-
Yellow Orb Over Puerto Lopez, Ecuador #AtoZChallenge
A Yellow Orb (YO) arrives every morning in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador at 6:30, dazzling us with it’s beauty. It silently preys on our eagerness to celebrate beneath it. It’s primary victims are tourists, freshly arrived from cooler climates, where they have been protected by clothing for months. They arrive, strip off most of their fabric and offer their skin up to the YO. Ecuador is named for the equator, which runs through the middle of the country. Did you know? The Earth is closer to the sun at the equator than elsewhere because of our planet’s Equatorial Bulge. As it spins, the Earth forms an oblate spheroid rather than a sphere.…
-
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…
-
Sunrise in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador #AtoZChallenge
My favorite place to watch the Puerto Lopez sunrise is the south end of the bay. For an overhead shot of this area, click Boats in Puerto Lopez. As the sun rises over the eastern hills, I love the reflections in the bay. If you read my post, Rainbows and the rainy season in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador, you know overnight cloud cover is common this time of year. I took the first three photos on the same day as the clouds shifted while the sun rose. They managed to hide the sun itself the entire time. We do sometimes have clearer skies during sunrise. I personally prefer the sunrises with…
-
Rainbows and the rainy season in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador #AtoZChallenge
Puerto Lopez sunrise rainbows are most common during the coastal Ecuador rainy season. The same is true for Puerto Lopez sunset rainbows. The rainy season, December through May, is also the time for cerulean blue skies. This causes confusion when people are planning their visit. They see blue skies on social media photos yet all of the guide books say it is the rainy season. When does it rain during the rainy season? Rain usually falls at night though certainly not every night. The above photo was taken at the Victor Hugo Hotel in February at 10:00 pm. Hours earlier, I walked there in the sunshine. I was drenched when…
-
39,000 Volunteers Clean Ecuador Beaches, Rivers, and Ocean Floors
“Think globally, act locally.” — Origins of the phrase are disputed according to Wikipedia Ecuador Environmental Protection In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to provide constitutional protection for the environment. This does not mean that garbage is always deposited in a receptacle nor that all packaging is biodegradable. What it does mean, among many other things, is that students learn about the negative impact plastic in oceans and rivers have on the planet. Rings on beverage cans can kill marine life. From Manabi Province Environment Ministry Tweet Since 2010, Ecuador’s Environment Ministry has been leading a September cleanup as part of International Beach Cleaning Day, promoted…