Ecuador

 

Quick Facts

Capital - Quito Total Area - 109,483.13 sq mi (slightly smaller than Nevada) Population - 12,920,092 (July 2000 est.) Languages - Spanish (official), Amerindian languages esp. Quechua Literacy - 90.1% total, 92.0% male, 88.2% female (1995 est.) Religions - Roman Catholic 95% Life Expectancy - 68.26 male, 73.99 female (2000 est.) Government Type - republic Currency - 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos GDP (per capita) - $4,300 (1999 est.) Current Environmental Issues - deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes     The Galapagos Islands

There is no way to adequately describe the Galapagos Islands.  These remote desert islands hold a wealth of wildlife that are incredibly unique.  It was very interesting to see the variations of species that gave rise to Darwin's theory of evolution.  We dove with hammerheads and manta rays, snorkeled with sea lions, walked among hundreds of iguanas and spent close to a week sailing from island to island aboard the Cruz del Sur.   Blue Footed Booby Chick 09/16/02 Entry 38 Red Mangrove Inn We spent the first few days of our trip scuba diving and relaxing in this amazing B&B. 09/17/02 Entry 39 Scuba Diving Check out the hammerheads, manta rays and sea turtles we dove with! 09/18/02 Entry 40 Cruz del Sur Some shots of the SS Minnow... 09/20/02 Entry 41 Darwin Research Center Two words... big turtles! 09/21/02 Entry 42 Sea Lions These sea lions had no fear of humans, and we walked within feet of them, and snorkeled with them several times. 09/22/02 Entry 43 Galapagos Birds Shots of blue footed boobies (hehe...), cormorants, and sheer waters. 09/23/02 Entry 44 Iguanas and Such Iguanas, everywhere!  The world's only swimming iguanas... oh, and a few other reptiles to boot. 09/24/02 Entry 45 The Scenery Just a few shots of the amazing landscapes and features of the Galapagos Islands.

Quito and Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World)

Just a couple of quick entries regarding our time in Quito, and our official crossing of the equator for the first time.

09/25/02 Entry 46 Relaxing in Quito Kickin' back at Casa Helbling in Quito 09/26/02 Entry 47 Mitad del Mundo Our trip to Latitude 0!

Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity

09/29/02 Entry 48 Habitat Conference Attending HFH Ecuador's National Conference 10/02/02 Entry 49 Habitat Esmeraldas Working in Ecuador's Most Dangerous City 10/03/02 Entry 50 Poverty and Beauty The Ugliness of Poverty, The Beauty of People 08/03/02 Entry 51 Habitat Website Building Habitat Ecuador's Website

Otavalo

Part of the Amazon River Basin extends into Ecuador, and the rainforest there is supposed to be spectacular.  If we can squeeze it in, we may have some great entries from those excursions.

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