Salir y Chupar: Nightlife and Party Culture

As a college student, I consider myself pretty familiar with the youth partying/drinking scene in the United States. However, anytime you travel to a foreign country you have to be prepared for all sorts of cultural differences, and that includes the differences in partying and drinking, how people do it, when people do it, and what to be aware of if you decide to participate. I thought it would be fitting to talk about this aspect of Ecuadorian culture especially right after Carnaval which my friends and I spent at Montañita beach, a town notorious for its party culture.

I'll start by saying that I am 19 years old and in the United States I am not yet considered "legal" when it comes to drinking alcohol. So the first thing that's different for me in Ecuador is that the legal drinking age is 18 so I can buy alcohol wherever and whenever I want. Because of this nifty law change, I can experience more of the nightlife, and party culture here in Ecuador which there is a lot of especially in Quito because it is both a big city and the capital. There are a lot of cool bars, and nightclubs which is something I never really got the chance to explore in McMinnville.

The drinking culture is very different for college students. Now don’t get me wrong there are still trashy bars and kids chugging beer but there is a lot more people out at the main plaza in the city at the bars, and there aren’t any house parties. If you want to go out, you pick a bar with your friends and you dance all night and well into the morning. In the US it is common for bars and clubs to close around 2 AM, but here it is not uncommon to stay out dancing with your friends until 4 AM. When you’re an early riser like me your sleep schedule can take a real hit from nights like these. There are a lot of bars where certain nights are “ladies nights” which lucky for me means free drinks until 10 or 11. Sorry boys, gender inequality swung the other direction this time. Certain clubs have cover charges, which is something I have never experienced before because (and am not a huge fan of), and there are certain clubs that can be really tough to get into just because they are very exclusive. However, perks of being a gringa: when bouncers see a couple of foreign girls standing outside of a club, there’s a pretty high chance they’ll call you over and let you in. Downside of being a gringa: drugs can be pretty prominent and you have to be a lot more careful with your drinks and who you let buy you drinks than you have to be at a small liberal arts college in McMinnville, Oregon. I personally haven’t had any issues, but I know other students that have, so it’s important to have an extra radar up at all times and not let yourself get to a point where that radar is down. It’s definitely a different environment but I like the clubbing and dancing scene better than the squished, music too loud, hope the cops don’t get called house party scene.

For Carnaval, which is one of the biggest celebrations of the year, and a very much party-centric one, my friends and I decided to head to the beach. There are a couple of beaches on the coast that are a little more tame, but my friends and I said “go hard or go home” and picked one of the most famous party beaches in Ecuador: Montañita. Let me start by saying that the beach is gorgeous, and as someone who is extremely fond of the ocean, I loved it. Low elevation and high temperatures does however mean high humidity and lots of mosquitos. We were applying bug spray every day and sweating off any ounce of makeup that we attempted to put on our faces. And without the mountains to block the storm clouds like we normally have in Quito, the rain just came and kept coming, but I’m a Washingtonian so really, it was just like being at home. In the stints of time where there wasn’t rain we managed to get out into the ocean and swim a bit and WOW talk about warm water. It was so easy to swim in that it felt like a heated pool with the added fun of the waves. We drank out of freshly cut open coconuts, let our skin get tan by the overcast, and ate some awesome fresh seafood. The town was a little run down on the outskirts and definitely wasn’t a highly developed area, but it was pretty just the same, and clearly a tourist town.

When they say it’s a giant party on the weekends, they mean it. It wasn’t just the type of thing where there was a bar on every corner. No. The streets were lined with food and drink and on the streets closest to the big clubs there was a drink stand literally every 5 feet. There was no shortage of booze in this town. Once the sun falls, the party begins. Wherever you walk all you can hear is a blurring together of music from the different bars and the voices and laughs of people having a good time with their friends. Especially during Carnaval you have to look out because you could be minding your own business walking down the street or be standing there sipping on your mojito when all of the sudden you get blasted by a stream of foam. There are these huge aerosol cans filled with foam, and the tradition is that people run around spraying friends and strangers alike. It’s Carnaval after all and nobody is safe. It smells a bit like bubblegum and if you’re unlucky like me, within minutes you are soaked, covered in this thin white foam. It’s in your hair, on your face, and all over your clothes (see picture below for a glimpse). You have to be a good sport because it’s all a part of the celebration and once you decide to not care and have fun with it, you buy one yourself and have a great time. It begins to feel a bit like the silly string fights you used to have with your friends at birthday parties as a kid. You hit the beach to hang out in all the crowds there and wait for everyone to head to the club. Then, as the night continues and it hits around 11, you leave the beach and get ready to dance.

One of the most popular clubs at the beach is called the Lost Beach club and it’s right on the water. But, the music they played was pretty EDM heavy so my friends and I passed and went to another club farther into town called Alcatraz. It was a $5 entry to an open air club (minus the roof) that was jail themed. A fence lined the entire outside of the dance floor and had curled barbed wire on top. Metal stairs could lead you up three levels where you could dance on platforms and metal walkways above the main dance floor. With reggaeton bumping the whole night, we danced off our drinks and our $1 food cart french fries. I was just getting over a cold on Saturday night so I didn’t quite make it as late as a couple of my friends did, and three of us decided to head back to the hostel at around 1:30 AM.

Waking up in the morning, tired and hungover, nothing sounded better than a big breakfast and a walk on the beach. We walked about 20 minutes from our hostel into the main part of Montañita to find the perfect remedy to our empty stomachs and aching heads: a food stand alley. For only $5 we got delicious breakfasts that consisted of a waffle, an omelette or a crepe with added sides like eggs, toast, fresh juice and coffee. Our stomachs were full and our hearts were happy. We hung out for the rest of the day and repeated the night before, but unfortunately for us, we had an early bus to catch the next morning to head home and we had to forego the crepes to catch our ride, but at least we could take a nice, long nap. Overall the weekend was incredible and I got to cross off “Carnaval in South America” from my bucket list. The party scene is definitely wild here but it’s something that I am so glad that I can experience and enjoy with my friends. It makes for a great time and some great memories.

Chao por ahora,

Claire