Z is for Zuleta Embroidery & Zazu Restaurant
ZULETA EMBROIDERY, perhaps the finest in Ecuador, was originally used to decorate the garments women of the northern Andean village of Zuleta, who boast a centuries-old tradition of weaving, which expanded to embroidery with the arrival of the Spanish in the mid -500s. In the 1940’s, the original owners of Hacienda Zuleta, former Ecuadorian president […]
Y is for Yumbo People & Yanahurco Hacienda
Meet the YUMBO people, who settled on the rich volcanic mountainsides of the Pichincha volcano, are being studied at the archaeological site of La Tulipe, occupied from around 800 AD to the Spanish conquest. A day trip from Quito or a stop on the way to Mindo, the main, interesting and well-excavated archaeological complex includes […]
X is for Xmas Bird Count
The annual XMAS BIRD COUNT is a tradition worldwide, and on the world stage, Ecuador annually ranks among the top international contenders, with the big count totals coming from Mindo, 25 miles from Quito. The town of Mindo (in Pichincha province) has a well-organized birding community, and has long held the South American record (well […]
W is for Wanderbus and World Travel Awards
♦ WANDERBUS offers the first and only hop-on/hop-off at any-point-along-the-way bus travel option around Ecuador: from the Andes to the Amazon to the Pacific Coast. Wanderbusers can go all over the country, on carefully planned routings — starting or ending at Quito/Cuenca/Guayaquil/anywhere; hopping on or off for as long as you wish in Cotopaxi/Banos/Riobamba/Porto Lopez […]
V is for Vegetarian dining
When TMLA 2013 delegates cast votes for best VEGETARIAN DINING in Quito, the top-rated was El Maple in LaMariscal, attractive restaurant with a Spanish book library and art on the walls, whose menu includes veggie burgers and chorizo sausage, soy steak, potato cakes, banana splits; refreshing are the fruit smoothies and craft beers. Newish to […]
U is for UNESCO and Uvilla
♦ UNESCO, which in 1978 chose Quito to be its very first city to be declared a World Heritage Site. Why? Just take a look at the city’s 791-acre historic center, the largest and best-preserved colonial neighborhood in Latin America. Just consider that the Old Town is home to no less than 40 churches and chapels, […]
T is for Tren Ecuador, Tigua Art, and Tagua Jewelry
♦ TREN ECUADOR (a.k.a. Tren Crucero), award-winner of finest luxury train experience in South America, rides the rails along the 280-mile route between Quito and Guayaquil, providing what amounts to a four-night cornucopia of culturally rich experiences combined with stays at historic lodgings, while traveling beneath snow-capped volcanoes and over Andean mountain passes, scaling and […]
S is for Spas and Street Art
♦ AH, THE SPAS In Quito, JW Marriott invites guests to unwind with Vinotherapy, a new treatment blending fine wine and blissful relaxation. Vinotherapy, an innovative wellness treatment infusing the healing properties of wine and grapes with body and facial treatments, is designed to help combat aging and activate blood circulation. The treatment is a […]
R is for Retail Therapy, Rose Trail, and Road to Ruins
♦ RETAIL THERAPY in Quito and throughout the country is going to focus on Ecuador’s outstanding range of handicrafts: super-fine buys in weavings, textiles, ceramics, wood carvings, paintings, silver, gold, vegetable ivory (tagua). Hone your haggling skills at El Edjido Park, across the street from the Colon Hilton, which turns into an alfresco art gallery […]
Q is for Quito Metro and Quiteño School of Art
♦ The QUITO METRO (Metro de Quito or MDQ,) is scheduled to launch the end of 2019 (hopefully). The single-route line runs 22.9 kms (14.2 mi.) linking 15 stations, from Quitumbe in the south to El Labrador in the north. There will be only one stop in the Old Town, San Francisco; however, the station […]
