Uber is the fastest, easiest way to get anywhere in Quito. I open the app, enter my destination, and wait for my driver to show up. The app will track you and your traveling with your driver, so it is very safe. All the Uber drivers I have met are friendly and interesting. It's a good opportunity to practice my Spanish.
The usual practice for Uber is to ride in the front seat with your driver. At first I thought that was odd, but now I'm used to it, and it helps when you want to talk to the driver. Often they give me good suggestions of places to go in the city. It is a very handy way to get around.
People in Quito drive very aggresively, so I would not want to drive alone. For safely and legal reasons, Peace Corps does not allow volunteers to drive. Cars cut around each other all the time, and also turn from lanes that are obviously not turn lanes. Motorcycles make their own rules. They drive between the lanes of cars, zip around the buses, and even drive up on the sidewalks sometimes to get around stopped traffic. My friend, Gustavo, says the drivers in Quito are safer than the ones of the coast. Guayaquil is even more out of control according to him!
If I'm not using the Metro or Uber, I walk everywhere else.
The only places I've been this week are the gym, MegaMaxi (a big supermarket, similar to WalMart), Quito Pizza Company, and Paseo San Francisco. The last one is a mall about 30 minutes away. I go there to see my trainer once or twice a week for a physical therapy massage. With the session itself and the Uber ride there and back, it takes a good two hours of my time.
