July - September 2014
Ecuador is a colorful country of South America stretching on both sides of the equator, whose name in Spanish means the ecuador. Ecuador is a country exceptionally rich in its diversity. The richness of the Inca heritage is intertwined here with the richness of the colonial heritage of Spain, especially the architectural one. Its example is built for 163 years, recognized as the most beautiful Latin American church La Compañía de Jesús, whose baroque altars are covered with more than a ton of gold and fantastic frescoes on the vault contributed to the nickname "Sistine Chapel of Quito".
Geographic diversity of Ecuador offers both sky-high peaks of volcanic Andes, forming the famous Alleys of Volcanoes, probably the most beautiful among the other 400 volcano Cotopaxi (5897 m), also the unique fauna and flora of the Galapagos Islands natural enclave, endless and uninhabited beaches of the Pacific coast or the extremely rich nature of Oriente - Ecuadorian Amazon. This diversity is supplemented by the colorful and original legacy of indigenous Indians, represented in a special way at the oldest market in South America in Otavalo.
Undoubtedly, this diversity from the 18th century has aroused exploratory hunger in the minds of European scientists and researchers, making Ecuador an enormous natural laboratory. Its animators have become, among others Charles-Marie de la Condamine and Pierre Bouguer, research pioneers for the French Academy of Sciences, German researcher Alexander von Humboldt, creator of the term "Alley of Volcanoes", who made here fundamental to geography physical observation, and finally Charles Darwin, English naturalist, founder of the theory of evolution exploring the secrets of the fauna and flora of the Galapagos Islands. Near the capital of Ecuador Quito on the equator running lies "Center of the World" - La Mitad del Mundo. The important obelisk is marked by avenue with busts commemorating the famous explorers of Ecuador, giving a testimony of the uniqueness of the land spread on both sides of the equator.
Krzysztof Muskalski
