The Sun

By Bradley Rehak – Guest blogger studying in Quito, Ecuador

The sun, in Ecuador, is very bright and powerful. This is also true of Quito. As unsurprising as this might be for some, the actuality of living here and the weather conditions relating to it are rather interesting.

To begin, Quito is situated at 2,800 meters above sea level (9,186 feet), making it the second highest capitol in the world—and almost twice as high as Denver. It's also extremely close to the Equator (about a 20 minute drive from here). The altitude and its concomitant tendency towards cold weather, and the equatorial location which encourages hot weather, results in a more or less constant battle between the two. In the morning and at night it can be quite cold here: last night I wished I had an extra t-shirt on to supplement my fleece and stocking cap while watching a soccer game. One the sun is out, however, it can be almost unbearably hot (even during the winter, the current season)—at least wearing jeans, which is absolutely necessary in the morning, presumably when one is heading to work or school. The shade has an extreme effect upon one's bodily temperature, as ten minutes out of the sun is sufficient to want to wear a jacket, while five in the sun is enough to want a swimsuit. I estimate that I go through this process of removing and putting on my fleece a minimum of 38 times per day.

The force of the sun is also quite amazing here. I may be from Iowa, but having lived in and visited such countries as Australia, Kuwait, Iraq and Egypt, I thought that I had an excellent notion of how to deal with the sun. So, almost two weeks ago now when I left for the park to play basketball for a couple of hours (minus sunscreen), I wasn't particularly worried. Two hours later I felt fine. It was only when I awoke the next morning that I noticed every part of my body that had been exposed to the sun was bright red. And it hurt.

I'm happy to say that I am now almost entirely pain-free. However, my arms continue to peel from that one and only day that I spent outside without sunscreen. I should also note that Ecuador is the only place where I have seen a sunscreen of SPF 100 for sale.