Roaming South America

Ambato, Ecuador

August 30, 2025

Ambato isn’t the kind of place that gave up when life got tough. Three big earthquakes—1698, 1797 (the Riobamba quake, which hit the same valley), and 1949—flattened the city, the last one killing over 5,000 people and transforming everything. But even after that level of destruction, Ambato just kept going. Stubborn, in the best possible way. I wrote more about the devestation caused by those earthquakes in the other Ambato blog from about two years ago. You can read it here.
Wikipedia

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.

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.

Sucúa, Ecuador

January 1, 1970

Sucúa, Ecuador, was first founded in 1963, and has a population of around 11,000. The town is located on the eastern outer flanks of the Andes Mountains in the Amazon basin, sitting in a valley at about 831 meters (2726 feet). The temperatures range from a nightly low of about 18° C (64° F) to a daily high of about 28° C (82° f). The climate is what you would expect for a town in the Amazon - a fair amount of rain and a lot of humidity.

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.