Aklog Birara (Dr)
September 2025
One of the books I read in high school that captured my imagination and stimulated my interest in visiting Ecuador again was Charles Darwin’s famous work, On the Origin of Species. published on November 24, 1859.
My wife Amsal, my youngest son Nebiyou and I spent three weeks the last part of August and mid-September 2025 and had a blast. We spent half a day at a museum bearing Darwin’s name on the magical Galapagos Island of Santa Cruz. An attendant informed us Darwin began authoring the book in July 1858. He was prompted by Alfred Russel Wallace’s paper on natural selection, and completed the manuscript, an “abstract” of his much larger planned work, in just 16 months. Darwin’s historical and mammoth book, it turns out, is a team effort.
I had visited Ecuador in the 1990s in my capacity as a World Bank manager in the Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) and had wished to return to this magical country with my family on an extended visit.
At the time, the major international airport in Quito was located deep in the center of town between what seemed all volcanic, gorges and mountain chains. A bit scary to me. The new airport today is among the most modern and welcoming in the entire world. This is progress.
By all measurements, Ecuador is special. The name Ecuador means “Equator” in Spanish. The country is named for the imaginary line that passes through it, dividing the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Its official name is República del Ecuador, which translates to “Republic of the Equator.”
We visited the original location of the imaginary line about two hours from Quito, the capital with a population of more than three million. The city has expanded massively since my first visit in the 1990s. Ecuador is home to 18 million people (about the population of New York).
We found Quito to be special and unique because of its high-altitude location within a circle of volcanoes. Driving throughout this massive and magnificent city is a bit scary for someone unfamiliar with high altitudes dotted with apartments, shops, marketplaces, and high rises.
The network of roads in Quito demonstrates an engineering marvel unmatched in South America.
I often asked myself “How do they do it?” Our highly experienced bilingual driver “Angel” lived up to his name. He navigated the streets with ease and comforted us by explaining the diversity of the population identifying residential areas mostly by income levels.
Signs of steady growth and development permeate Ecuador.
Angel owns his own limousine and owns his own home. All paid for. His son is a lawyer and travels around the globe, he told us. It is clear from our conversation with him and others that Ecuador has a large and highly well informed and well-established middle class. I asked him how his family meets basic needs: food, electricity, health services, education transport, water, and the like. It is clear from what he says and what he does not say that things were tough when the national currency, the Sucre hit bottom and prices skyrocketed. The middle class and the poor suffered the most. Citizens stood up for change.
An aspect of Ecuadorian society I have come to appreciate enormously is national identity Soley based on citizenship. This civic mindedness that informs the principle of roots, one of the features presented to us concerning the question of “What does Ecuador mean to you?” permeates society. Indigenous people are proud to call themselves Ecuadorians.
One major change in 2000 is the abandonment of the local currency and the adoption of the US dollar as a national currency. More on this later.
The city of Quiro is remarkably well preserved with an extensive colonial city center—one of the best-preserved in the Americas and the first to be named a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Interestingly, Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa is a high-altitude city, located at an elevation of approximately 2,355 meters (7,726 feet) above sea level. It is one of the highest capital cities in the world and the highest in Africa. This significant altitude affects the climate, making it cooler, and can lead to shortness of breath during strenuous activity for those not acclimatized to high altitudes. We lived in Addis Ababa.
We were hardly prepared for Quiro though.
Yes, Addis Ababa is a high-altitude city, located at an elevation of approximately 2,355 meters (7,726 feet) above sea level. It is one of the highest capital cities in the world and the highest in Africa. This significant altitude affects the climate, making it cooler, and can lead to shortness of breath during strenuous activity for those not acclimatized to it.
I found Quito more challenging and more breathtaking than Addis Ababa.
Little did we know that Quito is the highest constitutional capital in the world sitting at 2,850 m (about 1.77 mi) above sea level. The good thing is this attitude is too high for malaria transmission; but not comfortable to get a good night’s sleep.
My fear of altitude sickness that aggravates headaches, causes nausea and dizziness dd not occur. This was good news in that many of the icons we visited in Quito including the Basilica del Voto Nacional are on top of the hill,
Quito is strategically located near the Equator and is home to the massive Mitad del Mundo monument. The city blends this rich history with a vibrant cultural scene, including indigenous traditional crafts, religious art, and modern developments like a craft beer scene and bustling market.
Angel whom we contracted at the Marriott hotel proposed must see sites close to Quito. This includes the UNESCO’s 1st World Cultural Heritage City at the heart of Quito. This was followed by a visit to The Middle of the World or “Mitad del Mundo.” It lives up to its name as a center. This is a complex built in honor of the first real attempt to determine the shape of the earth in 1743. While recent tech has helped us to see that the real equator line is away from the monument, it is still a wonderful place to visit.
A story worth mentioning is this. In the debate concerning the real location of the Equator a group of Ecuadorian women protested for days, determined and realized their goal of locating the real site north of Quito. We visited the impressive site.
Ecuador is full of incredible natural, ecological, bird and wild animal wonders. It is home to more than a dozen variety of finch (friendly birds) that come close to you without fear as well as the beautiful, black-breasted puff leg. We were told this beautiful little hummingbird is critically endangered because there are less than 300 left in the wild. They are native to Ecuador and considered to be the official bird of Quito. It is curious these birds are mostly a dark black color but when they catch the light, they shine emerald green and deep purple with the purple being mostly restricted to their cute little chins. They are only around 9 cm (about 3.54 in) long.
I have always been fascinated by the Andes Mountain chain that straddles many countries. Many of these mountains are volcanic. Engel prompted us to wake up early one morning and drove to Ecuador’s highest active volcano: Cotopaxi, 6 km south of Quito. Snow-capped, it is the highest active volcano in Ecuador. Cotopaxi volcano is found in the Cotopaxi National Park that spans 3 provinces.
In another adventure, Angel took us to an enchanting rose plantation that measures 22 acres (about the area of Chicago’s Millennium Park) established in 1993. Private famers produce 45 varieties of roses most for export. The community is vibrant and shows economic and social gains through youth employment and higher incomes. We stopped at a private farm deep in the valley. This family produces coffee and provides employment to a half dozen local people. The woman who hosted us was attentive and gracious.
A visit to Ecuador and other Amazon basin countries is incomplete without a visit to cloud forests. Quito is a few hours’ drive from to an amazing cloud forest. Mindo Cloud Forest is home to fascinating waterfalls, amazing air plants (epiphytes, including orchids), and diverse wildlife. No wonder this cloud forest is one of the most biodiverse places on earth. Mindo also hosts the Olinguito. The olinguito is the most recently discovered mammal, and they are adorable.
Wherever we travel we make sure that we visit local markets. This is where you assess the pulse of the economy and the spirit and livelihoods of ordinary people.
My youngest son Nebiyou, my wife Amsal and I treasure our visit to South America’s biggest market. It reminds us of the vibrant Mercato in Addis Ababa, the largest in Africa. We spent almost half a day at the Otavalo market that spans a whole city block.
I was especially moved and pleased by products from indigenous people: their creativity, arts, crafts, and personal demeanor. They never pressure you to buy. We did though. You can find anything you wish to buy like jewelry, textiles, Ponchos. and amazing array of souvenirs.
We were unable to travel to the Amazon River because of distance and our utmost priority, a visit to the Galapagos Islands where we spent ten days.
The Galapagos is once place on earth and on the massive Pacific Ocean that one cannot explain in words.
During our visit, our son reached out to young Ecuadorians and posed one overarching question “What does Ecuador mean to you?” The common themes that emerge are Abundance, Biodiversity and My Roots. Everywhere we traveled, we witnessed the country is endowed with an abundant variety of sea foods, fruits, vegetables, meats, minerals, and petroleum.
Ecuador is a major producer and exporter of petroleum. typically ranked around the top 30 globally and is a significant producer within Latin America. Worldometer reports Ecuador ranked #28 in the world for oil production, while lovemoney.com places it at 29 with around 475,000. This reinforces the theme of abundance citizens expressed to us. Given this abundance, there is no reason for abject poverty to exist. No sign of starvation.
Curious, I went to the local food market and eating establishment and discovered that you can buy a huge fish meal for five dollars. Let me personalize an example of abundance. I ate more seafood in ten days in Galapagos than I have in years in the United States at reasonable prices.
Ecuador is a haven of biodiversity. It is impossible to visit all parts of this stunning county in one go. We spent more time in Galapagos because this is the epicenter of biodiversity.
The Galapagos comprises 13 islands and 16 inlets. The population is estimated at 30,000 according to the latest census. Only four islands are populated, Santa Cruz where we stayed is the largest with an estimated population of 15,000. The town of Puerto Ayora serves as a tourism hub with a wide selection of eating places, coffee shops, and museums. On the edge of this vibrant town is the Charles Darwin Station where we saw giant tortoises up close.
On our first day from the airport on the Island of Santa Cruz, about seven kilometers from the town of Porto Aroyo, are smaller towns called Bellavista and Santa Rosa. Our guide took us to the highlands where the El Chato Tortoise reserve is located. Here an entire corner of the island is home to giant tortoises in their natural habitat. You stay five to six feet away and gaze at these marvelous creatures eat grass and move slowly. Our guide tried to explain to us which is male, and which is female. It really does not matter. You just wonder how they procreate given the size the male tortoise that can crush you. We saw several tortoises that weigh more than 500 lbs. each.
The biggest tortoise species in Ecuador, the Giant Galápagos Tortoise, can weigh as much as 919 pounds (417 kg), with the record holder “Goliath” weighing this amount. Adult Galápagos tortoises can grow to be over 5 feet long and weigh between 200 to over 660 pounds, with males being larger than females.
We are simply awed.
There are only two ways to visit these islands: on a cruise or land-based tour, the later limiting. We opted to take day cruises to the Islands of Santa Fe and Isabela, both unique and must see.
Santa Fe’s uniqueness in the Galápagos Islands stems from it being one of the oldest islands in the archipelago and the exclusive home to the Santa Fe Land Iguana and the Santa Fe Rice Rat. We saw a lot of Land Iguana in the island’s large Opuntia cactus forest, as well as an abundant sea lion colony. Our son enjoyed snorkeling in its protected area.
The Island of Isabela where we spent a full day is the largest island. The well-informed attendant who guided us called the entire group “family.” She told us that the population is 3,000. She loves her island home because it is least populated. She wants it to remain that way.
We were informed the Isabela Island is unique for being the youngest and largest island in the Galapagos, formed by the merger of six active shield volcanoes. It is also the most volcanically active place in the archipelago, a site of unique volcanic geography with lava fields that isolated and caused the evolution of multiple distinct giant tortoise subspecies. Furthermore, Isabela is home to the Galapagos Penguin and the flightless cormorant, and its location on the Equator supports rich marine and bird life.
The volcanic landscape on this island is something that looks like you landed on another planet.
Based on limited exposure and interactions with a cross section of the population, I wish to point out that Ecuadorians are most respectful of one another. Indigenous people assert their roots as citizens of one country in the same manner as Hispanics.
A feature of the political economy of Ecuador that I am still trying to figure out this, the abandonment of Ecuador’s national currency and its adoption of the dollar? Why the US dollar?
Ecuador is not alone in this regard.
Did you know the following fact?
The following independent countries and territories use the US Dollar as their national currency: Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, Timor-Leste (Timor-Leste), Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Zimbabwe, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius & Saba, British Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos.
I tried to find out the reason. People I spoke to told me that despite structural adjustment lending from the IMF and the World Bank, Ecuador officially adopted the US dollar as its national currency in the year 2000 after a severe economic crisis caused the collapse of its former currency, the Sucre. Before dollarization, Ecuador experienced hyperinflation, devaluing the Sucre to the point where daily transactions became difficult and unpredictable.
An Ecuadorian told me that depreciation gained momentum, and the free-market rate was over 800 per dollar by 1990 and almost 3000 per dollar in 1995. The sucre lost 67% of its foreign exchange value during 1999, then in one week nosedived 17%, ending at 25,000 per US$1 on January 7, 2000. Imagine the effect on consumers of such a catastrophic slide in the value of Ecuador’s national currency against the dollar. The same happened in Zimbabwe.
The motive behind switching from the Sucre to the dollar is to gain financial and monetary stability. Under the free fall, consumers had to haul thousands of Sure to buy necessities. Today, Ecuadorians in all parts of the county accept the US dollar as their own national currency.
I could not find an authoritative person who could explain to me the costs and the benefits of such as switch, especially its impact on national independence and sovereignty.
I just wondered why a major petroleum producer is unable to leverage its earnings and reserves to support its national currency?
The central bank of Ecuador is no more. It is the US federal reserve that matters.
This unusual finding concerning macroeconomic and monetary policy notwithstanding, I witnessed steady growth and development that affects most segments of Ecuadorian society positively. All told, Ecuador is among my top destinations for international travel.
Thank you, Ecuador, for welcoming me and my family. Thank you, Angel, for educating us concerning your enchanting country and its diverse population.
The sentiment of citizens of Ecuador as a country of abundance, biodiversity and roots is justified and valid.