2010 Trip Dates

Ecuador Potpourri

Contrary to the popular myth promoted in jungle and horror movies, you can safely swim in rivers where there are piranha. The carnivorous fish are not nearly as aggressive as they are portrayed on the screen and rarely attack something that isn't already bleeding.

The line on the pavement at the Mitad del Mundo (Center of the World) complex is not the actual equator. In the 1700s, Frenchman Charles Marie de La Condamine came awfully close, however, finding it mathematically. Several monuments have marked it, the most recent being the 90-ft-/30-m-tall monolith with a gigantic globe on top of it. But GPS measurements have determined it's just a bit off the mark.

As lush as the rain forest is, its soil is only about 4 in/10 cm deep. When cleared of trees, the soil washes away within a year, and the remaining terrain is as arid as a desert. Your participation in a responsible rain-forest excursion helps convey the message to the cash-strapped Ecuadorian government and people that the best long-term use of the rain forest is as an environmentally intact tourist preserve.

You are unlikely to find two groups of the same species of flora or fauna close to each other in the rain forest. If you come across a mahogany tree or a troop of monkeys, chances are the next tree or troop is at least a mile/kilometer away.

Population growth and overfishing in the Galapagos Islands have been of major concern. The 1998 El Nino phenomenon caused ocean heating, which forced the fish to migrate to cooler waters and has adversely affected wildlife dependent on the fish. There are continued tensions regarding the management of the Galapagos Marine Reserve and the rights of local fishermen. 

In the remote southeastern town of Vilcabamba, people are known to live for a very long time—up to 120 years old. The town is also renowned for a hallucinogenic juice that comes from a local cactus. A connection between the juice and longevity has yet to be proven.

Ecuador was the first country in South America to adopt the U.S. dollar as its official currency.

Chimborazo Volcano, though not the highest mountain in the world, is the point farthest from the center of the Earth (it's because the planet bulges slightly at the equator) and thus said to be the closest spot on Earth to the Sun.

Expect to be doused with water if you are in Ecuador during Carnival (it's the custom).

All citizens in Ecuador ages 18-65 are required by law to vote. Ecuadorians who do not fulfill this obligation cannot get passports to leave the country and even cannot complete certain bank transactions. Members of the military and national police, however, are not allowed to vote.