Adjusting to the altitude in Quito

We smoke.

I can't say that that the smoking was our issue, but we found Quito to be rather exhausting. There is almost no flatland in Quito, after all it is an Andes mountain plateau city at nearly 10,000 feet elevation, and most of the town has crept up the surrounding mountainsides. It really is very high and very steep. Climbing up a city street and then climbing up several floors of our lodging staircase left us giddy and lightheaded (the pollution in that plateau bowl is also rather nasty). We decided straight away that although we liked Quito, we would not wish to live there.

Cuenca is at 8,000 feet, still fairly high by north American city slicker standards, but we noticed no  appreciable altitude effects as we had in Quito. Nearly all of Cuenca is in the flat of the valley. Air pollution is negligible.

We did find the coast much more to our liking. The elevation, the warmer climate, the lack of Spanish colonial culture found in the higher elevation cities. However the coast is rather poor, much of it is desert-ish, and bare, and lacking in infrastructure.

Guyequil is hot, humid, and at sea level -- think Houston TX. Flat and hazy. Everything is under construction. The roads, utilities, buildings, the entire city. Lots of buzz. Lots of food. A huge port. International city with hardly a smidgeon of Spanish colonial empire.

So you have to choose what you are willing to give up and what you consider more important to your life.

Everything is a tradeoff. Longer sunnier days in winter, books, music, fresh air, good food..Why go all the way to SA?.

Bob H, how was the adjustment to the altitude in Quito for you?

I'm not sure I can answer that well, since I don't smoke -- gave it up many years ago. But I didn't have much difficulty in adjusting to the altitude. The first few days were tough, yes, but coca tea helped; and after at most a week, I was OK.

What Gardener says about Quito is true, though it's most true of the Centro Historico -- the streets are very steep in many cases. In the North, where I live now, it's much more flat.

Each of us is different, but you should be able to adjust, I think.

Hi Sue,

We had people here from Denver,, who are smokers and drinkers.  One had no problem at all, his wife had a terrible three days adjusting.  But,, the disclaimer was they were just determined to try to get out and do a lot right away.  I have a son that is a long distance runner and trains with big name Olympic runners at high altitude.. they use Liquid iron and Emer Gen C together for weeks before they arrive at high altitude training and he was recommending it for anyone coming from flat land.. or sea level.  The nice thing was to get yourself built up and take it slow when you first arrive there is an adjustment to coming, shortness of breath when walking, being tired more easily, but all of these can be adjusted to.. we are in Mitad del Mundo,, which is less than Quito.. the client we had that we were doing their paperwork was doing great by 10 days.. no headaches, no dizzyness,, they were just dying to get things started, and suffered because they just were overdoing it.. so if you need to there are places that are lower,, you can go down to, like Cuenca,, Cuenca is lower, but if you are truly wanting Quito,, with a slow, easy pace and some liquid iron,, or sublingual iron,, with Emergen=C  the oTC vitamin C,, most people do great.  It is hard to say that you will or will not,, but resting when you arrive and slowly working on walking and traveling will greatly help you eliminate you causing an issue. 
Please know that this was my son's suggestion, and it worked for our people here... he runs high in the 14000 range and even being from Mile HIGH,, he takes it easy until his blood works on more red cells... so.. I hope that helps.. Ed and I took it slow for the first month,, and we were a-Okay.

Must be difficult for tourists

mugtech wrote:

Must be difficult for tourists

Yes, a person who is visiting for only a few days or a week might find him/herself not physically able to see much of the city. It's a shame, because there's so much to see in Centro Historico, but you need to be able to walk from one site to another -- some of it up and down hills.

Quito:  Expect to rest at least 1 week at a minimum.  REST.  No exertion while your body acclimates.  Lots of water, chlorophyll and colloidal silver to help your body absorb oxygen.  Eat lots of iron rich foods.

As a newby (two weeks) in Ecuador I am having somewhat of a problem with the altitude.  We arrived in Quito from Calabash, North Carolina (flat lands) and mywife and I both had a problem with the altitude there.  We walked quite a bit because we only had a week to spend in Quito bedore we left for Cuenca.  I expected that my body would adjust in a week or two but now, after a week in Cuenca I am still having a problem.  Yesterday, I felt so tired that I left my wife to finish shopping and went back to our aparment to lis down. 

To put things in the proper perspective I should probably mention that I am 76 and had bypass heart surgery in 2009.  I did smoke for 25 years but was smart enought to quit 30 years ago, and I do have some wine or beer on occasion.  I very well on my stress test this October so I did not really expect much of a problem with the altitude change, but I have to admit that I tire much more quickly than in NC and have to stop to catch my breath frequently, and to cut back on my activities.  We are enjoying the sights and sounds of Cuenca so much that it is difficult to do that.

I still expect to adjust soon but I may have to try some of the collodial silver.  Wish that I had brought some because I have no idea where I can get some here as we are only here for three months.  If anyone can advise where to get the silver, what strength and how much to take I would appreciate it.