I've been living here in Loja for nearly two weeks now and although many would say that that's too soon to judge a place, it doesn't stop me from trying. Here are a few observations made during my short time here so far:
The weather: Being British it seems only right that I talk about the weather here as a first priority. Well the weather in Loja is pretty much as perfect as a fairly pale white boy like me could hope it to be. Being near the equator (as all of Ecuador is), the sun sets just after 6am and sets again just after 6pm pretty much every day, with no real seasons to speak of as we Europeans know them, rather they differentiate between vague dry and rainy seasons, which can seemingly fall at any time of year. Otherwise it's sunny most days, with the mercury rarely topping 30 Celsius during the day and rarely falling below 10 at night. It can occasionally absolutely piss on you, but people here have no need for a coat as the imminent sun and dry mountain air will just dry you off again. In fact I often don't bother drying my hair after I have a shower as I know my hair will be dry once I've walked the 15 minutes to the school.
The surroundings: I have to say I'm still a little in awe of Loja's Andean setting. Being a town built on a grid system which slopes down on all 4 sides towards the centre, you can see the mountains from wherever you are stood in the city and it takes you only to wander 10 minutes away from the centre to be left with an awesome view over the city and the mountains beyond (see the background picture to this blog, which was actually taken outside of my front door). The downside of this mountain location is that Loja is somewhat isolated - the nearest town is a good 45 minutes by bus - but with scenery like that it's easier to see why most Lojanas don't bother leaving.
My digs: not technically about the city itself but still worth a quick mention. There are 6 of us sharing a kind of courtyard affair with rooms backed onto it in an unusual motel style (see picture below). It seems odd but I'm finding it fine so far, the obvious advantages being the constant roofed-over sunlight without leaving the house and the hammock in the corner, which would be perfect for a siesta if people round here only believed in that sort of thing.
City life: The streets are generally dusty but litter-free, and the way I would sum up the city life I've noticed so far is that people want to take their own path, at their own pace, and won't let anyone stop them achieving that goal. Therefore in my attempts to blend in and not appear too much of a gringo (more on that struggle at a later date I'm sure) I've been perfecting my 'I know there's a car coming which I know won't slow down and could run me over but I refuse to acknowledge it or look at it, let alone quicken my pace as I cross this busy street' walk. It needs practice but I'm getting there. Otherwise I can't say that I've particularly noticed the level of friendliness amongst strangers that I may have expected when coming here, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. One more thing: why do people insist on walking side-by-side when the pavement is only big enough for two people? The number of times I've had to walk into the road because of this phenomenon... I'll get to the bottom of it, watch this space.
Taxis: There is an incredible abundance of yellow taxis in Loja. It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that there is probably one taxi for every three normal cars in the city. It is hard to imagine where all the demand comes from, although a lot of it may stem from the fact that most people in Loja don't have the money to own a car and the fare for any ride within Loja is a mere $1 (did I mention they use US dollars in Ecuador? Makes things very handy indeed, plus they actually have dollar coins not like that dollar bill nonsense). Of course, if you make the foolish mistake of admitting to being English you may find your fare mysteriously double, as I learned to my cost. Otherwise car driving is much like walking around - get in the other person's way at your peril, and if you so much as cross their eyeline you can guarantee to get beeped at.
Shopping: The typical shop is very small in size, with probably only enough room to fit a maximum of 3 people. Even more typical are the so-called INSERT NAME HERE which have a caged entrance, only allowing the shop worker to give you your items through a hole in the cage or in some more liberal establishments over the top of the cage. In a town which prides itself on its safety this seems a little unnecessary, but maybe it's a typical Ecuadorian thing and I should stop being so bloody judgemental. There is a supermarket in the town but that seems to only be frequented by the rich and gullible foreigners, as a 400g bag of pasta can cost up to the same as the average hourly wage here (which i'm informed is $4). The sensible amongst us go to the bustling Sunday market for our sustainance, where battle-worn old ladies flaunt their wares, be it freshly caught fish, ripe tomatoes or coconut juice. In all the excitement we ended up paying $2 for a small bunch of grapes. Gringos eh... To be honest the cheapest way to eat is probably just to go to a random street cafe where you can expect to get a drink, soup (albeit sometimes containing chicken feet) and hearty meal of chicken and rice for 2 dollars.
Music and nightlife: After reading the lonely planet's description of Loja's nightlife as 'a tame affair' I have taken it upon myself to prove them wrong, with little success so far. We went to the main 'nightclub' the Saturday after I arrived, and although we all got merrily drunk on several shared bottles of rum in the club, the place never really got going and some of the locals in our group took to teaching us gringos how to dance salsa in the absence of more people on the dancefloor. It's easy by the way - just a few steps from side to side, sway the hips and resist the urge to move your shoulders or knees too much and you've got it. Loja also prides itself on its musical reputation but the only music I've heard so far is from the rubbish vans and gas vans who blare out the most obnoxious tune at all hours of the day and night. I thought about recording it to put on here but I really don't want to subject you all to it. I'm off to a famous local musical joint tomorrow night so I hope to bring you better tidings on that front soon.
OK I've rambled enough and I'm getting a bit bored now so I'm sure you were bored long ago. Hasta luego!
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