There are 499 blog posts for you to enjoy.
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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