the view is beautiful, but make sure the taxi will wait for you to take your photos because you don’t want to be stuck at the top, you really can’t take the stairs down.

Don’t use atm’s on the streets, even during the day. Go to the hostel recommended one that is a little bit sheltered and should be a bit safer.

But don’t worry, Quito is a great place to explore and you should be fine – just don’t take out your camera or your iPhone on the street.

I went out today for a walk to the supermarket, pharmacy and ATM. I have been to the supermarket twice and also the pharmacy and at both the security guards followed me around the aisles. I don’t know if it’s because they thought I was going to steal something, or if they thought I was attractive, or if they were protecting me from would-be thieves in the store. Security doesn’t follow the locals the way they followed me, and the women in my dorm room said they had noticed the same thing.

Walking down the street I’m very conscious of how ‘white female tourist’ I am. I’ve been mildly harassed by men trying to get my attention to sell me something, but rather than just yelling at me they reach out and grab my arm. I’m staying in a good hostel just outside of Old Town which is apparently a tourist hub, however I have seen almost no other tourists when walking through the streets. I’ve also noticed that the majority of hostel guests cook and eat dinner in, not many have been venturing out after dark.

Everyone just seems to be very on edge here. No one uses their mobile phones out in the open. There is talk of dangerous things happening in Quito that even the locals are surprised by, but I haven’t actually seen any of it for myself.

So whilst I’m not comfortable in this city, I’m here and I need to make the best of it. I’m going to do the hostel free walking tour tomorrow. Apparently it’s very good and will give me a chance to hopefully relax a little whilst exploring the streets and seeing some of the sights. I’m headed out to the Galapagos Islands in a couple of days, but will be back in Quito for a week, which I unfortunately can’t seem to avoid. It will be interesting to see if the city grows on me during my return visit, but at the moment that doesn’t seem likely.