Quito vs Lima Comparison

Having only experienced two large South American cities so far, I can only conduct a very limited comparison. However, in said limited experience, Quito and Lima are very, very different. Much more different than I would have expected.
Let’s start with pollution: it probably has more to do with the sea breeze vs. cool, falling mountain air, but Lima feels much more breathable than Quito to me. Both will ultimately probably give you a case of black lung if you stick around too long, judging from the black filth stuck in the vent of the dehumidifier in our Lima apartment, but Lima at least smells like it’s killing you slower.
Next - style. Quitoans seemed to wear a lot of dark colors, no shorts, and lots of Andean traditional clothing. Limenos, on the other hand, are a bit more liberal with their sartorial flare. Again, this is not the cleanest of studies: we’ve got coastal vs. mountain variations at play. But I certainly feel a bit more comfortable with the range of expression that seems more openly acceptable in Lima.
Food - it’s everywhere and there’s all kinds in Lima, with a special focus on fresh fish and ceviche, of course. It’s clear that food is a major source of enjoyment in this city. In Quito, on the other hand, food seemed to be treated as a bit more of a necessity than a thrill. With the exception of the occasional delightful empanada del viento, Quitoan food was largely utilitarian, minimally nutritious and hugely portioned.

Traditional Peruvian dishes, ‘Mushroom Causa’ (left) and. ‘Papa a la huancaina’ (right)

Açaí bowl with passion fruit-based vitality tea

Quinoa Tres Leches cake (left) and Passion Fruit Cheesecake (right)

Prices. After hearing from several backpackers on their way from south to north tell us how much more expensive Ecuador was than other countries, mostly b/c of the stability of the US dollar, I’ve been disappointed at how pricy Lima is. Luckily we have a free place to stay and therefore have the freedom to spend our entire daily budget on food and drink, because otherwise we’d be pushing it. Our meals here have been from $25-40, for 2 people, without alcohol. That’s Denver pricing if not a bit higher. It will be interesting to see if/how that changes outside of Lima in general and Miraflores in particular (where we are staying and likely one of the ritzier neighborhoods in this city of 10 million people).
Nightlife and safety - I don’t think I’d feel particularly awesome walking anywhere at night in Quito, even in the pretty safe residential neighborhood we stayed in for a week or so. Perhaps we were in the wrong areas, but it seemed like everything pretty much got boarded up at dark and we were asking for a problem wandering around after that. Lima, on the other hand, feels very safe and metropolitan (again, we are in a nice part of the city). I wouldn’t go walking with an open purse here at night, but I wouldn’t think twice about walking down to the Malecon (sea cliff walk) alone in the dark with all the activity that’s around.
The accent: Limenos, and Peruvians in general, seem to drop their s’s, as in “doh dolares” instead of “dos” :) This is at once really confusing and also intriguing to me, as it makes the Spanish here sound lilted and laid back. Ecuadorian Spanish is a bit more true to the Mexican accent I’ve been taught

Cuencan New Year’s effigies

NYE traditions: leaving Ecuador, and specifically Cuenca, was bittersweet for a lot of reasons, but partially because I was bummed I wouldn't get to see the actual burning of the new year’s effigies that we saw so much preparation for. There were hundreds of effigies for sale on the sides of the roads in the days between Christmas and New Years around Ecuador, and it was fun to see all the different shapes and sizes and attires. We had read that the same pasttime was observed in Peru and were looking forward to watching the creepy voodoo dolls burn, but no such luck. So far Lima’s New Year’s celebration seems to consist only of 17 million fireworks displays and the typical ‘yellow for luck’ attire. We did see grapes everywhere in both cities, though: eat one per month of the year at the stroke of midnight, and don’t mumble (or else you'll have a rough go of it that month), plus a 13th for good luck.
Traffic: it’s really bad in both cities, with hours long jams clogging the roads. However, in Lima there seems to be at least some respect for, at least acknowledgement of, the pedestrian way of life. Not only are we not always honked at aggressively while walking across the street here, but we are actually paused for and waved across from time to time. Imagine that! (Revision: after two bus trips I and out of Lima, I can safely say that the traffic in Lima is 100% nightmarish; I can see why we’ve been warned to leave for the airport 4 hours before our flight even though it can sometimes only be a 20 minute drive)

Northern Lima gridlock as experienced from the front row, second floor of a bus

Population: 10 million in greater Lima (!!), only 1/4 that in Quito and surrounds. ‘Nuf said. We found ourselves swimming against the current of people on our way back up to the Malecon one day, and agoraphobia was real. This place is packed w/ humans. (For reference, there are sub 6 million in the entire state of Colorado)
Bread - it’s everywhere in Ecuador. Panederias, pastelerias, etc. It’s not the best bread ever: it’s largely white bread w/ high sugar content and lots of air, but it’s consistent and reliable. In Lima so far, bread seems relatively hard to come by. Sure you can find a sanguche shop without much trouble, it if you want to make your own, good luck.
Birds! - they are here in Lima! And in Quito they were not. Even in Mindo, the cloud forest, they were few and far between. Is this another coastal vs. mountain region thing?
Dogs - so, so incredibly many stray ones in Quito, even randomly throughout the city. So few here in Lima. There are a fair share of pet dogs in both cities: lots of terriers and German Shepherds in Lima, and a pretty solid mix in Quito from what we saw. Cats seem to have a bit of a greater presence I Lima - we saw a handful of them, clearly in residence, at Parque Kennedy
Tangible history: clearly each city has it’s fair share, but Quito seems so much more steeped in it and closer to it’s past. Lima feels very cosmopolitan and almost generically so - it feels occasionally interchangeable with Florida, California or Australia - while I got the sense that you could never mistake your surroundings for anywhere else when in Quito.

Art - there is SO MUCH street art in Lima, murals everywhere! Clearly the mark of neighborhoods that have the means and interest in investing in this, but it adds so much to the atmosphere there. We didn’t see much of this in Quito at all, even on our drives through various neighborhoods and our time spent in the historic part of the city
Discovery; while I love Lima, I have a feeling everyone else does to, and everything has been touched. However in Quito, and Ecuador in general, I felt more of a sense of having a discovered a diamond in the rough.
Language - A few stand out differences so far (you can tell what my backpacking life consists of just by these examples): public bathrooms, in Ecuadorian, is “banos publicos”; in Peruvian, it’s “servicios hygienicos” (which, I might add, is almost always false advertising); avocados, in Ecuadorian, are “aguacates”; in Peruvian, they are “paltas”; sandwiches are “sanduches” in Ecuador but “sanguches” in Peru; there are inevitably hundreds more

I realize this may all sound like I’m favoring Lima over Quito, but actually, that’s not even quite the case. I have really enjoyed both and have been surprised by aspects of each. Isn’t that at least partially what this trip is about, after all? Having the space to just be and feel and opine, with no ulterior motive?