Ecuador Archives

Artful End to My Ecuadorian Visit

April 6, 2025March 31, 2025Posted in Animals, Artwork, Birds, blogging, environment, Travel, wildlifeTagged Amazon, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Nature, rainforest, sketches, travel4 Comments

Travel memories are held within ones’ mind, photos, writings, and/or possibly their art. And as we know art can take many forms. For me I enjoy sketching, and with some trepidation I approach watercolor paint for added color in my sketches. And so it has happened with my latest international trip to Ecuador. Some art work to bring back great memories as I look upon a sketch.

Some sketches are on a page for the Amazon rainforest period of the trip and another for the Galapagos Islands. The trip as a whole was a wonderful experience, despite my failing snorkeling attempt. Will a third snorkeling attempt be the charm of success? Time will tell.

In the meantime, here were my sketches … as you also remember I am a budding artist … or am trying!:)

Did you miss my Ecuadorian travel in this blog? You can read about my school visit in the Amazon here. Or visit with an Ecuadorian family who live in the Amazon here. Then follow the posts after these for more time I had at the Galápagos Islands. Or plan a future trip for yourself and visit Ecuador!

Coins or Bills? It’s About the Money …

March 30, 2025March 13, 2025Posted in adventure travel, blogging, Travel, writingTagged currency, Ecuador, travel4 Comments

Gotta get Ecuadorian money … While prepping for my trip to Ecuador, I discovered there was no need to get foreign currency. Ecuador, like Panama, are the only two countries also using US currency as we do in this country. Yeah, one less thing to do on my checklist! But, be sure to use small bills and coins as a $20.00 bill is easier to get change with your purchase.

Ecuador switched over to US currency in 2000. What I found interesting though, Ecuador receives all their bank notes/bills from the USA and some coins. Ecuador can print their own coins for any denomination less than a dollar. Those coins are similar to ours; however, they lack the rough edges found on our US-made coins. Their coins are not accepted in the USA.

Ecuador gets their bills and dollar coins from the US. Notice Sacagawea’s portrait on the coin below. Ecuadorian’s prefer that coin, over the US one-dollar bill, because it resembles Ecuadorian women. Coins also are more durable in tropical climates than paper bills, so many more one-dollar coins are in Ecuador than the USA.

Ecuadorian coin with appreciation of Sacagawea having looked similar to Ecuadorian women. — Ecuadorian’s love this coin!

Below are photos of the front and back of dollar coins. I enjoyed having those coins in my pocket as many things were easily purchased for a dollar and the coins were quicker to access than any bill. Whatever your preference, remember to check your coins before you come back to the USA … no Ecuadorian con will be valid here.

Galápagos Wildlife, Beyond Birds

March 20, 2025February 28, 2025Posted in Animals, blogging, environment, Travel, wildlifeTagged Ecuador, Nature, travel, wildlifeLeave a comment

Galápagos Islands offer a safe haven for wildlife, plus some wildlife you will only see on a Galápagos Island. As we walked the trails along an island’s shoreline or inland, we saw yellow land iguanas, marine iguanas, Sally lightfoot crabs, sea lions, Galápagos fur seals, giant tortoise, and Pacific green turtles all in the wild!

Many of my fellow travelers enjoyed snorkeling at various locations. That activity is not for me so I could only enjoy their information with some underwater photos and stories. Lots of fish and rays were seen, but the white-tipped sharks seemed to be their most unsettling observation. No harm done; it seems the 17 sharks or so may actually have been sleeping …. And apparently it is the black-tipped sharks one should be concerned about.

Galápagos Island Birds

March 16, 2025February 28, 2025Posted in Birds, blogging, TravelTagged birds, Ecuador, Nature, travel, wildlife4 Comments

After flying from Quito to Guayaquil to Baltra Island, we are at a Galapagos Island! Cruising around the western Galápagos Islands on our small ship allowed us opportunities to see land and water wildlife. So many birds, along with yellow land iguanas and black, salt-encrusted marine iguanas. I enjoyed the nature walks on each island with our guide. We rode a dinghy to each starting point per day. An hour or two later, we caught a ride back to our ship.

The Pacific Ocean waters here seem calm, yet I wear a patch behind my ear to help me not be sea sick. They seemed to be working, except for one night! Rough seas then! Some fellow travelers are fortunate to have no motion sickness.

The volcanic landscape per island is interesting. When we take walks it is a nice change of scenery and a chance to stretch our legs. We did see some birds I already knew, but I have 63 new birds added to my life list of birds. Wow! Wonderful!

We’ll continue our cruising around the islands for 7 days. More adventure ahead.

Flightless cormorants -only in Galápagos

A Day with Kichwa People in Ecuador

March 13, 2025February 28, 2025Posted in blogging, environment, Italy, Plants, TravelTagged Ecuador, environment, Family, food, travelLeave a comment

After our school visit we stopped along the Napo River to visit with one of the 40 Kichwa families. Our hosts showed us their garden where they grow many fruits and vegetables. I learned how to plant yucca once the grown ones are collected for a meal. (Put the yucca stalk into the ground at a 45 degree angle, then cover the stalk with soil.) Some of the plants grown here are for medicinal purposes. The children, in the family we had lunch with, walk a half hour to school each day.

The women showed us how catfish is folded into gigantic green leaves of the bijao plant and put on the fire to cook. We also tried some beetle larvae … head squished off … the insides of the body can be eaten raw, but we chose to let the rest of the body to be grilled first. The first person eating the grilled beetle larvae announced it tastes like bacon. Yes in some ways it did! Our lunch included plantains, yucca and catfish… all eaten with our fingers. A delicious meal with tea.

We had a chance to use a traditional blowgun. The poisoned dart, only lethal to small animals, was more difficult to use than it looked. A couple of people hit the target! We had some discussion about the oil and timber companies deforesting the Amazon. We saw the natural gas flames across the river from where we are staying at an eco-lodge. The Kichwa families are raising chickens and turned to ecotourism as a way to supplement their subsistence economy.

Here are some photos from that family visit:

Catfish pieces onto the leaf, then wrapped

Lunch: catfish, yucca and plantain… all eaten with your fingers

A School Visit in the Amazon

March 9, 2025February 28, 2025Posted in TravelTagged Ecuador, school, travel2 Comments

I love visiting schools in other countries and especially in the Amazon. The school teacher has been working Monday through Friday at this school for 6 years. Weekends are his family time and they live in Coco. Monday mornings he will catch an early bus to a stop where he will then walk 90 minutes to get to the school. School begins at 7:30AM. Students leave at 1:30PM. There are 11 students attending this primary school. Some students walk a half hour to attend school. It’s necessary for some students to bring younger siblings since no one is home to watch them.

As a result of the Napo River flooding, their baños/toilets had to be rebuilt and the school building moved back from the river. The river’s edge continues to be eroded away. The teacher will teach one subject at a time and modify the instruction for grades 1, 2 and 5. The students can attend to grade 7.

The students played Jingle Bells with color-coded hand bells and music sheet. My fellow travelers and I led the “heads- knees and toes” song so the students could move with us. It was fun! After a couple of tries, the students really got it.

I have great respect for individuals in the teaching profession. This teacher truly is admirable! Another lesson I learned while in the Amazon is that voting is mandatory. Our guide was missing his required vote because he could not get home to vote at his required voting place since he was working. Fine of $47 for first miss would be paid in a few days when he was in town. Second fine is double the first fine and third fine is loss of Ecuadorian citizenship! Wow! I’ll need to follow up on this info that our guide mentioned as that is truly substantial, especially if noe cases are allowed.

Walking Quito, Ecuador

March 2, 2025February 28, 2025Posted in blogging, history, TravelTagged Ecuador, travel2 Comments

Ecuador’s geography includes a coastline, the Amazon rainforest, the highlands in the Andes Mountains and the Galápagos Islands. I flew from the USA to Quito, Ecuador, the oldest capital and declared an UNESCO Heritage site in 1978. The city sits at the foot of Pinchincha volcano. We visited Old Town Quito. Two thousand feet higher you’ll discover the modern parts of the city. The city was originally founded in 1534.

I am with a 12 person tour group, Overseas Adventure Travel. We visited Old Town Quito with its 60 plus Catholic Churches. The Church of the Society of Jesus required 160 years of work to complete it with all its surfaces gold-plated. Interestingly we noticed there was Virgin Mary pictured at the alter, not Jesus. The Ecuadorian people admire mother/Virgin Mary.

200 pounds of gold-plating within church bought over 160 years

Santa Clara market is in Old Town. One area with fruits and vegetables, another area with meat, and another with flowers. Ecuador has many greenhouses where 98% of the plants grown are roses. A short walk from the hotel, I stopped in at the La Mariscal Artisan Market. Each vendor has a stall displaying woven fabrics, such as alpaca blankets, and baskets, etc. for purchase.

We also visited the Inti Nan Museum and Agave Museum. Both had fascinating displays and much to learn from the presenters. At the Inti Nan Museum we stood on the equator and I balanced a raw egg on a nail. At the Agave Museum we had a tour of the gardens, a delicious lunch and tasting.

Unfortunately I made an observation in the city and our guide admitted to a huge pollution problem. When using a toilet, signs indicate no toilet paper is to be thrown in the toilet. As we traveled down the thousand feet from luxury housing to more shambled housing closer to the main river in Quito, I asked why there was so much foam on the river’s surface. I suspected the answer, but wanted to know for sure. Our guide admitted there is no sewage treatment of the city’s waste water, thus the foam. It’s a problem requiring lots of money to solve and one politicians never talk about. I understand there was a dam to generate hydroelectric power further down the river; however, sediment built up at it and only 30% electricity is generated. It doesn’t sound like a solution to waste water is coming.

To Ecuador… & For the Birds!

February 27, 2025February 2, 2025Posted in adventure travel, Animals, Birds, blogging, environment, TravelTagged birds, Ecuador, travel2 Comments

I spent time reading about Ecuador’s food, history, and what birds I may see in the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands. Ceviche (seafood “cooked” in citrus juice), humitas (similar to tamales, which I love), empanadas (also love the crescent-shaped pastry stuffed with meat or cheese and baked or fried), and whatever other foods I can try will be exciting! My snack food on the road is often Snickers. If I cannot find that candy bar, I am going to look for “Manicho”. This is to be a milk chocolate bar filled with peanuts. Sounds good…hope to let you know!

The birds in the Amazon will probably be scraping around the ground or high in the tree canopy. I am excited to hear the sounds at night of all the wildlife. But in the meantime, I started to very-roughly sketch a few birds I might see:

Then I thought I could roughly sketch some birds I might see in the Galapagos. As I was reading some material I got caught up in a story about “Lonesome George”. I hope to hear more of it while on my trip.

Galapagos birds were interesting to read about. Some are not shy around people! Unfortunately some are near threatened or endangered. Will definitely want to hear more about this concern!

Well who knows what we will see while we float around the Galapagos islands and step onto some. I hope I remember to chart the path we take around the islands and can enter some new birds onto my life list. I’ll be back in touch to keep you posted!

Ecuador: See, Eat & Learn While Here!

February 23, 2025January 20, 2025Posted in adventure travel, Animals, Birds, history, TravelTagged Ecuador, travel, wildlife2 Comments

My travel begins in Quito, a city in Ecuador with a population close to 3 million people. It is the oldest South American capital, UNESCO World Heritage site. Quito is the second highest capital in the world at 9,350 feet. (There is debate about it possibly being the highest … check out LaPaz and Sucre, Bolivia for details.)

After my days in Quito, we will be in the Amazon rainforest. We follow that time with close to a week to visit the Galápagos Islands, another UNESCO World Heritage site! It’s a quick trip with plenty to accomplish while I am in Ecuador.

Quito was founded in 1534. I love old architecture, plus South American cuisine, so walking the city’s plazas will be fascinating! We’ll fly, then take a motorized canoe to a village in the Amazonian rainforest. There are 40 families at this village and my chance to learn about their shift to eco-tourism. We’ll return to Quito and fly to the Galápagos Islands. There we will board a small ship for 7 nights as we tour what we can on the islands. There are 13 islands; however, all is protected … including surrounding waters. With permission from the Galápagos National Park, our visits will be allowed on certain islands. They work to maintain low impact to the land, water and animals. No doubt, many other tourists will arrive and I’ll be looking for birds and giant tortoises!

I have begun my research of interesting Ecuadorian foods for me to try. Plus, places to visit and birds to look for while in the city, rainforest and on an island or two. It was Charles Darwin, a naturalist in the 1800’s, who first proposed the scientific theory of evolution through natural selection. Now I’ll have my chance to see finches, mockingbirds, tortoises and iguanas that prompted his conclusions!

I’ll keep you posted! Adiós!

While Columbia is to the north and Peru to the south of Ecuador, please know there are more countries in South America! This map is just a start for all to know where Ecuador is.