Ecuador!

Many-banded Aracari in the Amazon Region

In March, Scott and I went to Ecuador. And, it was Scott's idea, which, given his dislike for the tropics, surprised me. 

Before I start detailing the trip, let me go through some lead up. 

Lead Up Point #1: Pre-pandemic, a friend invited me to go on a birding trip with her to Ecuador, which is universally known as having some of the best birding in the world, especially Hummingbirds. It has, after all 1,600 species of birds, including 132 different Hummingbird species. 

We had been spending a lot of money on travel, so, feeling a bit guilty, I declined. She went and saw a spectacular range of birds. 

Then, the pandemic hit and I went virtually nowhere for over a year. 

I deeply regretted not going to Ecuador – especially since I had a goal of increasing my Life Bird List to 1,000. I didn't get close in 2000 and, indeed, I didn't get there in 2021 or 2022. Upon departure to Ecuador in 2023, I was sitting at 993. So close. 

Lead Up Point #2: The same friend also invited me to go to Galápagos -- the holy grail for wildlife "collectors." There are at least 27 species of birds and animals that live nowhere else on Earth. Caty and I have talked often about going and I really wanted to take the whole family on a trip that eventually morphed into our Maui vacation. 

Maui was good for the SCUBA divers in the family, as well

We decided not to go to Galápagos as a family because it was crazy expensive and we had trouble aligning dates. Anyway, when my friend asked, I declined because I had always promised Caty that I wouldn't go without her and she couldn't go. 

Lead Up Point #3: When said friend posited a birding trip to Costa Rica in 2022, I said, "Heck, yeah." I went and loved every minute of it (I even popped for the extension to the Osa Peninsula because I had learned what happens if you hesitate). And, that's a big reason my Life Bird count was hovering near 1,000. 

This was a good trip

So, Ecuador was even more appealing.

Lead Up Point #4: When friends Jenny and Don (you may remember from our trip East) said they were going to Galápagos and asked if we wanted to go, Scott said yes. 

Scott, me, Don and Jenny

But, I said, “No, wait, I can’t go without Caty,” to which he replied that this could be a test and I could go back with her later. That was appealing. Then, when I looked at the actual trip Jenny and Don were taking, it turns out that it was an Ecuador overview that included a very small taste Galápagos, but also went into the Andes and to the Amazon. Perfect. 

It was not a birding trip, so I had to slightly adjust those expectations (probably couldn’t count on getting 300 new birds). But, since birds are key to Ecuadorian tourism, they were part of the itinerary. And, I do like scenery, culture, history and all the rest, too. Plus, since it wasn’t a birding trip, it seemed a bit more laid back than the 5:00 a.m. to late night we did in Costa Rica. So, we said yes. 

We were headed to Ecuador

We booked everything, including some pretty smooth transit on American Airlines (where I just hit Platinum Pro status, putting me in that mysterious never-has-anyone-in-it Boarding Group 2). 

Then, when American changed a flight time that screwed up our return connection, causing a lengthy layover, Scott and I decided to take advantage of the change and spend two days in the Everglades before coming home. 

Everglades Swamp

Scott hates heat and humidity, but loves photographing the Everglades, so, go figure! He tried to get us accommodations at Clyde Butcher’s, but they were booked. But, he did book a swamp walk. 

We had a couple of months to prepare, which meant additional vaccinations (a lot more for Scott because I had already had many for Africa and Costa Rica), getting anti-malarial meds, spraying clothes with insect repellent and trying to develop a packing list that covered needs without being too heavy. Plus Scott bought us new Go-Pros. 

One of the trickiest parts of planning is creating my packing list (yes, I do a detailed packing list for every trip!). 

Gate 1 said that we should limit luggage to one checked bag weighing up to 50 lbs. and one (!) carry-on, weighing (depending on what write-up you looked at, no more than 17 or 25 lbs. 

Normally, I take two checked bags that weigh no more than 30 each (just because I prefer to not lift a 50 lb. bag) and two carry-ons, one of which is my camera bag and one that has typical carry-on stuff and my laptop.

For this trip, I definitely needed all my cameras and my laptop (so even a 25 lb. limit was impossible) and I also needed to take, in addition to clothes and lots of emergency medicine, my prescription snorkel mask.

In Costa Rica, after I arrived with both long pants and capri pants, we were told to wear long pants and long sleeves.

The bag is heavy when full, but it works!

So, I was able to pare clothes down to a couple of pairs of outdoor pants, tees and two camp shirts (that I hate). Keeping my checked bag below 50 was no issue.

But, ai-yi-yi, the carry-on. I decided I didn't care about weight (if I had to pay extra, I'd pay extra), but I wanted to keep it to one bag. So, I bought myself a new waterproof camera bag that is lighter and holds more than my old bag. It's a Compagnon Element Camera Backpack in (appropriately for Ecuador) volcano black.

Then, I also bought a second bag that fit inside my suitcase, but could be used as a carry-on on flights where I could have two. Problem solved and I love my new camera bag.

Oh, I also bought a new, very nice, rain poncho because they are cooler and protect cameras better.

Our Trip

So, our trip to Ecuador began with an overnight flight from Denver to Miami.

Scott, me, Jenny and Don

After a quick breakfast in Miami, we flew to Guayaquil, where we would start our tour with Gate 1 Travel. I have never traveled with this company, but know several people who have. 

Our itinerary ran like this: 

Lots of diversity

Two-ish days in the coastal city of Guayaquil 
Three days in Santa Cruz and Isabela Islands, Galápagos

A day and a half in mountainous capital Quito 
A half day at a thermal spa in the Andes 
Three days at the Sacha Lodge in the Amazon region
Another day in Quito 

Changes generally had to do with weather and availability for meals and tours

What we actually did was not in the exact order as the itinerary, but it was close. I’ll get into more detail as I run through the actual trip. 

It was a nice overview with a terrific guide. I would have made a few tweaks, but I’ll get to that later. 

Our guide, Wilson; Photo: Scott Stevens

First, let’s talk about Ecuador in general. 

Ecuador

The Republic of Ecuador (República del Ecuador) literally translates as "Republic of the Equator," because this South American country sits right on the Equator, straddling the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. 

Ecuador

It is bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. While part of the country, the Galápagos Islands are more than 600 miles west in the Pacific ocean.

Ecuador

Ecuador has an area of 109,484 square miles, almost exactly the size of my home state, Colorado. Because Galápagos is sometimes considered part of Oceania, Ecuador is a transcontinental country under certain definitions.

Its diverse topography – from ocean to Andes to the Amazon – makes it one of 17 megadiverse countries in the world with many endemic plants and animals. Ecuador’s 1,600+ bird species comprise 15 percent of the world's known species, making birding a significant source of tourist income. In addition to more than 16,000 species of plants, the country has 106 endemic reptiles, 138 endemic amphibians and 6,000 species of butterfly.

Malachite Butterfly

Animals include a wide variety of Monkeys, Jaguars, Ocelots, Foxes, Weasels, Otters, Skunks, Raccoons, Coatis, Kinkajous, Tapirs, Deer, Peccaries, Rodents, Bats, Tortoises and Seals.

Sadly, what we saw – while pretty cool – was just a small fraction of this. By the end of the tour, I had seen 87 species of birds, with 48 Lifers. 

My 1000th was the first I saw in Galápagos: a Medium Ground-Finch

That would be pretty disappointing had this been a birding trip, but not too bad for a regular tour. I may, however, have to go back to Ecuador at some point to really collect some bird sightings.

We did see some animals, but not an overwhelming variety. The coolest were the White-tipped Reef Sharks and Marine Iguanas in the Galápagos and the Giant River Otters in the Amazon.

CW: Sharks, Giant River Otter, Marine Iguanas

Ecuador was the first country on the world to recognize legally enforceable ecosystem rights. About 19 percent of Ecuador's land area is protected, including 11 National Parks, ten Wildlife Refuges, nine Ecological Reserves and special other areas. The country’s plan says that 32 percent must be protected to truly preserve biodiversity. A program called Sociobosque is preserving another 2.3 percent of total land area by paying private and community landowners (such as Amerindian tribes) to maintain their land as native ecosystems such as native forests or grasslands.

Threats to the environment include oil exploitation of the Amazon rainforest, erosion from 5,000 years of agricultural land clearing and continued poor farming practices, such as palm oil production. 

An oil flare along the Napo River

Regions

The regions; Chart: Emaze

Ecuador has four main geographic regions and we hit all four.

La Costa ("the coast”) consists of eight provinces west of the Andean range. With elevations from sea level to 2,600 feet, La Costa has incredible biodiversity. 

With rainforests, deciduous and semideciduous woodlands and the country's most fertile and productive land, it is the seat of large Dole and Chiquita banana plantations, rice fields and fisheries. Palm groves produce ivory-colored tagua nuts used to make "vegetable ivory" crafts sold to tourists (I didn’t see any) and leaves used to make Panama hats (surprisingly, Scott had no interest in buying one). 

Guayaquil in La Costa

Areas of swampy coast and the river floodplains were once covered by thick mangrove forest, but much has been removed to make way for shrimp aquaculture. The largest city is Guayaquil, which I will talk about in more detail in my next post.

La Sierra ("the highlands") consists of ten Andean and Interandean highland provinces. Home to most of Ecuador's volcanoes and all of its snow-capped peaks, La Sierra has two high mountain chains, western and eastern foothills and large isolated valleys or basins, called hoyas. Cotopaxi, just south of Quito, is one of the world's highest active volcanoes (it actually produced a puff of smoke the last day we were there; we didn’t see it). Mount Chimborazo, at 20,560 feet, is Ecuador's tallest mountain and, because Earth is ellipsoid, the most distant point from the center of the Earth. 

An early morning view of several volcanoes

The valleys were originally covered with a thorny woodland, giving way to low evergreen forest and, at higher elevations, bunchgrasses characterized by tussock, cushion plants and the treelike frailejón. But, much of the highland vegetation has been removed for crops of potato, maize and quinoa. The population is predominantly Amerindian Kichua. The largest city is Quito.

La Amazonía, also known as El Oriente ("the east"), consists of six Amazon jungle provinces, huge Amazon National Parks and vast “untouchable zones” set aside for the Amazon Amerindian tribes to continue living traditionally. La Amazonía has the largest reserves of oil in Ecuador and parts of the upper Amazon have been extensively exploited by petroleum companies. 

A kapok tree rises above the jungle

La Amazonía’s tropical rainforests grow thicker in the zone of maximum rainfall between about 4,000 and 5,000 feet. Forests are threatened by small-scale ranching, African oil palm plantations and subsistence farming. The population is primarily mixed Amerindian Shuar, Huaorani and Kichua, although there are numerous rarely contacted tribes in the deep jungle. We didn’t spend much time in cities in La Amazonía, just brief stops in Puerto Francisco de Orellana (AKA Coca) as we traveled to and from our remote Lodge.

La Región Insular (AKA Galápagos) comprises the Galápagos Islands, an archipelago distributed on each side of the equator along the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean. It comprises 18 main islands, three smaller islands and 107 rocks and islets, on which are 21 volcanoes (13 active). 

Turquoise waters and desert landscapes

The islands are known for large numbers of endemic species that were studied by Charles Darwin during the second voyage of HMS Beagle in 1835. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection.

Ecuador has great variety in the climate, largely determined by altitude. It is mild year-round in the mountain valleys, with a humid subtropical climate in coastal areas and lowland rainforest. The Pacific coast has a tropical climate with a severe rainy season. The Andean highlands are temperate and relatively dry and the Amazon basin shares the climate of other rainforest zones. Because of its location at the equator, Ecuador experiences little variation in daylight hours. 

Sunrise is around 6:00 a.m. and sunset is at 6:00 p.m.

History

Paleo-Indians arrived in the Americas 16,500 to 13,000 years ago near the end of the last glacial period. The first people who reached Ecuador may have come by land from North and Central America or by boat down the Pacific Ocean coast.

Early peoples; Painting: Heinrich Harder

Cultures developed in different environments: La Costa developed a fishing, hunting and gathering culture; La Sierra had a sedentary agricultural way of life; and the people of La Amazonía were nomadic hunter/gatherers. Each civilization had distinctive architecture, pottery and religion.

When the Incas arrived from Peru, they found the La Sierra culture to be so developed that it took two generations of rulers to “absorb” them. To speed that up, the Incas deported the most “troublesome” locals to distant areas of Peru, Bolivia and northern Argentina as well as bringing in loyal subjects from those areas to prevent rebellion. La Sierra became part of the Inca Empire in 1463, sharing the same language.

Incas in Ecuador; Painting: Juan Lepiani

In contrast, when the Incas made incursions into La Costa and La Amazonía, the environment and indigenous peoples were hostile. When the Incas tried to subdue them, they withdrew to the interior and resorted to guerrilla tactics. They never integrated with the Incas, even after the Spanish arrived in force, maintaining their language and culture well into the 21st century.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Inca Empire was involved in a lengthy and bloody civil war after the heir to the Empire died from a European disease that spread into Ecuador. Almost immediately after a major battle in 1532 resolved the war, a Spanish expedition led by Francisco Pizarro arrived.

Then, the real conquerors arrived; Art: Timetoast

When the Spanish tried to force the reigning Inca chief to convert to Catholicism and declare himself a vassal of Spain, he refused. So, of course, the Spaniards attacked and massacred his unarmed escorts and captured him. They promised to release him if he made good on a promise to fill a room full of gold. But, after a mock trial, they executed him. After all, Spain had its priorities: gold then god.

Spain used forced indigenous labor to build Quito's gold-clad Basilica

Inca rule was less than 50 years old and, in a fairly large miscalculation, many of the pre-Inca chiefdoms welcomed the Spanish as liberators.

Torture was common; Painting: ThoughtCo

At the top of the list of indignities brought to the country by the Spaniards was disease, including smallpox, which caused high fatalities among the Amerindians who had no immunity. At the same time, the natives were forced to work large Spanish plantations and in textile sweatshops.

Over time, many indigenous peoples adopted the Catholic religion and the Spanish language, spread primarily by religious orders and male Spanish colonists (obviously resulting in lots genetic intermingling).

The monks got close to aid in conversion; Art: The Hispanic Indio

On the tropical coast, disease hit the hardest and the area remained unhealthy until the advent of modern medicine (you still can’t drink the water). So, the coast was somewhat neglected during the colonial period except for shipbuilding and cacao exportation. The small coastal population of slaves, free blacks and mixed ethnicities had plenty of land and less coerced of labor, creating a culture very different from that of the highlands.

In La Amazonía, indigenous peoples successfully repelled European invaders; but, Jesuits and other missionaries were able to spread both Christianity and the Quichua language, which they used as a language of evangelization (missionaries were required to learn it).

Pirates were common; Art: Historic Times

The Galápagos Islands were little more than pirate nests during the colonial period and, therefore, didn’t play much into Ecuador’s early history.

In 1563, Quito became the seat of an administrative district of Spain and part of the Viceroyalty of Peru and later the Viceroyalty of New Granada. 

The area that eventually became Ecuador toiled under Spanish dominion for 300 years.

In 1809, residents of Quito were among the first peoples of Latin America to call for independence from Spain, giving the city its nickname, "Luz de América" ("Light of America").

This statue in Quito shows Ecuador (the Condor) banishing Spain (the Lion)

Although the new government they created lasted just two months, it inspired the independence movement of the rest of Spanish America.

In 1820, Guayaquil became the first territory in Ecuador to break free of Spain. When the rest of Ecuador gained independence in the Battle of Pichincha, Ecuador joined Simón Bolívar's Republic of Gran Colombia, which also included modern-day Colombia, Venezuela and Panama. 

Simón Bolívar is much revered; this statue is in  Guayaquil

In 1830, after a period of protracted regional rivalries, Ecuador separated from Gran Colombia and became an independent republic. Two years later, it annexed the Galápagos Islands. 

The 19th century was marked by increasing rivalry and ideological differences between La Sierra and La Costa usually focused on the two leading cities: Quito, the capital, and Guayaquil, the country's principal port.

Guayaquil jungle and Quito mountains

Quito was the home of an aristocracy with power based on large estates worked by indigenous labor. A conservative clerical city, Quito was resistant to change. On the other hand, by the 19th century, Guayaquil was a bustling cosmopolitan port, controlled by a few wealthy merchants.

Gabriel García Moreno's assassination 

The country suffered through a chaotic succession of rulers, sometimes with conservative regimes backed (and, ultimately, controlled by) the Roman Catholic Church and sometimes with extremely liberal and progressive platforms. 

Ecuador abolished slavery and freed its black slaves in 1851. 

Power shifted back and forth between Guayaquil and Quito and there were frequent regime changes, sometimes violent.

With all its internal strife, Ecuador also had issues along its borders and lost many territories to its more powerful neighbors, including Colombia in 1832 and 1916, Brazil in 1904 through a series of peaceful treaties and Peru after a short war in 1942. In World War I, Ecuador sided with the Allies and allowed the U.S. to build military bases, but didn’t participate in conflict.

There was a national uprising in 1990, in which indigenous groups pushed the Ecuadoran government to recognize their land rights and address their social concerns. 

Photo: Indigenous Revolution in Ecuador and Bolivia, 1990-2005 by Jeffery M. Paige

In early 1995, a longtime boundary dispute with Peru erupted in a three-year border war, leaving the country with a crippling war debt. In 2000, Ecuador adopted the U.S. dollar as its currency, which was not well-received by Ecuadorians.

A new constitution in 2008, the 20th since the country gained independence in 1830, reflected leftist ideals, including a ban on foreign military bases, legality of same-sex marriage, free education through college, social security benefits for unpaid domestic workers and greater national control over oil and mining.

Oil operations on the Napo River

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake in 2016 that caused heavy destruction and hundreds of deaths aggravated economic woes. In 2017, a contentious election with sketchy “results” led to a recount and widespread protests. Austerity measures enacted in 2019 led to more civil unrest. The COVID pandemic hit Ecuador early and hard, beginning with an outbreak in Guayaquil, which quickly became one of worst hot spots in Latin America. The government imposed stringent lockdowns and major spending cuts.

Ecuador is no stranger to disaster and unrest

Today, the government continues to be divided and fragile. Government corruption, press intimidation, human rights violations, crime and drug-related violence are continuing issues. It’s a shame that so many places with stunning natural beauty and phenomenal wildlife are so screwed up, but there you are ... 

Economy

Agriculture has traditionally employed a large proportion of the population, plus many rural Ecuadorians feed their families with the produce from their own farms.

Fruit in the marketplace

Ecuador is a major exporter of bananas and is the seventh largest producer of cocoa. It also produces flowers, coffee, rice, potatoes, cassava (manioc, tapioca), plantains, sugarcane, beef, pork, dairy products, fish and shrimp. 

Ecuador is the world's largest producer of roses

Timber products include balsa wood, pine and cedar.

Oil is a major export and the country also a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and steelmaking coal. Silver, molybdenum, gypsum, zinc and lead are also mined. Industrial development in Ecuador and manufactured goods play a smaller role in the economy.

Tourism is a major component of the economy and, as such, supports ecosystem protection. Quito has one of the largest and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas. 

The Basilica of San Francisco in Quito

Quito and Cuenca both have UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Galápagos Islands and Sangay National Park are both natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the Cajas Massif is a World Biosphere Reserve. Ecuador's architectural monuments include the large tolas (pre-Inca ramp mounds) and Inca stone walls in La Sierra and colonial churches in Quito.

People

The legacy the Inca and Spanish empires created an ethnically diverse population, with 71 percent of Ecuador’s 17.8 million people being mestizos, a mixed-race people of Amerindian and European descent.

The mixed heritage shows in the faces of the people

This is followed by large minorities of European (primarily Italian, German, French and Swiss people who came the early 20th century), Native American, African and Asian descendants.

The small African population largely came from a 17th-century shipwreck of a slave-trading galleon off the northern coast. The few survivors swam to the shore and penetrated the then-thick jungle, where they remained free and maintained their original culture. Today, there are still pockets of African culture.

Spanish is the official language and is spoken by a majority of the population, although 13 Native languages are also recognized, including Quechua and Shuar. There may be about one million indigenous-language speakers throughout Ecuador, most of whom live in La Sierra and speak Quichua, a dialect of Quechua.

Even after 300 years of Spanish dominion, the indigenous culture is strong

Recently, many expats settled in Ecuador because of its low cost of living, the low crime rate in affluent areas and the unique culture of La Sierra.

More than 90 percent of Ecuadorians claim to be religious, with 79 percent being Roman Catholic. 

Detail in the Catholic Basilica

In the rural parts of Ecuador, Amerindian beliefs and Catholicism are sometimes combined.

Mother Mountain plays heavily in spiritual belief

By the beginning of the 21st century, more than three-fifths of the Ecuadoran population had become urban dwellers, with most living in Guayaquil and Quito. Elsewhere, people tend to identify more with their region or village than with the country as a whole.

Gowns for special occasions

Most Ecuadorians place great emphasis on family, including their children's godparents, which are chosen at baptism. 

Important occasions also include the quinceañera (the 15th birthday of girls), marriage and funerals. 

Many Ecuadorans make pilgrimages or dedicate themselves to the service of a particular saint. During the year, numerous religious and secular festivals provide opportunities for parades, special food and music and dance.

Each of Ecuador's indigenous communities has a traditional style of dress. Men in La Sierra may wear ponchos colored to represent an area (for instance, blue in Otavalo and red in western Chimborazo). In some locations hair is still worn long by both men and women, gathered in a ponytail. Highland indigenous women may wear embroidered blouses, wrapped woolen skirts, shawls, sandals and locally produced hats or headgear. 

The hats are so interesting; Left Photo: Jenny Owen

Lowlanders wear loose-fitting clothing, including guayabera shirts for men.

Even in the jungle, the Mouse shows up

Both highlanders and lowlanders wear business suits on formal occasions, while young people wear international fashions such as jeans and khakis. 

In La Amazonía, especially in the untouchable area, shoes (and even clothing) may not be worn in the hot, sticky jungle.

In La Sierra, traditional housing of wattle and daub with thatched roofs has been giving way to cement block or brick homes with Spanish tile or corrugated metal roofs. 

On the coast, farmers live in houses on stilts, walled with flattened bamboo and roofed with thatch. Many old-style hacienda structures have been abandoned, but some have been converted into housing, hotels or restaurants. In La Amazonía, traditional housing is constructed from palm trees and often consists of open-sided roofed platforms.

There is even diversity in housing

The Ecuadorian Constitution requires that all children attend school until they achieve a "basic level of education,” which is estimated at ninth grade. The cost is borne by the government, but families often face significant additional expenses such as fees and transportation costs (many work the fees off by providing school maintenance, such as painting or roof repair). In rural areas, only 10 percent of the children go on to high school.

Scott went crazy buying masks

Art

Ecuadorian art goes way, way back. Archaeologists have found pottery dating from 3000 to 2500 BCE, ranking them among the earliest ceramics in the New World. 

Ecuadoran ceramic styles probably influenced cultures from Peru to Mexico.

The Roman Catholic religious influence brought by Spain changed local art by introducing new styles of architecture, wood and stone sculpture, painting, music and arts and crafts.

Spanish influence is obvious

Indigenous crafts include agave-fiber bags, wood carving, leatherwork, woolen tapestries and rugs and Panama hats. Interestingly, although made in Ecuador from raw materials grown in Ecuador, the hats were shipped to Panama starting in the mid-18th century to be sold to tourists, gold seekers and Panama Canal work crews. Thus, they were identified with the wrong country and the misnomer sticks to this day.

I thought Scott would buy a hat; he did in Spain in 2015

Folk music includes yumbo and sanjuanito (rhythmic repetitive music associated with festival dancing) from La Sierra, the slow, sad pasillo from the lowlands and varying local African and indigenous traditions. A revival of interest in folklore has led to the creation of folkloric dance troupes. Modern music is influenced by Colombian cumbia and Caribbean salsa.

Cuisine

Ecuadorian cuisine is an amalgamation of Spanish, Andean and Amazonian cuisines and, to a lesser degree, Italian, Lebanese, African and Chinese. 

Beef, chicken and seafood, especially ceviche, are popular in La Costa and are typically served with carbohydrate-rich foods, such as rice, lentils, pasta or plantain. 

Left, a typical meal; right, ceviche

In La Sierra, pork, chicken, beef and cuy (guinea pig) are popular and are often served with quinoa, rice, maize or potatoes.

Most homes have a cage with guinea pigs (not pets, dinner)

Pounding yuca; Photo: Scott Stevens

In La Amazonía, yuca (also called cassava) is peeled and boiled, fried or used in a variety of other dishes. 

Across the country, fruit including tree-grapes, rambutan, coconut,  peach-palms, granadilla, passionfruit, naranjilla, several types of banana, uvilla, taxo and tree tomato is commonly eaten.

The video below shows fellow traveler Tony trying the local way of opening a passionfruit.

Ecuadorians eat empanadas (stuffed, fried pastries), patacones (green plantain slices fried in oil, mashed and refried), llapingachos (a pan-seared potato ball), locro de papa (potato soup) and seco de chivo (goat stew). Chili sauce (ají) is part of most meals and, I can testify, it is delicious, adding much-needed flavor to basically bland food.

A sampler of empanadas

Importation of inexpensive grains from the U.S. has discouraged commercial production of grain crops as well as encouraging a shift in diet away from traditional corn consumption toward rice and wheat.

Most regions in Ecuador eat a big meal mid-day that includes soup, a rice or pasta and a protein dish and dessert and coffee. Dinner is usually lighter, sometimes just coffee or herbal tea with bread. 

Enough background?

Ok, let’s go! 

Flying into Guayaquil

In my next post!

Trip date: March 7 - 19, 2023