Ecuador Adventures and Frogs

There is much beautiful and colorful plant life, including many orchids, on display at the Jardin Botanico in Quito.

Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamin dedicated his life to raising awareness of the cruelties and injustices of life, to which he was exposed at an early age. From 1945 until his death in 1999, he depicted the poor and oppressed, and the brutality of those who oppressed them. His work is displayed at the Museo Guyasamin in Quito.

In Ecuador, sunrise is at 6 AM and sunset at 6 PM the year round, so our second trip up a mountain was in the dark. The restaurant we visited was built on the very edge of the world, and I was lucky to have a seat by the window.

As I contemplated the bridges, the formations of the clouds, and the peek holes through the branches, the thought came to me that I was having a sacred moment, and that there was nothing I could possibly be missing.

The Teleferico gondola ride takes 20 minutes from the sprawling, densely populated city center of Quito to Cruz Loma, 2717 feet higher.

The organization SAVE THE FROGS! generously makes grants to various amphibian conservation groups around the world, favoring countries with fewer resources.

An after-dinner discussion yields a number of interesting educational resources and ideas for raising awareness of and advocating for frog preservation.

Near El Crater at the Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve, the Mitád del Mundo monument features equatorial demarcation—but the actual Equator is 800 feet to the north.

After a long hike, some time to rest, and dinner, we set off on an evening frogging walk. Its surprises were magical!

The frogs in Ecuador are so small that one really has to be alert not to accidentally step on or otherwise injure the miniature creatures.