Ecuador

Ecuador is a very beautiful South American country, which has the equator passing through it. It is very tiny, about equal in area to Nevada. There is such a range of activities to do here from the Amazon to Volcanoes to the Highlands to the Galapagos Islands. Our guide had his work cut out for him since we only had a few days to see this diverse land. We flew into the Capital, Quito, from Colombia. As we always do, we started off with a city tour. The first stop La Basilica Church. The building is one of the most important neo-Gothic architectures in Ecuador. It has 24 chapels inside. It is most known for having the tallest bell towers in the country. Outside the church an Amerindian couple were selling his painting's so we bought a couple for a treasure to take home.

In the heart of the old city is Independence Square. It's main feature is the monument to the independence heroes who battled with the Spaniards for freedom. Surrounding the square there is the  Presidential Palace, Archbishop's Palace, the Cathedral and the Plaza Grand Hotel.

The following are pictures of various streets in Quito with all their happenings.

This is a cocoa bean, the source of all delicious chocolate!!

On the hill of El Panecillo, stands La Virgen de Quito, the statue of the Virgin Mary. The statue has got wings like an angel and a crown of stars above the head. She is standing on a dragon on top of a globe. There are great views of Quito and the surrounding mountains from the observation deck.

Quito is said to have the most pleasant temperature in the world and has been given the name of the "Land of Eternal Spring".

So what is known as the "Panama Hat" was originally made in Ecuador by the incas. Their hand-weaving techniques have been passed down from generation to generation. The hats made their way to Panama by way of exporting and workers began wearing them while working on the canal. Soon the name stuck although they weren't made there.

The highlight of the trip for me was a visit to an interactive museum at the center of the earth. Inside the museum it displayed elements of indigenous Ecuadorian cultures such as clothing, descriptions of the various ethnic groups and examples of their activities.

One of these activities was head shrinking!! Only important people in a tribe were lucky enough to get their heads shrunk!! The picture below is an actual shrunken head of a 12 yr old son of a chief. I took pictures of the process in case you want to try this!! When finished you "make up" the head with jewelry and feathers.

I brought one home for Derek to enjoy!!

Another fun thing was performing all the various demonstrations which proved the center of the earth exists at that location. Some were; Balancing an egg on a nail, walking a straight line and water flowing both counter-clockwise and clockwise down a drain when moved just a few feet off the center line, on the center line it flows straight down.

Guinea pig is considered to be a delicacy in Ecuador so our guide tried taking us to a cafe to "enjoy" this, luckily they were closed!! I was never so thankful.

Roses, roses, roses everywhere and man are they beautiful, and cheap. You could get a single long stemmed rose for 25¢ The roses they grow in Ecuador are known for their long stems and vibrant color. Ecuador is the largest exporter of roses in the world!! I snagged a couple of dozen at the airport on the way home to enjoy. They seemed to last a lot longer than the ones I buy here and were unique in color..

We most definitely will go back to Ecuador, to see the Galapagos Islands since we didn't have time this trip. I really enjoyed our time here the people were friendly and the food was delicious.