Ecuador: a study in extremes
Dwarfed by its neighbours Peru and Colombia, Ecuador makes up for what it lacks in expanse with the sharpness of its contrasts. And there are giants among its inhabitants...
By the standards of Latin America, Ecuador is a tiny country. But few 300,000 square-kilometre sections of the globe can boast such immense variety. The snow-covered peaks of the Andes are a world apart from the tropical rain forests of the upper Amazon, or the arid northern coast. Freezing mountain streams rub shoulders with hot volcanic spas. Mighty colonial cathedrals dominate run-down shanty towns. And in a famous group of islands off the coast, biodiversity takes on quite extraordinary dimensions.
At 2,500 metres above sea-level, Quito makes Ankara (around 900m) seem a lowland plain. The world's second highest capital city occupies a narrow plateau between high mountain ridges. Taxis and buses race around, groups of people stand or sit on the roadsides, and countless hawkers peddle bread rolls, sweets and chewing gum.
With its broad, cobbled squares, grand churches and vast Saint Fernando monastery, the old city centre is deservedly a UNESCO World Heritage site. If it is colonial charm you savour, head also for Cuenca to the south, where the thriving food and flower markets generate a sense of prosperity rarely evident on the streets of Quito.
Ecuador’s architecture bears witness to a long and chequered history. Yet the constructions of humankind pale beside the legacy of geological time. The ridge of the Andes forms Ecuador’s spine, its ribs concealing a wealth of hot springs and spas.
A full 2,000 metres above the capital, the steam from the yellow, sulphuric pools of Papallacta rises to mingle with the misty rain, all but obscuring the looming volcanoes. This strangely relaxing experience comes at a price in comfort. After a tortuous 60km journey, the bus halts at the junction of an unsurfaced road and a dirt track, the visitors pile out into the rarefied air, and the last gasping 2km is negotiated on foot. Little wonder that urban Ecuadoreans prefer to take the waters at the pleasant town of Banos further south, a favourite weekend destination surrounded by natural spas.
Ecuador was so named by Spanish colonial settlers because it straddles the equator. Thirst, however, is unknown, thanks to the juices of myriad fruits on sale at bars, cafes and market stalls at all hours of the day. Mango, papaya, tree tomato... There are literally dozens of fruits rarely seen outside of South America, their names as exotic as their tastes.
Even breakfast begins with a large glass of fruit juice, followed by toast and eggs, and accompanied either by a mug of hot chocolate or by a (surprisingly poor) cup of coffee.
Ecuador’s one railway - a monument of engineering circa 1915 - still ratchets up and down the spectacular gorge known as the Nariz del Diablo - the Devil’s Nose. Tourists occupy the roof, weather permitting, from where they throw sweets to village children. The line was originally built to link Quito to Ecuador’s most populous and industrialised city, Guayaquil. More bananas are shipped from Guayaquil than from any other port in the world. Its airport is the point of departure for a thousand-kilometre flight westward across the Pacific to the Galapagos Islands.
At first glance, there is little to distinguish the archipelago where Darwin developed his theory of evolution through natural selection. A stark grey-black volcanic landscape appears, pock-marked by the grey bushes of the palo santo (“holy staff”) plant - so-called because it flowers at Christmas. A closer examination reveals the ungainly sea-lions, basking with their cubs on every rocky strand, or waddling to the water-line, where they metamorphose into the most graceful of swimmers.
The islands are renowned for scuba-diving, but a simple mask and snorkel guarantees entry to a fabulous submarine world of sea-lions, turtles and fish of every possible shape and colour. Also home to numerous unique birds and reptiles, the territory is carefully protected. Only certain areas are accessible to visitors, generally only when accompanied by a qualified guide. The indigenous flora and fauna is flourishing, and the animals, though not tame, are disconcertingly unafraid of humans.
Deep in the interior of the larger islands are to be found old volcanic craters and lava tunnels - long tubular caverns left behind where molten lava once flowed leaving behind only a solidified outer crust. Here, the steady drizzle allows more vegetation to grow. And it is here that you may encounter the craggy head, powerful limbs and armour-like shell of a giant tortoise, weighing up to half a tonne, and looking for all the world like something from another time, another planet.
(DIPLOMAT - January 2005 - Ankara)