Category: Ecuador

Not long ago Coca was a cluster of lean-tos on dirt roads. Growth means concrete, lots of it, paved roads and ubiquitous hairdressing shops. The capital of the Orellana province since 1999 (and officially known as Puerto Francisco de Orellana), Coca embraces the fallout of oil exploration. Executives from ‘the company, ’ as it’s called (any oil company) are easily recognizable breakfasting in the best hotels in crisp shirts and leather boots. Throw into the mix the soldiers and sailors, urbanized indigenous and colonists. If you’re traveling on to a jungle lodge on the lower Napo or to Peru, Coca is a lackluster but strangely compelling stop along the way.

Otavalo has been an Andean crossroads since pre-Inca times, when jungle traders would journey here on foot. Today’s market is a hyperbolic version of the same tradition: buses arrive from Quito delivering droves of visitors from around the globe. While the tourists bargain for rugs and sweaters, the local artisans take their market earnings to fill up on staples such as rice and meat.

Ecuador, land of lively Andean markets, Amazon adventures, gripping Galápagos cruises and … beaches? Nobody thinks of the coast when they think of Ecuador. It’s last on the list for most, and many – after seeing everything else – never actually make it here. It’s their loss. Ecuador’s northern coast (from the Colombian border south to around Manta) is a land of giant mangroves, Afro-Ecuadorian culture, incredible biodiversity and serious off-the-beaten-track travel. The southern coast (from Parque Nacional Machalilla to the Peruvian border) is justifiably famous for its seafood and has the country’s best beaches, including some fabulous stretches along the ‘Ruta del Sol’ (Route of the Sun). Admittedly, it’s no Caribbean, but it’s ocean nontheless. And if it’s the sun you’re after, time it right: June to November is the rainy season, but also the sunniest; the sun blazes both before and after the afternoon downpour. December through May is often rather overcast and chilly.

The Spanish conquistadors made their first Ecuadorian landfall on this broad, sandy bank flanked by a sparkling river and surrounded by low green hills. Esmeraldas has been an influential port town throughout history but its modern incarnation is not pretty. Many of its cement structures are either half-finished or half-fallen, the frenzied streets harbor drugs and petty crime and the forests have surrendered to scrub brush.