Mind the gap.

When we first moved to Loja, we quickly learned that a stroll around town can be treacherous if you're not careful. Not because of crooks, criminals or even crazy drivers (which there are plenty of), but because if you don't watch your step, you're could easly break your ankle, be swallowed alive by a hole or shredded by barbed wire lining the sidewalk.

In nearly every part of town and all across Ecuador we have come across stunningly dangerous obstacles that would be screaming "lawsuit" in the US. While we understand that this is probably a common predicament in developing countries, it is sometimes so blatently dangerous that we can't help but laugh.... or cry. Each of us has turned an ankle or nearly bit the dust on more than one occasion because we weren't watching where we were going. One day Ben took a step backward to avoid an oncoming bus and ended up standing in a ditch at about waist level with the sidewalk. We wear flip folps with extreme caution and always try to be vigilant with one eye on the ground in front of us. Here are a few of our local favorites....

Watch out! This thing could swallow you alive. It's a hole we dodge everyday on our way to the park.

This ankle breaker is right in front of our apartment. It goes so deep we can't even see the bottom.

This is a common site around town. A triple threat on a main sidewalk in town. How the women wear their fashionable stilletos around town (and so many of them do) without breaking an ankle is unbelievable.

"I know. Let's line the sidewalk with barbed wire. That way if someone falls, they can cut themselves too!" 

By the way. If you happened to be a victim of any of these traps, I think you would just be out of luck. After all, it's your fault because you weren't watching where you were going.... dummy! It puts personal responsibility at a higher level than we're used to in the states.