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Ecuador Travel and Tourism on Travel Notes
Find Ecuador Travel and Tourist Information with
links to official travel and tourism websites and state resources for
visitors to Ecuador.
About Ecuador
Ecuador is a small country in South America, much loved by
travellers.
Countries neighbouring Ecuador are: Colombia
and Peru.
Weather in South America:
Local weather forecasts for destinations around Latin America.
The historic centre of Quito is the largest, most-intact and
best-restored Old Town in the Americas.
Whatever you do in Quito, you can’t afford to miss it!
Quito
Guide:
Select the options that interest you and get a detailed guide to Quito that suits your
taste and budget.
Quito
Tourism:
The official guide to tourism in Quito.
Otavalo is a must see for visitors to Ecuador.
It is only a short drive from Quito, and many tourists choose to
'shoot' the Indian Market in the morning and return to the capital in the afternoon.
The wise traveller will spend two nights in Otavalo, at least.
Markets are always at their best very early in the morning.
Before the tourists in Quito have started breakfast, many of the
Ecuadorian Indians, from the villages in the hills around Otavalo, have already descended
in bare feet; carrying loads almost twice the size of them.
Otavalo Hotels.
Amazon Interactive:
Explore the geography of the Ecuadorian Amazon through online games and activities. Learn
about the rainforest and the Quichua people who call it home. Discover the ways in which
the Quichua live off the land. Then try your hand at running a community-based eco-tourism
project along the Rio Napo.
Most travellers visiting the Galapagos cruise to the islands
aboard one of the many yachts or cruise ships
offering tours.
Celebrity
Xpedition is one of the cruise ships visiting Galapagos.
Galapagos National Park
The Galapagos consists of 13 major islands, a
number of smaller islands and more than 40 islets and rock formations covering an area of
3,100 square miles. 90% of the land surface and the entire ocean area are incorporated
into the Galapagos National Park.
Galapagos Tours
Galapagos Catamarans:
Latin Trails offers Galapagos Islands cruises on board the catamarans Anahi and Cormorant
II, known to be two of the finest boats in the archipelago. Both are beautiful vessels,
offering the advantage of being small (only 16 passengers) yet very stable as only
catamarans can be. The grade III guides on board, the highest achievement in the Galapagos
Islands, bring out the best of the Islands with their knowledge and affable personality.
Touring
Galapagos:
Based in San Cristobal with an office in Quito, Touring Galapagos offers
extraordinary private tours and small ship cruises to bring you the best
of the Galapagos Islands.
Wildlife
Refuge:
A visual treat for nature lovers.
Ecuador - Travel
and Tourism:
Provided by the Embassy of Ecuador, in Washington, DC.
Enjoy
Ecuador:
These articles will give you a new perspective about myths and tradition of the wonderful
and enchanting Ecuadorian destinations.
South
American Photo Gallery:
A few select images from Magun's extensive photo library.
Ecuadorial:
A small team of travel writers and journalists aim to bring you colourful and candid
features, highlighting the best Ecuador has to offer.
Ecuadorian
Cuisine:
Find out what's likely to be on the menu in Ecuador. If you travel on a budget many
Ecuadorian restaurants have set menus at lunch time.
I was travelling towards Otavalo from the Colombian border, hoping
to make it into the famous Indian town in time for the Saturday market.
Late that Friday afternoon the bus broke down just outside Ibarra.
There were no more buses from Ibarra to Otavalo, so we had to hope that one of the buses
from the border to Quito would stop for us on its way through.
Suzanna lived in Otavalo and appeared concerned that we would not make
it before dark.
The first driver to pass and hoot his horn carried a full complement
of passengers. The next one failed to acknowledge us, and the third bus was even more
crowded than the first one. It stopped though.
Suzanna shrugged her shoulders in desperation, but I suggested that if
the locals were still prepared to cram aboard, then we should join them.
My clothes bag was thrown up to a young boy on the roof, while I tried
to keep my camera bag on my shoulder as I balanced on the last step with a group of
others, holding on to what available supports there were.
The men squeezed Suzanna inside among the Indians and the chickens,
and someone allowed her to sit on their merchandise.
Half the fun of travelling is to arrive in a strange town without
knowing your fate. At Otavalo, Suzanna suggested that I meet her family.
To get to her house though, we had to climb into another overcrowded
pickup for the short drive into the hills.
There were no street lights in her village, and the outline of houses
could barely be etched into the scene. The potholes were deceiving, while the air seemed
to hang
with the smell of burning grass.
A youth became three dimensional in my adjusting sight and offered to
relieve me of my bags. He was apparently one of Suzanna's nephews trying to make her
foreign guest feel at home.
My pulse rate only eased when we reached the house and the old
grandmother talked of her potato patch and the stall she religiously attended in the
market.
Otavalo on a Saturday has the atmosphere of a fair. The Indian weavers
from the nearby villages of Peguche, Ilumen and Quinchuqui will already be setting up
their stalls in the Plaza de Ponchos at 5am.
The best bargains used to be had early, but by mid-morning commercial
success is guaranteed when the bus-loads of tourists arrive from their cosy hotels.
Now the only advantage of being in Otavalo at that hour is that you
probably spent Friday night in one of the local penas.
Celebrated Andean musicians from as far away as La Paz come to play in
Ecuador's most famous market town.
Although several thousand Indians have been lured to Otavalo from
their farms because of the tourist, much of the production of textiles is in most cases
still organised around the seasonal demands of agriculture.
Aside from the Plaza de Ponchos, horses, cows, pigs, sheep and goats
are fiercely bargained for by the hillside Indians; mothers feed their babies from a full
bosom; village life continues as it has for centuries.
The scene is similar in Riobamba, Saquisili and Cuenca.
Riobamba
Although the Riobamba market does not fill up the nine plazas anymore,
the volcanoes and surrounding scenery make up for the market's relocation to a large
municipal shelter.
Saquisili
Saquisili on a Thursday is still very active; baskets are something of
a legend here, as are ponchoed Indians wearing narrow-brimmed felt hats.
After the trading is complete the fiesta begins. The tourists have
returned with their footage, but they have missed the life and soul of the place.
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