The Sounds of Loja

Before coming to Ecuador, we would never have thought about the sounds of a place. But the sounds of Loja are different than the sounds of Rocky Mountain House. Now that we have been here for a little more than two months I think we’ve heard it all. So here are the sounds of Loja:

The garbage truck – You’ve heard about this one before but it still amazes me that a garbage truck plays such a friendly little tune. We hear it every day at all hours.

The gas truck – At first I thought this 6 note tune would drive me crazy if I had to hear it all day long. Surprisingly, it’s one of those things that you seem to block out, like the traffic noise. Jenna, on the other hand, would be singing, humming, or whistling that tune all day! Now that would drive us crazy!

Our washing machine – They do like their tunes here. Even our washer plays a happy little song when the cycle is complete. It’s much nicer than the annoying buzzer on our washer at home.

Horns honking – Okay, sometimes they honk at us when we don’t cross the street fast enough but usually it’s at other drivers. No sooner does the light change to green and everyone honks their horn, as if the driver at the front might not have noticed the change. As also mentioned in an earlier blog, drivers tend to honk and go at a stop sign. Taxis also honk at us frequently, but it’s just a friendly little toot, offering us a ride.

Car alarms – We have never heard so many car alarms! They are constantly going off and no one pays any attention. It’s not a simple alarm but rather a whole series of sounds that continue for quite some time.

Parrots – We only recently heard parrots outside the school. Unfortunately, the sound is not as pretty as the bird and is only somewhat better than the sound of a magpie.

Roosters – Often on our walk to school in the morning we will hear a couple of roosters crowing behind someone’s fence or on a rooftop.

School bells – They aren’t so much bells as sirens. At first we thought there must be an emergency nearby but were told not to worry; it was only a school bell indicating the end of a class.

Venders selling their wares – It is not uncommon to hear people walking down the street calling out what they are selling: anything from candied apples, to brooms and mops, to goat’s milk. The market also gets very noisy with everyone shouting, trying to be heard above their neighbour.

Loud music – You may think you’ve heard loud music but we’re talking rock concert volume everywhere, even in church. When the bass makes your chest vibrate, that’s loud. We have also been in some of the plazas for some outdoor musical events which were at a similar volume.

Noise makers – People here seem to be very fond of loud noises. These sound just like fireworks and go off at all times of the day and night. For what purpose? We’re not sure!