Learn Spanish in Ecuador

Ecuador, Land of the Equator
It’s capital, Quito, is perched at nearly 3000 metres and has one and a half million inhabitants. Ecuador is one of those countries of extremes that border the Pacific coast. With its 30-odd volcanoes, its jagged mountains and its hillside markets, the country doesn’t have the obvious tourist attractions of some of its neighbours. And that’s a plus, for those who are looking first and foremost for the authentic Latin America. The country’s largest city, Guayaquil, is also a Homeric port, one of the most important in the world, that speaks of another lifestyle in a nation that tastes of snow and salt.

Christened Ecuador by scientists returning from their missions, and a path of exploration for all types of observers (including Charles Darwin, who wrote of the Galapagos Islands), this country has always attracted foreigners. The Spaniards, of course, who ousted the Incas. Everyone is stunned by the glassy lakes, the sulphurous lagoons and the hidden charm of the Andean mountain chains. Bit by bit, in this region where everything grows without effort, cultivation has increased. And the cities with their moss-covered, colonial architecture have given the country a kind of backbone.

In this very catholic region, the year is animated by the processions of All Saints’ Day, an impressive celebration of the dead that opens the way to generous libations. Everything is mixed in this adopted religion, the Holy text that blends with indigenous memories in a country that is resolved not to choose between today and yesterday, tradition and modernity. Ecuador is in the centre. In many ways. A land of reasonable dimensions, seven times as large as Switzerland all the same, it allows visitors to cross it without having to miss too much between sites. And on the Malecón, the Guayaquil boardwalk that is to the Ecuadorian city what the Promenade des Anglais is to Nice, you can imagine the equator that crosses the country. And the world around it. The sensation of finding yourself at the centre of things.