The all mighty dollar

In an attempt to avoid the slings and arrows of the currency market, Ecuador changed over to the American dollar as it´s official currency in 2000. Most of the people I´ve talked to say it was for the better, although it does make it difficult to export to neighboring countries. During the switchover, a lot of people lost money due to the low exchange rate given, inflation, and miscalculating prices. For me, it´s been nice to not have to constantly exchange prices in my head, but I suspect things cost a little more than they would otherwise, especially in Quito.

The change here is an odd mix of US and special Ecuadorian coins. Particularly popular are well worn gold $1 coins, which I think I´ve only seen a couple of times in the US. My usual strategy in the State is to give exact change, or at least try to keep my larger bills. It´s the opposite here: no one has change so I try to stockpile it. Merchants will take your $10 or $5 bill and run down the street trying to get change. It gets even worse in Bua, the village where we´re staying. It´s almost impossible to break even a $5. The bus has actually given us discounted fares (to the nearest dollar) rather than give up valuable change. I´m still not sure I understand that strategy.