Last night, we had the opportunity,
as a group, to go on a tour of the historical center of Quito. I have been told
this area isn’t the safest place to go at night in a small group, but with a
large group on an organized tour, we were fine. That meant I could have my
camera out and take as many pictures of the beautifully lit up buildings as I
wanted. We got to hear some interesting stories about historic Quito and got a
full tour of the cathedral.
The tour of the cathedral really
brought out the contrast between the safety precautions in the US and the
(nearly non-existent) safety precautions here. We were able to go up onto the
roof of the cathedral and, from there, climb up onto the actual domed part of
the roof to look out over the city. Probably not the safest thing in the world.
Not dangerous, but if a person were to slip, the fall back onto the roof would
hurt. It was wonderful to be able to go up and climb around on the roof, but I
know it would never be allowed in the US. There would be too much fear of a
lawsuit.
Rules and restrictions like that are
much more lax here in general. I feel less like I could get in trouble for
climbing up on something or going into an area that might be a little more
dangerous than solid ground. People here expect you to know your limits and
stay within them. If you think you can do something, no one is going to stop
you because if you overestimated your abilities, it’s your fault, not theirs. To
me, this is a good thing. I think people in the US are a little too afraid of
risk. Sure, if I’m climbing a ladder, or a silk, I’m increasing my chances of
hurting myself than if I stayed on the ground, but I enjoy being in the air enough
that I’m willing to take that risk. As long as I am careful, I’m going to be
fine, and I will take responsibility for that. Being able to take that
responsibility is something I value and all the restrictions and “don’t do this
or that’s” in the US take that away.
Just some of my thoughts. I’ll put
up a link for pictures of the historic center tomorrow, they aren’t up yet!
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