Family

       Family is important to the people from Ecuador. An example of how much they care is when they see a pregnant woman they ask her when her Luz ( light ) would arrive. They see children as the hope for their future. In Ecuador they appreciate children. Children have to go to school for at least 8 years. The Ecuadorian child attends kindergarten for two years, then attending elementary school for 6 year. It is not mandatory that they go to secondary school, but if they do they receive diplomas if they finish. It is the care of the children that brings the people together. 91% of people over 15 are literate, which is higher than many countries.

Government

    The  Democrat government is not as bad as the economy, but in the 1990's  the government was terrible. Sixto Duran was president from 1992 to1996. He lost his presidency due to a corruption scandal. From 1996 to 1997 Abdala Bucaram was president, but there was a big strike in February involving almost all of Ecuador. The Congress  Declared him "loco" or mentally wrong. Ecuador has a recent history of bad leadership.

Rafael Correa is the current president of Ecuador. He seems to be making good choices. He has been in office for almost 5 years but he is the 8th president they have had in 10 years.

 

 

Cultural traits & Customs

  Language They speak Spanish and Native American (tribes only native to Ecuador). One of these  native languages is Quechua.
 Employment  Many people are unemployed and earn money by selling their goods that they made, stole or bought cheaply on the streets. Other people make a living working for the large banana industry or in the flower houses. Women work mostly on the flower plantations, they make up 70% of the workforce. The women grow and harvest the flowers and much better paid than the men who work in banana farms. Compared to American most people (if they have jobs) they are paid poorly.
Beliefs Most people are Roman Catholic if not they probably practice a Native American religion. Or they are immigrants from some country far away.
Food  Cuy ( a Gina pig ) has been eaten since the world was called flat. Ceviche is shrimp in a little lemon juice. There are many exotic and different dishes that are surprising.
Holidays They celebrate Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week which leads up to Easter. Their Independence day is on August 10th which is the day they were freed from the Spanish rule. They have Carnaval which is a big celebration and may last for days or even weeks. Anniversary of Pchincha celebrates and honor the men who fought this battle and the win by Simon Bolivar.The birthday of Simon Bolivar is celebrated on July 24th. There are also many festivals and holidays that people of different cities celebrate. And then Columbus day celebrating the Hispanic people of the world and the Day of the Dead of course!

Population

The population of Ecuador is tiny compared to Brazil's population.The population is approximately 14,464,739. The the ethnicity's are 

• Mestizo 65%
• Amerindian 25%
• Spanish and other 7%
• African 3%

Exports

Even though Ecuador is a lesser known country, it is every where. On the stickers on bananas. Tags of orchids . Their main exports are:

• bananas
• oil
• flowers (orchids and roses mostly)
• shrimp
• other tropical fruits 
• cacao
• rice

Bananas and oil are probably the most popular and money making export. The banana workers are poorly paid, they would get paid more in Panama for their work. Some people feel that the oil industry is corrupting the land, poisoning the people and polluting the water.

Vegetation , Animals and Climate too

A Kinkajou

The mighty Ocelot

 

    Tropical coasts and cool inland temperatures vary.  Inland is cooler than the coast(except for rain forests) especially in high altitudes. Even though Ecuador is located on the equator the climate is sub-tropical.
     
   

Ecuador's plant life is very diverse. There are many tropical fruits grown in Ecuador including:

• papayas
• passion fruit
• watermelons
• bananas
• mangoes

Ecuador's native plant life is surviving but sadly shrimp farmers have been clearing areas of land to make special ponds for the shrimp. Even though the forests are not completely destroyed over time this will eat away at the vegetation. Some areas such as the Galapagos are practically untouched and are protected by laws and reserves. 


Ecuador is home to many animals that cannot be found anywhere else in the world including the Ocelot, Kinkajou , Galapagos Tortoise, Howler Monkeys and other diverse species. There are over 5,000 species living just on the Galapogos Islands not to mention the rest of the country.

Diverse : different or a variety of people things animals.

 The Galapagos Tortoise

Ecuador’s Economy

These are Scures.

       The economy of Ecuador has been going down hill for a long time. There is practically no middle class, the people are either poor or wealthy.  

        The original money they used in Ecuador is called a Scures. The value of the Scures went to an all time low in the late 1990’s. It seems that Mother Nature and other events were working against Ecuador including oil prices dropping  and people suffering from a terrible flood killing about 200 people!  

           
      On January 9th  2010 President Mahuad thought up a crazy plan. It was called the "Dollarization” plan. Over six months people traded in their Scures in for American dollars. The people of Ecuador traded in their money at 25,000 scures to 1 American dollar.  People weren't to happy about that.

Dollars and Cents

          As you can see Ecuador’s economy is pretty bad.




scures:  The original money of Ecuador. 

The Land and Location

Chimborazo is one of Ecuador's many volcanoes.

It also is the highest point in Ecuador at 20,561 feet

      
Ecuador is located on the equator and is named for it. It is surrounded by Peru and Columbia. It is on the Pacific side (west) of South America . South America is a continent right below North America.

On the map to the left, Ecuador is the country in the ugly yellow-ish brown. It is the tiny one beside the forest-green country (Columbia) and neon green one( Peru).
   





     The landforms vary but they are all amazing. There are mountains, volcanoes, beaches, mangrove forests ,and plateaus. I would like to see them all one day.

     In this mix of land there is The Sierra, a mountain range including The Avenue of the Volcanoes! The most famous of the volcanoes are:

A Rain Forest

• Chimborazo (20,561 Feet!The highest point in Ecuador.)  
•  Cotopaxi (19,614 feet The highest active volcano in the world.)
• Cayambe ( 18,992 feet Snow capped and right on the equator.)

There are about 22 mountains in the Sierra that have peaks in the 14,000 to 20,000 range.


      The Oriente is about 46,332 square miles of rain forest.  It has gentle slopes and vast valleys.  There are more than 600 species of fish and 250 species of amphibians and reptiles. It is hot and humid in the Oriente like in all the other rain forests. In the Oriente there are wildlife reserves and national parks to save animals and trees.
          
     The Costa (coast) despite it's name has three main land types: tropical rainforests, tropical savannas and dry forests. Along the coast there are many resorts for tourists and travelers as well as small fishing villages and shrimp farms. Ecuador's largest city is located in the Costa region, it is named Guayaquil.  The Costa is also home to the world's largest Mangrove forest!

     The Galapagos are volcanic islands with tons of rare exotic animals. About 1,900 species are only found here. Those animals are only found on the Galapagos because the islands are so isolated. However the animals aren't that lonely because the islands are big tourist attraction. They are part of the 8 million acres of National Parks and Reserves of Ecuador.  These islands are a national treasure!
       

plateau :  A flat  piece of raised land.
savanna: A long flat expanse of land with tough patches of grass and occasional clumps of trees.