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ECUADORLINE |
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ECUADORLINE |
NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2005 |
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Dear friends of Ecuador, Now that a brighten sun gives the welcome to a new month in Ecuador
and Carnival festivities are coming, we invite you to discover the wonder
of this little Latin American country. We hope you enjoy it! Yours, Andrea Almeida Villamil
Ivan Vallejo and the 14 eight thousands challenge
Ivan Vallejo was born on 1959 in Ecuador, and since he was a kid the mountain was a fascination. At school, he climbed all hills near Ambato, his home town. In 1978 - at the age of 19 and after a long time of saving to buy his first climbing boots - he reached the highest peak of Ecuador, the Chimborazo. Ivan passed some years among the Latin-American summits, until 1990 when he got to know the Himalaya - whose majesty dazzled and obsessed him. Finally, in 1999 he reached the top of the Everest, and the "14 Ochomiles" (14 Eight thousands) challenge has begun.
"When I reached the Everest peak, I stayed one hour - without wind, and without cold - crying of excitement, conscious that finally the dream I had since my childhood became truth".
The foreign trade of Ecuador in series: part 2 - the banana
Although the highly developed standard of the production of bananas and the strict international requirements lead more and more to gigantic plantations, Ecuador, together with Colombia, belongs to the only countries in which also small farmers still cultivate bananas. Some of these family farms joined forces in the Southern coastal province of El Oro, next to the city Machala, and now produce their bananas completely without any use of chemicals. This "more human" type of cultivation is also supported by the Fair-trade Label Organization (FLO).
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| Links: |
| More about the C-B-R can be found on the following link: www.messe-muenchen.de and more about one of the biggest travel market worldwide, ITB, here: www.itb-berlin.de. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. |
 OUR
PARTNERS |
The
nature reserve Yuturi not only offers its guests a unique experience of
the nature of the Amazon, but at the same time supports the sustainable
development of the rain forest inhabitants. The organization of the lodge
is based on a contact with the village community of Yuturi, whose residents
constructed the whole annex with natural materials of the region and do
profit now from the eco tourism.
Integrated in the partner lodge Yarina, where guests spend the last day of their stay in order not to have to leave Yuturi in the middle of the night, is a reserve for animals originally meant for illegal animal trade and which now should be reintroduced into the wild.
| Links: |
| Discover the rainforest with all its nativeness - Yuturi Lodge will be pleased to welcome you! For further information look forward to our travel report in the next newsletter or contact us directly. |
Emperor
feast for Carnival, in colonial Quito Ceremonies in honour to Bacchus, the god of wine, as well as other pagan
holidays were the origins of the Carnival festivities. Nowadays, for all
Christian countries, it is a time preceding the “Cuaresma”
(Lent) - a period of 40 days in which eating of any kind of meat is prohibited.
At past or at present, feasts, celebrations, and fun are the main characteristics
of Carnival, in order to be prepared for the time of abstinence.
| Links: |
| Our partner in the colonial Centre of Quito, the Hotel Patio Andaluz, has done a special Carnival Package for its visitors. For sure exquisite food, unlimited wine, visits to museums, relaxation and different kinds of activities are prepared and waiting for you. We will be pleased to help you to make your reservations, just contact us. |
Only
20 minutes by car from Otavalo, the Hacienda San Pedro is located at an
altitude of 3000m. Its farmlands and forests cover about 65ha and are
popular for long horse back riding trips or walks offering a unique view
of the surrounding volcanoes.
Come and enjoy three unforgettable days with an exceptional service in a unique landscape of quietness, harmony, natural beauty. A diversified program with walks, horse-riding, anti-stress-treatment and cooking class awaits you. You will also benefit from a beautiful panoramic view over Lake San Pablo and the volcanoes Cayambe, Imbabura and Cotacachi.
| Links: |
| The exact rates and services can be found on our homepage. We would be pleased to assist you with the reservation and to give you further information for planning your journey. Please contact us. |
| FROM
THE REGIONS |
The
Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) keeps the promises of its name. Ecuador´s
beautiful coastal road winds through classical, colourful fishing villages,
passing white, long beaches and unique forests. This region, located
in the provinces of Guayas and Manabí, is spoiled by the sun.
From Santa Elena in the South, the road leads, among others, through
the well-known coastal villages of Manglaralto - a picturesque fishing
village with a beautiful beach, Montañita - known for its excellent
surfing opportunities, and reaches 
Puerto
Lopez - a perfect starting point to visit Machalilla National Park with
its 40,000 hectares of primary dry and cloud forest. From there, the
roads leads further on to Esmeraldas. On your way you will encounter,
among others, pelicans, frigate birds and boobies in great numbers.
The Ruta del Sol offers a unique variety of hosterías, inviting you spend some relaxing and interesting days. For example, you can stay with a local family and participate in their live - a project initiated by the resident communities -, or you choose to stay in an airy tree house. Encounter squirrels, apes and iguanas, take extensive rides through the cloud forest and dive into the colourful world of the tropic plants. The lodgings are as manifold as the landscape of this part of the coast.
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| In order for you as well to get to know this outstanding part of Ecuador, we assembled a travel route, which will lead you to all important sites of the Ruta del Sol. But we will be at your assistance with your individual plans as well, just contact us. And combine your itinerary with a stay in the marvellous hosterías Mandála and Barquita, both located magnificently at the waterfront. |
The
Amazon region of Ecuador not only is rich in flora, fauna and culture,
but also harbours huge reserves of oil, which are divided by contract
between the Ecuadorian State and some oil companies. But the indigenous
inhabiting these parts of the country, were excluded from the negotiations
and are supposed to place contracts with the oil companies themselves.
Though the cooperation with the oil companies is a way to gain at least
some money, a lot of the inhabitants of the rainforest realized that
it is as well destroying their living space and way of living.
Therefore
some communities resist vehemently the exploitation, for example the
Sarayacu, which started a campaign against the companies, involving
the public and the media as well. But not only the Sarayaku are looking
for alternatives to the oil business, other communities as well decided
to give the companies the cold shoulder and instead attend to eco tourism
in order to preserve their traditions and habitat. A lot of these projects
of sustainable development are cooperating with the inhabitants of the
region, so that large parts of the revenues go to the communities
| Links: |
| If you would like to support the Sarayacu in their campaign against the oil companies, visit the webpage www.sarayacu.com. Or experience yourself the cooperation between the indigenous and projects of eco tourism: our partners Kapawi-Lodge and Yuturi-Lodge are one of the precursors. Needless to say we are at your disposal for further information! |
| TRAVEL
NOTES |
Still
today, I hear the shout of the sea lions, closely followed by the memory
of the noise of the waves, dabbling drowsily at the ship’s side
of our yacht Tip Top III. Or is it that smashing and a bit sinister
feeling I had when snorkelling in a lagoon on Isabela with a group of
white tipped sharks that comes to my mind first? Or the sight of the
giant tortoises in the Charles Darwin Foundation on Santa Cruz, ahead
of all “Lonesome George”. the last of his kind? Or is it
the fascinating landscape of this paradise islands I will always remember
when thinking of my trip to Galápagos? Whatever, for sure I scarcely
saw something more stunning as this archipelago. No wonder: the majority
of the flora and fauna here is endemic, thus cannot be seen elsewhere
in the world.
Penguins (yippee, my favourite animals). land and sea iguanas, sea tortoises, dazzling fishes, the famous blue footed booby, owing its name to its bright blue feet, or the frigate bird with its flap of red skin hanging under its neck – all the time there is something to see, and our guide has a lot of work with all our curious questions about all these extraordinary animals. Actually, Duncan is an unfailing source of information, understanding very well to show us all the characteristics and special features of the Galápagos` world of animals and plants. We are only wondering a bit about his recommendations concerning the footgear we should wear when visiting the different islands: recommending hiking-boots, he himself wears sandals, recommending sandals, he for sure is walking bare-footed.
Apropos:
bare-footed or with stockings is the only manner in which we are allowed
to walk on deck of the Tip Top III. The yacht is really amazing: exquisite
cuisine, amply-fitted cabins (from now on, I think, a bunk is my favourite
place to sleep) and a personnel that left nothing to be desired –
really incredible.
Additionally to our 5-day-cruise we booked a stay in the Casa de Marita on the island Isabela. Actually we planned just to relax and work up our impressions, but Isabela has so much to offer that we were out every day. Snorkelling, horse-riding, hikes, tortoise hatchery – we did not know where to start. But the best of all: there are so many more things to discover, that coming back is a must!
| Links: |
| Please send your travel reports and further e-mails to info@ecuadorline.com. Many thanks! |
| DID
YOU KNOW...? |
… that "Yuturi" is a Quichua word and means "giant forest ant"?
… that the Inkas mainly ruled their live with three commandments? They were as follows: "Don’t be a thief, don’t be a liar, don’t be lazy!"
... and that in the Cajas National Park, near Cuenca, more than 230 lakes can be found?
| ABOUT
US |
ecuadorline
is a tourist information service about Ecuador. Many tourist enterprises
support and finance our promotion and information job. Our main objective
is to benefit the sponsor companies as well as the country itself.
Our services:
- Callcenter in Germany and delivery of information material free of charge
- Route planning for individual travellers:info@ecuadorline.com
- Help with reservations
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Islands
- Suggestions for trips in Ecuador and useful links on our
web site.
- Organisation of press trips
- Photo archives
Your suggestions to improve our Newsletter are welcomed. We also thank
you for your comments about our web page.
Please visit also our information services for Peru www.peruline.com
and Bolivia www.bolivialine.com.
With kind regards from Quito,
Andrea Almeida Villamil
ecuadorline
"In
the mountain I have found everything: discouragement, hope, joy, sadness,
fear and excitement (…) but, basically, I have found … myself
and all what that could mean".
In
the climbers world, that name explains everything. It means reaching the
14 summits in the world whose altitude surpasses eight thousand meters.
All of them are in the Himalaya, specifically in three countries: Nepal,
China and Pakistan. At present, just ten mountaineers have surmounted
all of the 14 peaks.
Ecuador
produces 35% of the bananas reaching the world market. But during the
20th century the worldwide biggest exporter of bananas experienced a continuous
alternation of ups and downs. Even today the banana trade is a very important
issue as we see in these days at the negotiations with the European Union
about duties. 