Our Blog
Best Gifts for Birders & Birdwatchers
Learn the difference between a bird watcher and a birder and find the perfect gift for either.
The Rarely Visited Weilbauer Museum in Quito, Ecuador
The Catholic University in Quito, better known as PUCE (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador), is home to two museums: the Weilbauer and the Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño. Both are located on the main campus inside the Cultural Center. Each museum is worthy of a...
Best Shots from Santa Cruz Island, the Galapagos
Almost everyone who plans a trip to the Galapagos visits Santa Cruz Island first. The majority of flights from the mainland come to the small but active airport on the Baltra, a former US military base during WWII. From there, they make their way to Puerto...
A Butterfly Farm (Mariposario) in Mindo
When friends asked us to join them on a trip to Mindo, we thought it would be the perfect chance to go birdwatching. Little did we know that our hotel would also host a butterfly farm. It meant colorful butterflies populated not only the enclosed garden but also the...
The Beauty of Cajas National Park
The spectacular Cajas National Park protects 28,500 hectares of high grasslands, boggy paramo, and more than 235 lakes in the Andes near Cuenca, Ecuador. These high mountains protect pockets of small valleys, their tall slopes enclosing each one like a series of...
The Raising of Pinocchio the Andean Bear
Pinocchio the Ecuadorian Andean Bear captured the hearts of residents in a small town of the Cotopaxi Province. Two local men found the young cub and his small sister on a nearby farm. To read more about saving Pinocchio and his first day with humans, read Part 1 of...
Great Photos of San Cristobal, The Galapagos
While it is practically impossible to choose a favorite island among the Galapagos Islands, San Cristóbal easily makes my shortlist. This island has a little bit of everything a tourist needs, like quality lodging and good restaurants, while retaining a...
Saving Pinocchio the Ecuadorian Andean Bear
It all started when Henry David, a veterinarian working for the Ecuadorian Ministry of Agriculture, contacted a television news station via social media with a story about a three-month old Ecuadorian Andean Bear. He and another man found the cubs on farmland...
A Vibrant Ecuador Trip Starts With A Local Guide
My family loves to travel without a detailed plan. We’ve learned that guidebooks are often outdated or written by misguided souls who don’t really know a place. That means we often head on a trip without strict timelines or to-do lists. If we arrive and find that we...
How to Pronounce Pitahaya (& other dragon fruit facts)
My very first breakfast in Ecuador included the strangest-looking fruit I had never seen, a pitahaya. Its bright yellow, leathery skin protects a juicy, white interior flecked with hundreds of small, flat, black seeds. Its flavor is absolutely delicious, with the...