Ecuador offers such a diverse cultural background which has created some unique traditions.
In this short post, I have picked out ten interesting facts about Ecuador that contributed or represents the country’s rich culture! I’ve said it before & I will say it again Ecuador is a MUST see on your Bucket List! These fun facts about Ecuador will hopefully add to your thirst to learn more about this extremely beautiful country! Let’s get started!
My Top Ten Interesting Facts About Ecuador!
1] Gran Colombia
Did you know that at one time Ecuador was part of the short lived Gran Colombia from 1819-1830? Panama, Venezuela & parts of Peru, Brazil & Guyana were also included.
2] Guinea Pig
Guinea pig, also known as cuy, is a very traditional Ecuadorian delicacy! I am a firm believer of trying new dishes when visiting a country but this is one I was able to avoid during this trip. With a firm base in the indigenous culture, the cuy is not going anywhere soon. I found this article where one Quito local has taken it to another level making Guinea Pig Ice Cream.
Guinea Pig Article Quito Ecuador
3] Quito Altitude
It took us a few days to get use to the altitude in Quito – mostily just a daily headache for the first week. Quito sits at 2,850m above sea level making it the second highest capital city in the world behind La Paz, Bolivia but Ecuador gets to claim fame as the capital city closest to the Equator.
4] Mount Chimborazo
Speaking of altitude, Mount Chimborazo is Ecuador’s highest mountain making its summit the closest to the Sun!
Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador
5] Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was a big discussion WAY BACK in my Junior HIgh Science class but to tell you the truth I really didn’t like science BUT the Galapagos Islands [and turtles!!]have always held a fascination for me. Did you know that Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was based on his visit to the Galapagos Islands in 1835?
Giant Saddleback Tortoise – Galapagos Islands (Image credit: James P. Gibbs, SUNY-ESF)
6] UNESCO Site
Every world heritage site has a number assigned to it. Galapagos Islands is #3 followed by Quito, Ecuador as #4! Enough said! AWESOME!
There are five UNESCO sites in Ecuador besides Quito & the Galapagos Islands. Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenco, the Andean Road System & Sangay National Park complete the list.
7] Ecuador Exports
With the U.S. on the receiving in of about 31% of Ecuador’s exports it is not surprising to learn what the States receives. Ecuador’s top five are bananas, crude oil, lobsters, preserved fish & flowers!
Banana plantation in Ecuador
8] Languages in Ecuador
Of course, it should be no surprise that Spanish is the main language of Ecuador but I didn’t know that there are at over 10 different indigenous languages recognized!
9] Choice for Retirement?
Ecuador is consistently ranked in the top ten countries for expats to retire as seen in this article by International Living. After having been here a month so far, I can easily see what that is! Depending on what is on your ‘wish list‘ to retire, Ecuador has a multitude to offer expats looking to reture or merely looking for a piece of paradise!
10] Julian Assange
Ok, this fact I found as being very interesting- you may not? Back in 2012 Julian Assange was granted political asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in the U.K. Ok that is not the funny part. By the end of April 2019 the Embassy was so tired of Assange’s stunts & just all out spoiled brat shenanigans, the hospital Ecuadorians could take no more & ended his asylum status allowing the UK entry to arrest Assange per this article.
I really could have gone on for pages of fun & very interesting facts about Ecuador I still have sights to see. If nothing else maybe you learned a fact or two that you didn’t know before reading this post, I know I did!
Are you kidding me?! A beautiful place to rest our heads during our stay in Quito, Ecuador PLUS a view that we could not have imagined!
We booked the perfect AirBnB for our stay in Quito, Ecuador that allows us to wake & go to bed everyday with stunning views of the Pichincha Volcano located in the Pichincha Province of Quito in the Andes Mountain range! What an amazing view. We honestly can’t get enough of the site & have easily taken hundreds of photos of that mountain range. Every time we look out towards the range we see a different view. Absolutely gorgeous.
We lucked out & selected the absolutely perfect Airbnb for our month adventure into Quito, Ecuador! Let’s get to it!
Pichincha Volcano in Andes Mtns on a cloudy day. This was our view from living room!
Quito’s TeleferiQo Cable Car
The ride on Quitos’s TeleferiQo cable car is a 15-20 minute ride up the east side of the Pichincha Volcano & the views are spectacular! It is one of the highest lifts in the world!
Since there are those who choose to venture out on the hiking trails, you receive two entries when you pay your fee. One entry is for you to get into the cable car, the other receipt you drop into the box when getting back on to head back down the mountain. This is how they can lookout for lost hikers. Should someone’s return ticket [the second stub] not be in the box at end of day, then someone could be lost & need help. I hope that makes sense? I may not be explaining it as easily as it is intended.
Teleferiqo Quito Cable Car
Andes Mts from TeleferiQo Quitocable car. The views are spectacular!
There are coffee shops & restaurants at the tram base & at the top should you work up an appetite walking the mountain trails. Be sure to take water with you as well as good walking shoes as part of the trails are pretty slippery & hilly.
If you are an adrenaline junkie, you can ride the bicycle trail down the mountain or climb to the peak of the volcano. There is also a huge playground for the kiddos at the visitor center!
The bike trail should you be an adrenaline junkie. From what we could see the trail was a rut & straight down the mountain.
Here are some photos once we got to our stopping point at about 13,200 ft. The photos do not give justice to these mountains!
Carunculated caracara – member of Falcon family. This bird was not at all impressed by any of the folks taking his pic. He flew to ground and continued to walk around…
View of Quito heading up to Cruz Loma summit, Quito
TeleferiQo cable car, looking down to Quito
View from Cruz Lomo summit.
Stunning views of the Andes.
Pichincha Volcano– A Few Fun Facts!
1] When was the last time Pichincha Volcano erupted?
The most recent eruption was in 1998 which cast a layer of ash over Quito. In 2000, two volcanologists were killed while working on the volcano dome when a steam blast eruption occurred. This type of eruption normally contains rock & steam, rarely lava.
2] How tall is the Pichincha Volcano?
The Pichincha Volcano is 15,696ft tall! The two highest peaks of this range is the Rucu Pichincha standing at 4696 meters & the Guagua Pichincha at 4784 meters!
3] Ecuador is home to 32 Active volcanos on the mainland & another 15 in the Galapogos!
4] The Rucu Pichincha Volcano can be hiked in 3-4 hours once you reach the top of the TeleferiQo summit.
5] Did you know the city of Quito is built on the eastern slopes of the twin peaked Guagua Pichicha Volcano!
Every day is another amazing adventure in Quito, Ecuador! By that I mean a great walk about to see new sights or a day trip to see something in particular. Each morning as seniors traveling we wake up & are amazed at the beauty of this city. It truly is a dream come true. Let’s get started!
Years ago we made a plan for retirement & travel. Our goal as seniors traveling was to put together a Bucket List of countries that we could adventure to find our piece of paradise – you know where we can see ourselves living cost efficiently on a budget while still being able to live a happy life. Does that make sense? At present we are in Quito, Ecuador to see how many checks on our list this city offers. In the past, we have written about yearly travels & vacations to great tourist spots for short periods of weeks. Don’t get me wrong who doesn’t love going on a ‘tourist’ vacation to be basically waited on but as senior travelers looking for our piece of paradise to live – well that is a little different.
As senior travelers searching for our piece of paradise to live puts us in another category – away from tourist. We visit countries to see what they may have to offer us as a future home – safety, cost of living, acceptance by locals, etc. Visiting the areas & getting to know the locals is the best way we have figured how to do this. Yes, we will see sites & definitely pass that on to you but our end all goal is to find ‘our happy place’ where we can live permanently on a budget – happily! That is the main reason Ecuador was a natural for our next stop. Quito answers a lot of our checks but we still have a few other places to check out. Let’s check out what Quito, Ecuador has to offer for seniors traveling!
View of Andes Mountains from our Airbnb in Quito
Quito, Ecuador Weather!
One of the huge pros for Quito, Ecuador is the weather. During the month of January the range has been from 44 degrees in the night to a wonderful 65 degrees during the day. The length of sunlight is around 12 hours which means you have to dress in layers to cover the chill of the mornings & late afternoons. In between the morning & later afternoon you will be shedding the jackets to enjoy the sun. All in all, the weathr has been pretty nice. Occasional rains in late afternoons or nights but that is why everything is so green!
Ecuadorian Lunches!
The Ecuadorians are known for their one main meal of the day consisting usually of a large bowl of AMAZING soup [chicken, potato, turnip, fish, etc], meat, rice, salad, beans or potatoes & a glass of fresh squeezed juice! We have changed our eating plans & join the locals in eating our main meal at one of the many local restaurants between 1-4 pm. The price for all this food ranges from $2.25 to $2.50 each for the full meal. Some restaurants advertise lunches for as low as $1.50 which may be a piece of chicken & potatoes or a dressed hamburger & fries. Some restaurants throw in jello, gelato, flan or a piece of candy for dessert! What is not to like about that? You absolutely could not cook a meal at home for that price so for us it is cost effective for us to eat out everyday which makes this a win win toward cost of living.
Sample of Ecuadorian lunch plate -pork chop, rice, beans, salad, juice & cookie. Price $3!
Sample of lunch menu board with choice f lamb or tomato as soup with main selection of beef, pork, fish plats or grilled pork sandwich.
Don’t feel like a sit down meal? Check out the street or park vendors for an amazing tasty & inexpensive meal!
Bakeries
For an evening snack we may have fresh croissants or a piece of baguette with tea or coffee. Ecuadorian bread is very good but I would not consider it ‘sweet bread’ like what we found in the Yucatán bakeries in Mexico.] We stopped today at our favorite bakery & bought, no kidding, a 3 ft long baguet, two large croissants & a huge chocolate cinnamon roll – wait for it – all for under $2! The cool part about truly immersing yourself into a neighborhood is that by buying from locals – the more they see you in their shops, the prices start dropping!
The La Gran Colombia Bakery -open street view. Awesome fresh baker
Local Ecuadorian Fruit & Vegetable Markets
Local markets are where to buy the freshest fruits & vegetables imaginable! We have found they are like the bakeries – the more they see you the prices may drop. One of the absolute best places we have found to buy fruits is off a street vendor downtown. We were told the secret of bagged fruits or vegetables for sale. If the fruit or vegetable is already in a bag than the price is set at $1! We bought 4 pretty good size avocados, a bag of cherries, a bag of mandarins & a huge bag of strawberries – each $1. I’ve paid $1 plus for a small avocado for it only to be brown on the inside when I got it home. The strawberries would probably have cost at least $4-5 at Costco, if not more.
Bagged Fruit from Street vendor in Quito Ecuador. If in bag price is $1!
Shopping Malls/Grocers for Locals vs American
We have gone to both a local & ‘American’ mall. Shopping at the ‘American’ mall or grocer can be very expensive compared to the locals mall & grocery stores but then you are paying for the fancy shops & probably import fees on some items. The larger mall & grocery stores are apt to have whatever you would want as they carry the name brands associated with the US & European countries.
At the local mall, the stores are tiny & they make use of every bit of space. The mall that we like going to is just a couple blocks from our Airbnb. It is smaller & not as fancy as the tourist mall but with a wide variety of stores. You will not find sizes to fit The Big Guy, go figure, especially size 14 wide shoes! On the other side of that if you shop at the ‘locals’ mall, they are apt to negotiate prices. We found a compact keyboard at one of the shops & were able to negotiate off the price! Not something you find in the American stores.
Ubers/Taxis
Ubers/taxis seem to be a little more expensive but still doable. Since Quito, Ecuador is technically a long city, it is probably best to take a Uber or taxi to a drop off point & then walk to your hearts content. After lunch, then Uber back to your stay. We might walk to the grocery store but then Uber home with the groceries.
Tourist Sights/Tours
There are a lot of Tours that you will pay a price to go. I would suggest a tour guide for historical sights as it, to me, is well worth the interesting history. Let me just say that Quito, Ecuador is full of FREE sights that can easily be seen by walking! Here are just a few ideas for your trip!
I’ll go into this more on another post but number of Cathedrals in this city is amazing & most of them allow you to enter free as long as you do not interrupt services! There was only one Cathedral that charged a $5 fee [that one we did not enter].
Parks are wonderful places to spend a day especially on the weekends with live entertainment & sidewalk art sales!
Local Entertainment at Park in Quito Ecuador.
Local markets in neighborhoods geared for the tourists & FREE to wander through.
A Few Cons about Quito:}
Don’t get me wrong Quito has a few minor cons. It can be expensive depending on where & what you are shopping for. The altitude of the city alone takes a bit to get use to & your skin may pay a price [I’ve never used so much moisturizer all over my body in all my life:)]. We have been told & have seen some of the concerns regarding the 500,000 refugees in Ecuador which makes for some uncomfortable moments but Ecuador is not alone in dealing with that issue.
Quito, Ecuador Should Be on your Bucket List!
Bottom line, Quito is amazing & definitely should be on your Bucket List! We haven’t seen all of Ecuador that we want – yet – but another trip is expected. The locals have been warm & inviting for the most part! The Andes Mountains are beyond beautiful. We are both so happy that we put Ecuador on our list all those years ago. Yes, there are many cities in Ecuador that could be that ‘piece of paradise’ for us or for you? We are really liking what we are seeing here in Quito but we are finding that honestly you need three to six months, for us, to really get a feel of the land.
For now, we are spending our time here in Quito so follow us to check out more sights & sounds of Quito, Ecuador! See ya soon!
Ajiaco, absolutely the best Colombian chicken & potato stew you will taste with its aromas & pops of color in its ingredients!
With Colombia’s weather a bowl of Ajiaco is just what the weatherman ordered. You know if you have spent any time in Colombia your day could easily have covered the four seasons; cold during the night, cool spring like in the morning, by noon the temp has warmed up only to drastically drop back down around late afternoon/early evening. A bowl of Ajiaco is guaranteed to be a belly warmer! Nothing can warm your soul like a good bowl of chicken stew & Ajiaco fills the bill.
Ajiaco – Whatis it?
Ajiaco is a very popular Bogota, Colombian soup or stew – whichever you prefer calling it. The soup consists mainly of corn on the cob cut up & potatoes with various spices.
The photo featured in beginning of this post is what we had minus the various toppings as indicated in recipe below. Easily my new favorite soup for those chilly days. So yummy!
Ajiaco – Colombian Chicken Stew with the toppings {photo by Spruce Eats]
