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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.
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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.
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Zamora, Ecuador
August 15, 2025
Zamora, Ecuador, population about 18,000, founded in 1549. Don't expect to find any colonial architecture here, there isn't any. I save a handful of buildings/houses in the area that might be around 100 years old, but that's the extent of old architecture. The city sits at 920 meters (3018 feet) of elevation. This was my second time visiting Zamora. I like this town. It sits in a beautiful little valley and has two rivers that meet here in town. The one drawback to this valley is the rain - of the two visits here, a total of 8 or 9 days, it rained every day or night. But then, this is the Amazon region, and in the Andes Mountains, so that is to be expected.
The World's Biggest Clock, and it Works!
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Catamayo, Ecuador
August 12, 2025
After four days in Catamayo, Ecuador, I’ve decided this town has officially claimed the top spot on my list of potential new hometowns. The standout difference compared to Moyobamba, Peru, is simple but huge: there are no moto-taxis or three-wheeled motorcycles here. Zero. None. Without that constant swarm of buzzing engines, the streets are quieter, the traffic flows more smoothly, and the air is blissfully free of that familiar haze of exhaust. And, Catamayo is only an hour drive west of Loja, so a reasonably big city isn't far away, if needed.
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Piura, Perú
August 8, 2025
Piura, on the northern coast of Perú, has a population of around 600,000. This was my second visit to Piura and I wrote a blog back in January 2023 of my first visit, and it includes much of the the history, so I won't repeat that this time. The city was founded in 1532 with the name "San Miguel de Tangarará," by Francisco Pizarro.
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