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Preserving Ecuador’s Tsachila Indigenous Customs Through Heritage Center #WATWB
Indigenous Tsachila Tribe  The Tsachila people are an indigenous tribe in Ecuador with under 3000 people remaining. They are located in Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas (highlighted on map here). Albertina, a Shaman living in one of their communities runs a Tsachila heritage center in an effort to introduce their culture and traditions to world travelers. She is helping prevent the loss of their old way of life as technology and other cultures blend with theirs. Albertina’s Story Excerpt from the story on South American Backpacker, which you can read in its entirety here: Contently sitting next to the fire, Albertina began sharing her own story. At a young age she…
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Visitor Center, Machalilla National Park, Puerto Lopez, Ecuador #AtoZChallenge
Machalilla National Park surrounds Puerto Lopez, Ecuador. Two monkey species and more than 270 bird species, including the endangered Waved Albatross live in the park. Whales mate and birth just off the coast and turtles hatch on the beaches. If you like active outdoor vacations, this is the place for you! Activities in Machalilla National Park Hike, bike and horseback ride Dry forests – from sea level to midway up the hills, the dry desert-like flora is brown for about half the year, waiting for water Cloud forests – always green hills where monkeys, orchids and a wide variety of birds live Hike beaches – Playa Los Frailes is often referred…
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Palo Santo products made in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador #AtoZChallenge
For centuries, Palo Santo has been used for it’s healing and cleansing properties. The tree grows in coastal areas of South America, is in the citrus family, and smells of pine, mint and lemon. It is a relative of Frankincense, Myrrh and Copal. Palo Santo translates to “Holy Wood” or “Sacred Wood” in English. Dante Bolcato (top photo, lower left) makes products sold on his website, El Artesan, in Puerto Lopez. While walking along the malecon, you can find his store by following your nose – there is always Palo Santo wood smoking on the front sidewalk. In fact, in the evenings, you will smell Palo Santo smoking in many Puerto Lopez…
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Agua Blanca – Living History
Ecotourism: Tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments, especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife. — Oxford Living Dictionaries Agua Blanca Community Agua Blanca is a friendly historic community five minutes northeast of Puerto Lopez. Some residents are direct descendants of the Manteño civilization, who lived here between 800 and 1532 A.D. Community members keep their history alive with their lifestyle. They enjoy sharing their history with the public via tourism and a full time archaeology project in which anyone can participate. I wrote about my digging day here. The small community has several hundred residents and several thousand goats. The goats wander around everywhere except crop fields,…
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Underwater Endangered Testudines (a.k.a. Sea Turtles) #AtoZChallenge
The beach is in our blood. Everyone in our family returns to the beach instinctively, just like the sea turtles. — Sandy Archibald Four sea turtles species live off the coast of Ecuador. Green Turtles, Leatherbacks, and Olive-Ridley are endangered and Hawksbills are critically endangered. People are working to improve their numbers and chances of species survival. Sea Turtle Isla de la Plata, ManabÃ, Ecuador Sea turtles live the majority of their lives in the ocean but are born on beaches. Female sea turtles return to the beach where they were born to lay eggs. Each egg nest is marked to prevent human damage. Each nest is marked with caution…
