A squirrel monkey from Ecuador

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Common Squirrel Monkey's live in the tropical forests of Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

They spend most of their time in the trees and they live in groups consisting of both males and females. These groups generally have 25 - 35 members, but occasionally they can have as many as 200 members. It is common to see these squirrel monkeys in mixed groups, moving along with other primate species and birds.

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Bixa orellana is a shrub or small tree originating from the tropical region of the Americas. The inedible fruit is harvested for its seeds, which contain annatto, also called bixin. It is used to color food products, such as cheeses, fish, and salad oil.

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Saquisili Market from Ecuador

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In the highlands of Ecuador you can find many traditional markets where indigenous people sell handmade goods, produce and livestock.

Two of the most important markets in Ecuador and just south of Quito, the Ambato Market and the Saquisili Market.

The Saquisili Market is the largest market in the Cotopaxi province, and has existed since pre-Columbian times. The Saquisili Market is an open-air market that takes up eight different plazas where agricultural products, livestock, and handcrafted goods are sold.

Stamps 

(left) 2011 A year dedicated to people of African Descent, from a series of four stamps: Marimaba (an African musical instrument).

(right) International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, from a series of four stamps: earthquakes.

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Tortugas Gigantes from Galápagos

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The Galapagos Islands lie six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador and belong to Ecuador. There are thirteen major islands, six smaller islands, and hundreds of tiny islets. 28,000 people live there on four islands.

The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

The islands were discovered in 1535 by Bishop Tomas de Berlanga of Panama. They were annexed by Ecuador in 1832. The islands were colonized throughout the 1800s, and primarily used as a penal colony by Ecuador.

More than 100,000 visit Galapagos each year.

Stamps

(right)  International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, from a series of four stamps: floods.

(left)  2011 A year dedicated to people of African Descent, from a series of four stamps: Guasa (an African musical instrument).

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Ecuador by Train

Sibambe train station, Central SierraPerched up in the paramo, a high-elevation Andean grassland wilderness, the newly built Sibambe station symbolizes the renascence of Ecuador’s once-formidable railway that was blasted through the mountains in the early 20th century under notoriously harsh conditions.

The train route is named La Nariz del Diablo, or the “Devil’s Nose” for the shape of a massive wall of rock that stood in the way of the tracks, requiring engineers to carve a series of vertiginous zigzags during which many workers died.

So far this is a day-tourist railway only, but the government has plans to extend it and add sleeper cars by 2013.

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Orellana, El ultimo paraiso, Ecuador

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Francisco de Orellana is the capital of the youngest province of Ecuador, Orellana. Also known as El Coca, which is located very close to the dense rainforests in the Amazon, near the confluence of the Coca and Napo River. Its name comes from the Spanish expeditionary Francisco de Orellana who are in these territories in search of El Dorado, but during his journey he discovered the Amazon River. 

Stamps 

(left) The Mitad del Mundo (Spanish: Middle of the World) is a tract of land owned by the prefecture of the province of Pichincha, Ecuador. The 30-meter-tall monument, built between 1979 and 1982, was constructed to mark the point where the equator passes through the country.

 

(right) Independence Day in Ecuador is celebrated on August 10, to commemorate the day when the group of local patriots started a revolt against the president Ruiz de Castilla and established Juan Pio Montufar as the president.

That day in 1809 is now referred to as the ‘Primer grito de independencia’ which marks the beginning of Ecuadorian struggle for independence. The Spanish were finally defeated in 1822 and Ecuador became part of the Gran Colombia, an alliance formed by Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

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