Our Blog
Ecuadorians Vote YES for the Environment!-edit
This past Sunday, Ecuadorians passed two referendums, sending a clear signal to the government that the environment takes precedence over mineral extraction. In the first, Ecuadorians voted to halt oil drilling in the Yasuní National Park. In the second, they voted to...
Ride Like A Cowboy in Cotopaxi National Park
There are a few things in life that don’t start as bucket list items but end up making the list retroactively. Horseback riding in Cotopaxi National Park probably would not be on that list for most people, but roasting a marshmallow over a volcano, which is...
Drinking Coffee in Ecuador
Even as Ecuador becomes known for growing some of the best specialty coffee in the world, finding that great coffee in country is a different story. Futhermore, convincing owners of small restaurants and hotels, especially those in rural areas to serve locally grown...
What To Expect On The Road To Laguna Mica
The road to Laguna Mica leads from the small town of Pintag through the Antisana Conservation Area, a small part of the larger Antisana Ecological Reserve founded by the federal government of Ecuador in 1993. It is a beautiful, remote, and sometimes stark...
Best Shots from the Tungurahua Province
The Tungurahua Province is famous for being home to an active volcano. Yet life goes on in a somewhat normal fashion, even when Tungurahua spews smoke and ash high into the atmosphere. The most popular destination of Ecuadorians and international tourists in the...
The Best Shots from Quito
Quito is the capital city of the nation but is the jewel of the Province of Pichincha. Set high in a mountain valley that is easily four times longer than is wide, Quito is nestled against the slope of the Pichincha Volcano. The people of the area are used to the...
The Andean Condor in Ecuador
The spectacular Andean Condor is the largest flying bird in the world, with a wingspan of up to 10.5 feet. While this bird's habitat crosses several borders from Columbia to Argentina, there are only a few locations where populations are healthy. One of those is on...
Taita Chimborazo and Mama Tungurahua
f you're traveling in the Sierra, you are likely to hear legends about the ancient spirits, or apus, of the region. These deities, like the Taita Chimborazo, are named for the high Andean Peaks that run the spine of Ecuador. Like the ancient Greek...
Zika (and other mosquito viruses)
The explosive nature of the Zika virus has made it one of the most newsworthy diseases for media networks worldwide. And that newsworthiness comes at a price - modern news stories often cause more panic than good. And because modern news often blows stories out of...
Another Twist on Ecuadorian Hot Sauce
At almost every restaurant in the Sierra, we have found a Ecuadorian hot sauce on every table. It's called aji. The literal translation is simply hot pepper but aji is so much more. It's fruity and spicy at the same time. It adds a little flavor to just about any...