Ecuador Favorite Photos

San Antonio is a town of artisans ... carvers, furniture makers to be exact. Many stores on and near the centeral plaza are jam packed with wood carvings that are  modern art nestled next to hand carved religious icons. Furniture from sleek modern to gilded Rocco styles abound. So it should have come as no surprise that the equipment on the local playground should be somewhat fantastic.

I can only imagine what boundaries of a child's mind might be breached by a ride down the back of a hummingbird.

The Orquidario at the university in Cuenca is a fairyland of orchids.

My daughter-in-law and I hired a taxi to get us there while our respective spouses toured a local motorcycle dealership.

Paige and I were guided through a wonderland of orchids of every conceivable size, shape and color. Our guide was a very nice young man who spoke a little English. He seemed to take great delight in pointing out the most interesting and unusual specimens.

The staff at the orquidario were most helpful in getting us set up to take a few specimens home that were subsequently confiscated by the customs people at the airport.

Even though we did not get our treasures home we still have some vivid memories and photos of a very joyful experience.

This was a lovely spot. It is the best preserved Inca ruin in Ecuador. The name Ingapirca means "Wall of the Inca" and its most prominent structure is the Temple of the Sun (who knows how they arrived at that designation). The temple exhibits the classic fitted stone walls but in a surprising blue to  green to turquoise tinted stone. Over all it is breathtaking and haunting.

This stop could be a good alternative for anyone who would have difficulty at ruins where the altitude is much higher. At 10,598 feet it is still a challenge for many but if you take it easy and rest frequently the experience is still awe inspiring.

With a little imagination the full glory of the Temple of the Sun can be restored to your minds eye. Wouldn't you have loved to see the building intact and glowing turquoise in the Andean sun? Just use your imagination and you will!

My Moon Handbook (my absolute favorite travel guide) directed us to this hidden gem. Mascarilla is a dusty, dry little town with a population of black Ecuatorianos. The draw here is unique handicrafted clay masks. The masks range from life-like to fanciful and even mythic. I spent several days allowance on masks here and was inspired by the people we met in this little town.

When we were there in Feb. 2010 prices started at $3.00 and went to $30.00. Each and every piece was well worth the asking price.

I spent many years as a strict vegetarian and my time in Ecuador is rapidly sending me back to a vegeterian diet. Sure this looks rather gross to North American tastes but pig snouts and God only knows what else routinely show up in sausages and franks.

It is not the sight of such food that has driven me back to the vegetarian side of the table but the close proximity to the animals that we eat. Here I find myself a lot closer to the food chain than I did when I bought my meat in nice cellophane wrappings and Styrofoam trays.

We spent two long and very hard nights in a hostal in Vilcabamba that was across the street from a pig processor. The sound .of terrified animals dying and the torches used to burn the hair off of them was traumatic to all of us. These pigs hanging sent a deep pain into my heart. For me there are not easy pictures to look at but it is an inconvenient reality

This orchid grew along the path to our cabin. There were orchids growing throughout the grounds.

It is a town not unlike Cherokee, North Carolina when I was a kid (a few scrawney years ago) where the mountains and nature seemed to creep into town the moment you turned your back.

Mindo is a place I could live.

We went to one of the smaller ones because the largest was closed for renovations and decided to save the others until we can come back with my son and daughter-in-law. The tent-like structure was full of flowers, banana plants, trees and feeding stations and butterflies everywhere.

It is also the primary tourist destination in Ecuador. It is not overated. It has earned everybit of its reputation as a beautiful, friendly, and activity filled place.

Amont the candles you see burning here are several for my mother who has been diagnosed with lung cancer. This was not why we came to Banos but once we were here and heard about the miricales that happened as the result of prayers in the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Auga Santa my family was inspired to light candles and say a prayer for her.

By the way she is doing well.

But this must be going a bit too far.

Phillip walks with a staff because of his back. This monkey spotted him and his staff and edged up to him, grabbed the staff and climbed up onto his shoulder where he, she or it proceeded to whisper secrets, pick lice and explore his pockets.

This is the bar and restaurant at the ferry crossing from San Vicente to Bahia de Caraquez.

It looks like a structure out of a fairy tale to me, especially at night.

Vilcabamba is one of my favorite places in Ecuador. Beautiful, quiet, and fresh. We are going to be looking in the area for a place to live for a while.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Healing-in-Ecuador to see the lovely town of Baños

http://hubpages.com/hub/Ecotour-Otavalo-and-Cotacachi for a look at Cotacachi.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Vilcabamba gives you a look at the Valley of Longevity

http://hubpages.com/hub/Bahia-de-Caraquez for a look at Bahia de Caráquez, a beautiful and peaceful (except for the parades) beach city.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Otavalo-Shopping-Therapy-for-the-Craft-Obsessed for a comprehensive view of Otavalo’s famous indigenous market

http://hubpages.com/hub/Zaruma for a look at this famous gold mining city. This one is a work in progress as we will be returning to Zaruma to explore the possibilities of using it as a permanent base.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Ecuador-Favorites to see many of my favorite photos taken in Ecuador with commentary.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Ecuador-Favorite-Photos for pictures of some of my favorite places in Ecuador with commentary.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Ecuador-Folklore to see some interesting talismans I have come across in Ecuador.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Bahia-de-Caraquez-the-Malecon to take a closer look at the Malecon during a holiday.

http://hubpages.com/hub/San-Clemente-to-Bahia to discover the beach that becomes a road at low tide.