Whenever I ask someone who has been to Ecuador how long they spent in the country, their answers always go something like this, “I was there for three months, but I had initially planned to only stay a week.
Username: Bongsong Published on 2024-10-24 16:19:10 ID NUMBER: 124179
The summit’s just there,” yells my guide, pointing over the spindly grasses clinging to the steep side of Pasochoa Volcano. I look out over the perfect pyramids of ice and stone that encircle us like the rings of a planet and silently plead with my heart to slow its beat, with my lungs to breathe more deeply.
My eyes brim with tears as my partner wraps his arms around me. “You’re a trooper,” he whispers. “And troopers don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying,” I pant into the gales of sharp, howling wind. “We’re 13,000 feet above sea level. It’s just the altitude, I swear.” I’m only half lying.
The four-day lodge-to-lodge trek through Ecuador’s Avenue of the Volcanoes was my idea. We’d hike by day and cozy up to the fireplace at night in a dreamy checkerboard of adventure and relaxation. The trail itself didn’t concern me. We’d done longer trails before; we’d even done them carrying all of our gear. It was the thought of the Andean altitude that turned my blood cold.
The weather in Ecuador varies greatly by region, while the temperature remains pretty consistent throughout the year. December through to May is the best time to visit if you plan on lying on the beach, despite it being the rainy season, whereas visiting the Amazon during this period is not ideal as it is often too wet, forcing trails to close. If you're planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands then please click here for our dedicated Galapagos page.
Whenever I ask someone who has been to Ecuador how long they spent in the country, their answers always go something like this, “I was there for three months, but I had initially planned to only stay a week.
Blending lush tropical rainforests and snow-capped mountains, Ecuador is a fantastically diverse and vibrant country located along the Equator in the northwestern part of South America. The country is home to 1,289 named mountains, the highest and most prominent of which is Chimborazo (6,268m/20,564ft).
Whenever I ask someone who has been to Ecuador how long they spent in the country, their answers always go something like this, “I was there for three months, but I had initially planned to only stay a week.
Did you know that the Cicindela hudsoni, also known as the Australian Tiger Beetle, has been recorded as the fastest insect in the world? Despite its small size, it can run at an average speed of 5.5 mph (9 km/h), equivalent to a relative rate of 171 body lengths per second.
Interestingly, Tiger Beetles use a distinct chasing pattern known as "stop-and-go." They pause in the middle of their pursuit. The reason for this behavior is their poor eyesight. They cannot gather enough photons to form a clear image of their prey if they move too quickly. Therefore, they must stop, look around, and continue their chase.
Often called the "lungs of the Earth," the Amazon rainforest spans nine countries, but about 60% lies in Brazil. In recent years, disastrous fires, caused mainly by humans, have engulfed extensive tracts of this precious forest and killed its wild inhabitants in thousands. These fires have plundered the natural wealth of vast sections of the Amazon, making a mockery of millions of years of evolution.
The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth. According to the Encyclopaedia of Earth, there are around 550 species of plants living in the Atacama Desert with over 60% being endemic.
Early in 2015, the Atacama Desert received a significant amount of rain, seven years worth of rain fell in twelve hours. Sadly as a result of the storm, people were killed, and thousands were left homeless.
The unusual amount of rain caused death and destruction, but it also gave life. Spring 2015 saw the usually dry and desolate looking landscape transform into a bright and vibrant landscape of pinks and purples.
The Pink Cistanthe grandiflora and hundreds of other flowering species emerged in a rare display called “Desierto Florido” or ” Flowering Desert”.
By the end of 2015, the desierto florido was over, and the landscape returned to its usual state.
The American goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is a small North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter.
