The Humpback Whales: Loving Giants

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This love story begins in the freezing waters of the Antarctic region. The Humpback whales, Giants of the Sea, begin an exodus to the north in search of the right place to reproduce and give birth to their offspring. It’s gladly in the Ecuadorian coastal region –specifically in the provinces of Guayas, Santa Elena, Manabí, Esmeraldas and El Oro– where nearly 4000 humpback whales find the perfect landscape to live the greatest love story ever, thus ensuring the species’ survival.

Thanks to these visitors, the beaches of Ecuador receive thousands of tourists from all over the world looking to watch from close up the world’s largest animals. The Humpback whale is the most active of all the baleen whales, so it is often seen breaching, spyhopping, slapping its pectoral fin, lobbing its tail and jumping out of the water. To watch the show, there are lots of vessels available, constantly taking people to see them perform their marvelous sea dances.

These giant mammals are the heaviest and strongest of all whales. The size of an adult female is about 19m (62ft), while the males measure up to 15m (49ft). Considering their size and their average weight of about 30-40 tons, the Humpback whales have certainly a place among the world’s largest animals. Nonetheless, it remains an endangered species because their condition of slow swimmers –compared to other whales– made them an easy target for the 18th-Century whalers.

Humpback whales got their particular name out of the exaggerated hump that forms around their dorsal fin when they arch to dive back into the water. They are gregarious animals that live in groups of eight or ten individuals when living in cold climates. However, during the reproductive season, they migrate all together to the warmer waters of the Pacific Ocean, staying there from June to September.

Humpback whale watching season begins next June in Ecuador, and no one should miss it. Enjoy the show and feel moved by this wonderful experience watching one of the biggest and most magnificent animals of the planet emerge from the depths, as if they were weightless.

Photo: Fritz Geller-Grimm

Mompiche Beach: A Piece of Paradise in a Little Fishing Village

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Mompiche is located in Ecuador’s coastal region, just 8km (5 miles) south of Muisne, at the Esmeraldas province. When you arrive to the place, it feels like if it was a remote island far away from the modern world, where the perfect waves, the lovely landscapes, the sound of the local music and the smell of exquisite seafood get together to make a perfect day on the beach. Mompiche is considered as one of the region’s most beautiful beaches and it has certainly become the new vacation spot for national and international tourists.

Mompiche is a rustic village of around 150 wooden houses where horses trot around the streets next to the tourists. Half of its population does fishing, and the other half works in touristic services such as restaurants and hotels. Due to the village’s relaxed and informal atmosphere, it is common to watch people walking on the streets in their bathing suits, with no shirt and no shoes on, always ready to enjoy the beach.

Chocolateland in Ecuador

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Chocolate has certainly become one of the most popular flavors in the world. Countries like Belgium, England, France, Italy and Switzerland have stood out as great chocolate producers. However, since the past 5 years, the eyes of chocolate lovers around the world have also turned to Ecuador.

Despite being a country that provides only a 3% of the world’s total production of cacao –the plant chocolate is made from–, Ecuador happens to be one of the best when it comes to cacao quality and flavor. Ecuador is the world’s number one producer of fine cocoa, with the 63% of the world’s total production.

Ecuador’s fine cocoa, utilized to elaborate chocolate truffles for the Queen of England, has unique secondary flavors that depend directly on the region where the plant has grown, just like it happens with wine. The country has three main spots for the production of high-quality chocolate: the province of Los Rios, that has two well-defined seasons together with volcanic and alluvial terrains and produces a unique, fruit-almond flavored chocolate; the province of Manabí, known for its dry, desert geography that provides a magnificent flower-flavored chocolate with a strong personality; and the province of Esmeraldas, where the most European-like chocolate is produced, due to its resemblance to the African cocoa lands.

This Ecuadorian, 100% organic chocolate is indeed a luxury product. If you have the chance to travel to the coastal region of Ecuador, you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to enjoy a cup of Ecuadorian chocolate made right before your eyes. Watch the cook as he toasts, peels, grinds and melts the cocoa beans to finally pour you a cup of hot, delicious chocolate that will certainly cheer you up. Made from the finest cacao grains once known as “gold beans”, this sweet treat will be a feast to your senses!

Photo: f10n4