My plan to visit the Amazon rain-forest was derailed after getting sick during the latter part of the week. Ended up spending majority of my time in Quito and the surrounding area. Will see if I can visit the Amazon in Bolivia in a few weeks.
Neo-Gothic church Basílica del Voto Nacional in the historic old town, overlooking the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
Neo-Gothic church Basílica del Voto Nacional in the historic old town, overlooking the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
Neo-Gothic church Basílica del Voto Nacional in the historic old town, overlooking the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
Neo-Gothic church Basílica del Voto Nacional in the historic old town, overlooking the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
Neo-Gothic church Basílica del Voto Nacional in the historic old town, overlooking the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
Coffee farm tour in Mindo.
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Specialty coffee is for drinking for most people, but it can also be an investing opportunity if you are interested in agricultural investing. There are investment groups in the US that invest in coffee farms in Latin America, with a projected internal rate of return of about 13% (+ any future increase of land value) over a $30k per acre of fully-managed coffee farm. I missed the opportunity to visit coffee farms in Panama and Colombia, but was finally able to see one here in Ecuador.
@Mindo
Masaya Hostel in Quito where I stayed a week at. They have a weekly schedule of free Spanish class, Salsa class, and other activities.
@Quito
Masaya Hostel in Quito where I stayed a week at. They have a weekly schedule of free Spanish class, Salsa class, and other activities.
@Quito
Caldo de Tronquito (bull penis soup).
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I’d love to tell you what else is in it, but this is the only ingredient people ever talk about. And if you can get past that, you are probably not really bothered what else goes in it.
@Quito
Caldo de Tronquito (bull penis soup).
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I’d love to tell you what else is in it, but this is the only ingredient people ever talk about. And if you can get past that, you are probably not really bothered what else goes in it.
@Quito
Arepa con pollo (flour dough with chicken).
@Quito
Unlike in other Latin American countries where ceviche is uncooked marinated fish, ceviche in Ecuador is cooked.
@Quito
Mitad del Mundo, “The Middle of the World”, is the exact location of the Equator from which the country takes its name. The yellow line here divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (although technically it is not a line but a strip about 5km wide that covers the equatorial valley). The latitude 0°0’0″ varies its location within the equatorial strip due to the rotation of the earth.
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Of course Ecuador is not the only country where the equator lies on. If you follow the equator line around the globe, you will see the imaginary line also lies on countries like Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia; because of the geographic location of the Middle of the World and the centrifugal force, you instantly weigh about 1kg less here – This beats any weight loss program out there!
@Quito
Mitad del Mundo, “The Middle of the World”, is the exact location of the Equator from which the country takes its name. The yellow line here divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (although technically it is not a line but a strip about 5km wide that covers the equatorial valley). The latitude 0°0’0″ varies its location within the equatorial strip due to the rotation of the earth.
\\
Of course Ecuador is not the only country where the equator lies on. If you follow the equator line around the globe, you will see the imaginary line also lies on countries like Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia; because of the geographic location of the Middle of the World and the centrifugal force, you instantly weigh about 1kg less here – This beats any weight loss program out there!
@Quito
Mitad del Mundo, “The Middle of the World”, is the exact location of the Equator from which the country takes its name. The yellow line here divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (although technically it is not a line but a strip about 5km wide that covers the equatorial valley). The latitude 0°0’0″ varies its location within the equatorial strip due to the rotation of the earth.
\\
Of course Ecuador is not the only country where the equator lies on. If you follow the equator line around the globe, you will see the imaginary line also lies on countries like Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia; because of the geographic location of the Middle of the World and the centrifugal force, you instantly weigh about 1kg less here – This beats any weight loss program out there!
@Quito
Mitad del Mundo, “The Middle of the World”, is the exact location of the Equator from which the country takes its name. The yellow line here divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (although technically it is not a line but a strip about 5km wide that covers the equatorial valley). The latitude 0°0’0″ varies its location within the equatorial strip due to the rotation of the earth.
\\
Of course Ecuador is not the only country where the equator lies on. If you follow the equator line around the globe, you will see the imaginary line also lies on countries like Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia; because of the geographic location of the Middle of the World and the centrifugal force, you instantly weigh about 1kg less here – This beats any weight loss program out there!
@Quito
Mitad del Mundo, “The Middle of the World”, is the exact location of the Equator from which the country takes its name. The yellow line here divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (although technically it is not a line but a strip about 5km wide that covers the equatorial valley). The latitude 0°0’0″ varies its location within the equatorial strip due to the rotation of the earth.
\\
Of course Ecuador is not the only country where the equator lies on. If you follow the equator line around the globe, you will see the imaginary line also lies on countries like Brazil, Kenya, and Indonesia; because of the geographic location of the Middle of the World and the centrifugal force, you instantly weigh about 1kg less here – This beats any weight loss program out there!
@Quito
View of Quito from the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
View of Quito from the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
TAME flight from Cali Colombia to Esmeraldas in Ecuador.
@Quito
Walking tour with travalers from Germany, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the US.
@Quito
Central Bank of Ecuador. Currently Ecuador does not have its local currency – US Dollar is being used. There is a story behind it:
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The story starts with Jamil Mahuad, President of Ecuador from 1998-2000. Mahuad graduated from Harvard University with a MPA degree. During his presidency, a historic peace agreement with Peru was signed, resolving the long-standing border disputes.
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However, Ecuador experienced a financial crisis in 1998 and the local currency Sucre lost 80% of its value. This led to Dollarization (replacing the local currency with the US Dollar, similar to what happened in El Salvador and Zimbabwe). Mahuad’s popularity rating went from 60% in 1998 to 6% in 2000, and was forced to resign.
@Quito
Central Bank of Ecuador. Currently Ecuador does not have its local currency – US Dollar is being used. There is a story behind it:
\\
The story starts with Jamil Mahuad, President of Ecuador from 1998-2000. Mahuad graduated from Harvard University with a MPA degree. During his presidency, a historic peace agreement with Peru was signed, resolving the long-standing border disputes.
\\
However, Ecuador experienced a financial crisis in 1998 and the local currency Sucre lost 80% of its value. This led to Dollarization (replacing the local currency with the US Dollar, similar to what happened in El Salvador and Zimbabwe). Mahuad’s popularity rating went from 60% in 1998 to 6% in 2000, and was forced to resign.
@Quito
Accurately predicting the weather on the equator, beyond several hours in advance, is almost impossible. It has been sunny all week even though Weather.com predicted rain and thunderstorm. There is no “news, sports, and weather” on the local six o’clock TV news broadcasts – Only news and sports.
@Quito
7% of Ecuador’s population is indigenous people. They live in three different regions: the Coastal area in the west, the Amazon jungle in the east, and the Sierra mountains in between. Their houses are constructed differently.
@Quito
View from the Pichincha volcanic area.
@Quito
View from the Pichincha volcanic area.
@Quito
View from the Pichincha volcanic area.
@Quito
Neo-Gothic church Basílica del Voto Nacional in the historic old town, overlooking the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
Neo-Gothic church Basílica del Voto Nacional in the historic old town, overlooking the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
Neo-Gothic church Basílica del Voto Nacional in the historic old town, overlooking the Virgin Mary statue on El Panecillo hill.
@Quito
