Disabled travellers

Disabled Ecuadoreans are finally receiving a little more attention since the election of Lenin Moreno, who is paraplegic, as vice-president in 2006 and 2009. As with most Latin American countries however, facilities for the disabled traveller are still sadly lacking. Wheelchair ramps are a rare luxury in most of the country, but they are present in the resort town of

. Getting a wheelchair into a bathroom or toilet is well nigh impossible, except for some of the more upmarket hotels. Quito's trolley system has wheelchair access in principle, but it is much too crowded to make this practical. Pavements are often in a poor state of repair. Disabled Ecuadoreans obviously have to cope with these problems and mainly rely on the help of others to move around; fortunately most bystanders are very helpful.