There are 498 blog posts for you to enjoy.
Baños, Ecuador
August 28, 2025
Baños, Ecuador. The full name is: Baños de Agua Santa.
Baños sits in a tight valley at the foot of Tungurahua volcano, an active volcano. It's a beautiful valley if you get to see it on a clear day - I didn't. It was not just cloudy but also misty and wet every day I was here. And cold! I don't like cold climates, so two nights were more than enough for me. I took lots of pics of the town and left. Outside the town there's and almost endless variety of things to see and do, and an almost endless number of tour agencies that will take you to any of them.
Read More
Puyo, Ecuador
August 26, 2025
Puyo, Ecuador. The name "Puyo" comes from the indigenous language of Quechua and it literally means "cloudy." Which it was every day I was there. Not just cloudy, but it also rained every day. But that's to be expected, any lower expectations would be unrealistic. Why? Quite simple - this is in the Amazon.
History?
That was covered in my previous blogs about Puyo, easy to find by searching for Puyo here on my site.
Read More
Gualaquiza, Ecuador - for love of the outdoors
August 20, 2025
Gualaquiza, Ecuador, was first founded in 1816, and has a population of around 24,000. The area was populated by the Shuar people long before it became a town. The city sits in a narrow valley, the bottom of which is at 850 meters (2788 feet). The town is listed as one of the Pueblos Magicos in Ecuador. Gualaquiza is a tourist destination in Ecuador because of it's waterfalls, eco-tourism opportunities, caves, and much more.
Read More
El Pangui, Ecuador
August 18, 2025
El Pangui, Ecuador, was founded in 1991, and has a population of maybe 9,000. The name comes from the Shuar indigenous language, and the word panki which means "boa" as in the rather large snake. Supposedly, there are a lot of them in the surrounding foothills of the Andes Mountains along the Zamora River which runs nearby. El Pangui is known as "The Orchid of the Amazon" due to the many species of orchids commonly found in this valley. Being that this little town is in the Amazon region, it has a tropical climate to match. The year-round daily high average is 23° C (74° F) and the year-round average nightly low is 16° C (61° F), but the humidity averages in the mid-to-upper 80s percent. Often above 90%. The town sits at 748 meters (2454 feet) elevation.
Read More
Yantzaza, Ecuador
August 17, 2025
Yantzaza, Ecuador is a small town of maybe 14,000 people, sitting on the edge of the Amazon Rain Forest and the Andes Mountains. It was founded in 1956, so no historical architecture here. The name Yantzaza means valle de las luciérnagas which means "valley of the fireflies." I haven't seen any but there are supposed to be many in this valley. Maybe if I went out walking at night I'd see some, but here I am in the hotel writing. The town sits in a tight valley at 887 meters elevations (2910 feet). The River Zamora runs alongside the town on one side and the mountains form a wall on the other, so the town is somewhat long and narrow.
Read More