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

Find Out About the Legendary Island That Shines Over the Sea

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Picture yourself relaxing on the white, thin sand of a charming beach in the Pacific Ocean, admiring the sunset and waiting for the first moon reflections. Unexpectedly, a bright, mysterious spot as shiny as silver appears on the distance: right before your eyes, you see an inspiring island of treasure legends, whose historic evidence lies under its ground; and whose unique fauna makes it mysterious and wonderful. It is an island known for centuries as the island of Plata (silver).

In this enigmatic place, you can hear from the natives the stories of silver and gold ritual offerings buried in sacred spots as a sign of worship to the Sun, whose archaeological evidence reveals us day after day their authenticity. Numerous silver and gold figures, as well as the famous Spondylus shells used in the past as coins are frequently discovered.

One of these legends takes you centuries back in time, when the famous English pirate Sir Francis Drake used this island as a hiding place to attack and steal the Spanish ships going to Europe charged with gold and then buried the stolen treasure on that land. Even though this legend has not been confirmed yet, many people truly believe that it is real.

This island and its mythical past are a true attraction and a melting pot of life in the Pacific Ocean. Nowadays, it is a new home for many birds native to the charming Galapagos Islands, something that has given it a privileged landscape and made it earn the name of “Little Galapagos”.
For those who wonder about the island’s shine when seen from the distance, researchers have discovered it is due to the large amount of guano found there: the sun rays are reflected on it, producing that beautiful shine.

Photo: Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador

Hang Gliding Truck Towing in Canoa Beach: Flying up to the Clouds

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To talk about Ecuador’s beaches is to talk about diversity. The beaches can be lonely or crowded; with white sands or dark sands; good for surfing, for swimming or for diving; virgin or touristic: there’s a beach in Ecuador for everyone’s taste.

In this occasion, we will talk about Canoa, a beach of natural beauty located in the province of Manabí, well-known for a sport commonly practiced there: the hang gliding truck towing, simply known as “towing”. As its name says, it is a hang glider pulled by an all-terrain vehicle fast enough to make it rise up to 700 meters (2,296ft) in the sky.

The real adventure starts when the guide lets the hang glider loose from the vehicle: that is the moment when complete freedom can be felt. You can observe everything from high above like bird while you feel the subtle caress of the clouds. You can see the endless, deep blue sea with its waves emerging and breaking into the white sands. The villages, the vegetation, the mountains and the forests expanding to the horizon can be seen all at once. You will have a personal image, a work of art painted in your memory that will always remind you of how small we really are in the immensity of this world.

Finally, you have felt part of the sky and the landscape surrounding you; you have forget your terrestrial condition and felt like a bird in its natural environment. Now, it is time to start the descent. Slowly and safely, like an Andean condor, you go down until you reach the beach with your feet… It is time to take this feeling of freedom down to earth.

Photo: freeform systems

Biological Wonder in Ecuador Takes the World by Surprise

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Ecuador has shocked the world again. Inside a very small forest that can be walked through in merely 30 minutes, a group of scientists has found 14 new animal species, among which there are several reptiles and amphibious not existing anywhere else in the world. Incidentally, they also found 4 new insect species while taking pictures. Among the discovered reptiles, there is a new record breaker: the world’s smallest lizard, measuring the size of a pencil tip.

The forest is located in the Pata de Pájaro hill, in the Ecuadorian coastal region, a little further to the north of the Equatorial line. It is a cloudy forest of only 2 miles of length that is home to more than 140 reptile and amphibious species among of which some never seen rarities have been identified. Such is the case of a frog that lays its eggs in the trees instead of laying them in the water. Usually frogs pass through a tadpole stage; however, this kind of frog comes directly out of the egg as a tiny young frog of the size of a pinhead. Another frog species has the skin of its chest area so transparent it can be seen through, allowing seeing its internal organs, including its beating heart.

This discovery empowers the social consciousness call to stop the people’s careless attitude regarding the handling of the planet’s resources. The Pata de Pájaro hill is currently endangered due to several factors, such as the insertion of cattle ranching that deforests the region, the tree felling and the illegal hunting. In words of Dr. Kerry Kriger, director of the Save the Frogs Charity: “the good news is, the animals are still there and alive, so there is still time to save them from extinction. But we need to take action now to make it happen”.

Photo: Photo: Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International

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