F is for Ferias, Fiestas, and Free Wheeling
♦ FERIAS & FIESTAS provide five-star occasions to learn traditions, meet people, and just plain have fun while joining the party. The following events are worth noting on a travel planning calendar: February: Carnaval, is nationwide. Public concerts, parades, city fairs and heavy drinking are all part of the festivities. The town of Guaranda (Bolivar […]
E is for Equator and Escondida Trail
♦ The EQUATOR a.k.a. MITAD DEL MUNDO a.k.a. Middle of the World. Located just 20 minutes outside the capital, this tourist complex was constructed to mark the Equator outside Quito and sits at 0 degrees latitude (or close enough according to some). It’s marked by a tall monument where visitors can straddle the imaginary line, […]
D is for Dine, Dance, and Dollar
♦ DINE AROUND QUITO — on Ecuadorian cuisine: Top suggestions from Ecuador’s delegates to TMLA in 2013 were—in order of popularity for traditional dining: La Choza, Rincon la Ronda, Mi Cocina (tied with) Lo Nuestro. Or try this new restaurant recently recommended by a TMLA Buyer – Terra Restaurante. Then of course we’re in the […]
C is for Craft Beer, Cotocachi, & More
♦ CRAFT BEER sampling is IN, with microbreweries are cropping up all over town, each brewing up their cerveza artisanal: flagship beers, creative ales and seasonal brews. You might, for example head for Bandido Brewery, an American style microbrewery, located in the San Blas district of the Old Town, and bringing a new take on […]
B is for Birds and Banana Republic
♦ Quito is for the BIRDS, with the hummingbirds: colibres, the undisputed super-stars of the area. The urban area of Quito is dominated by two species in particular: the Sparkling Violetear and the Black-tailed Trainbearer. Reserves close to Quito, including Mindo, Yanacocha and Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserves, are where you’ll find more than a dozen […]
A is for Avenue of the Volcanoes and Amazonia
♦ AVENUE of the VOLCANOES, the emblematic corridor of snow-tipped volcanoes — seven peaks more than 17,000 ft. high and two still very active — that runs 200 miles south of Quito between two parallel cordilleras, linking the Andean highlands to the coast. When flying from Quito to Guayaquil, for the best inflight panorama of […]
