The Ingala Control Card - Galapagos

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A few years ago, INGALA, the Ecuadorian governmental agency that regulates all things pertaining to the Galapagos Islands, began issuing the “Transit Control Card” (in Spanish, tarjeta de control de tránsito, or TCT). This card is designed to help control immigration to the Islands, which boomed in the 1970s.

Decades ago, no one was interested in going to Galapagos. The rocky, sun-drenched islands had little to offer visitors or colonists from Ecuador.

Most of the land isn’t suitable for farming, there is nothing worth mining (except for some salt, and salt mine experiments didn’t work out very well) and the currents can make even fishing dangerous.

Ecuador, which claimed the Galapagos Islands not long after gaining its independence from Spain, wanted to make sure that they had a legitimate hold on them, but couldn’t convince anyone to go. Therefore, the Ecuadorian government set up penal colonies on the islands, sending prisoners and guards to occupy those islands that had fresh water, such as San Cristobal, Isabela and Floreana. Charles Darwin visited one such penal colony during his 1835 visit.

By the 1950s, there were small towns on a couple of the islands, as the descendents of the prisoners and some adventurous Europeans began making a living, mostly by fishing. But the 1970s brought a tourism boom to the islands, as thousands of foreigners began wanting to see the beautiful islands and their nearly tame wildlife.

Suddenly, Galapagos was the place in Ecuador that everyone wanted to be, and poor Ecuadorians flocked to the islands to make a living in tourism.

By the 1990s, the quickly growing population needed to be controlled, as the fragile island ecosystems were in peril. No one was allowed to move to the islands from the mainland any more, but unemployed Ecuadorians continued to try to get there in order to find work in secret.

As a result, INGALA has instituted the TCT to help keep track of who is coming and going to the islands. Visitors must go to a booth in the airport with their plane tickets to get the card, which costs $10 (cash only).

The card is turned in at the end of the trip. Often reputable tour operators will prepare the cards ahead of time for their customers. If you’ll be getting your own card without the aid of a guide or tour agency, plan on a little extra time in the airport.

To get your Transit Control Card, you’ll need the following information handy:

• Complete name, as it appears on your passport
• Passport number
• Nationality
• Date of birth

The $10 fee for the card is used by INGALA for many different projects, including population monitoring on the islands, conservation and sustainable development and long-term planning for all aspects of life in the islands.

For more info about the Galapagos Islands www.visitecuador.com.ec

En el Inventario Patrimonial de Quito constaran nuevas edificaciones

Varias edificaciones construidas en Quito a mediados del siglo XX, por los años 50 y 60, se alistan para ingresar a la lista de bienes patrimoniales de la capital ecuatoriana y así garantizar su conservación.

El Instituto Metropolitano de Patrimonio, IMP, continúa levantando el catálogo de bienes a ser preservados a través de su inclusión en el inventario general del patrimonio edificado de la capital.

Para la incorporación de las nuevas “joyas arquitectónicas” en estos días el Municipio de Quito a través del Instituto de Patrimonio firmará un contrato con la Facultad de Arquitectura de la Universidad Central, mediante el cual seis profesores y unos 60 estudiantes de esa rama realizarán este trabajo.

Se pretende registrar unos 1.212 inmuebles de características patrimoniales principalmente de aquellos que se encuentran fuera del núcleo central de la capital.

En esta nómina ingresarán decenas de casas de los barrios América, Belisario Quevedo, La Mariscal y otras del sector de Guápulo. El nuevo inventario también tomará en cuenta, en esta ocasión, al barrio La Floresta, donde anteriormente no se practicó este registro.

Según la unidad de inventario patrimonial del IMP, en el próximo levantamiento se realizará una actualización del inventario realizado en 1990 y se incorporará inmuebles que forman parte de la arquitectura del siglo XX y que anteriormente no integraban la lista patrimonial.

En este caso están edificios como el Hotel Quito (cuya construcción data de 1956-1960); el edificio del IESS del sector El Ejido (edificado en 1957-60); el Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa (1948-51), el Palacio Legislativo (1956-60) y la Ciudadela Universitaria (1945-50) que está conformada con varios edificios representativos como el Teatro Universitario, la Administración Central, Facultad de Jurisprudencia, Residencia Universitaria, el estadio universitario. A estos se sumarán otros que fueron diseñados por los arquitectos uruguayos Gilberto Gatto Sobral y Guillermo Jones Odriozola, este último, autor del primer Plan Regulador de Quito.

El estadio Olímpico Atahualpa (1948-51) un hito representativo del deporte ecuatoriano, es además un edificio que presenta en su construcción elementos tecnológicos nuevos, como la visera que cubre la tribuna y ha sido resuelta con estructura de hormigón armado conformando bóvedas cáscaras en volado: un alarde tecnológico para su tiempo.

En el caso del edificio del Hotel Quito (1956-60) lo que más llama la atención es su acceso en forma de “paraboloide hiperbólico”, igualmente tipo “cascara” cuyo diseño estructural fue realizado por el Ing. Andrés Segovia. Se trata de uno de los primeros ejemplos de este tipo levantadas en el país.

Y así, serán identificadas e incluidas como bienes patrimoniales otras edificaciones que datan de mediados del siglo XX en adelante de autoría de conocidos arquitectos y diseñadores como: Milton Barragán, Mario Arias, Luis Oleas, Sixto Durán Ballén, Diego y Fausto Banderas, Ovidio Wappenstein, Rafael Vélez Calisto, entre otros.

Una vez inventariados estos lugares deben conservar los detalles originales, sobre todo, en sus aspectos constructivos y estructurales. Otro detalle importante es que deben ser sometidos continuamente a labores de mantenimiento y sus reparaciones realizadas priorizando los mismos materiales constructivos.

Asimismo en el nuevo inventario se prevé la incorporación de alrededor de 320 casas de hacienda existentes en el distrito; equipamiento urbano como espacios públicos (parques, plazas, avenidas, calles), así como unos 60 cementerios urbanos y rurales.

Inventario religioso

Paralelamente, el Instituto Metropolitano de Patrimonio lleva a cabo un tercer inventario de la totalidad de la arquitectura religiosa de unas 190 iglesias. En este caso los datos que se logren determinarán el estado de los templos y los planes para cada uno de ellos.

Finalmente, todos y cada uno de los registros que arrojen estos inventarios ingresarán a un programa informático que servirá para canalizar varias acciones previstas por la municipalidad a través del Instituto Metropolitano de Patrimonio.

Para mas informacion de la Carita de Dios www.visitecuador.com.ec

Las Ballenas un espectaculo en las playas de Ecuador

Las ballenas son un atractivo turístico de Puerto Cayo

Quito, 20 jul (Andes).- La temporada de avistamientos de ballenas marcha firme en la costa ecuatoriana.

En Puerto Cayo se llevó a cabo el décimo festival de observación de ballenas, que busca promover el turismo en esa zona de Manabí. Se inició con un pregón que incluyó un desfile folclórico, en el que participaron organizaciones sociales y autoridades locales.

El desfile de carros alegóricos y iconografía eran relacionados con las ballenas jorobadas. Una vez acabado, se instaló una sesión solemne en la que el alcalde jupijapa, Jhonny Cañarte, destacó algunos de los principales atractivos turísticos de la provincia.

Cañarte se refirió de manera especial a la costumbre popular de observación de ballenas, que se realiza entre junio y septiembre. Este es uno de los principales atractivos de Puerto Cayo y es una de las actividades importantes de quienes recorren la Ruta del Spondylus.

Autoridades presentes en el festival también realizaron un acto de apadrinamiento de ballenas. Algunos de ellos fueron el director provincial de Turismo, Pedro Ponce;  Galo Mora, secretario general de Alianza País; el prefecto y la reina del cantón Jipijapa.

En las provincias costeras ecuatorianas de Santa Elena, Manabí y Esmeraldas, desde junio a septiembre es posible observar de cerca a los cetáceos, que acuden a esta parte del planeta para aparearse. Vienen de aguas muy frías y buscan una temperatura ideal (alrededor de 20 grados) para su danza acuática de cortejo. 

Para mas informacion sobre el avistamiento de Ballenas, visite www.visitecuador.com.ec

The Floreana Island, Galapagos

Article from: www.gringosabroad.com

While we were in Galapagos last month we spent some time on Floreana Island, this is a small Island with a colorful past.

We heard stories of Pirates, and then took a hike to see their caves.  We also heard stories from the 1930′s of a couple of nudists with metal teeth, and a baroness that moved in on them with her three lovers, and basically declared herself queen of the island.

The first two people that wanted to make this little Eden their very own were the Wittmers, a German dentist and his mistress.  They wanted to live there alone, were vegetarians and preferred to live free of the encumbrances of clothing, and their natural teeth.  Before making the trip to live this solitary lifestyle they decided to pull out all their natural teeth, they had a pair (one pair) of metal teeth made which they passed back and forth as they ate their vegetarian meals.  You have to love this story, it just sounds so crazy.

The Wittmers died many years ago, but their decedents can still be found among the 125 people that now live on this tiny Island.  Don’t fear they all wear clothes, and I didn’t see any metal choppers while exploring the island.

The baroness that moved in on the two lovebirds, wanted to build a luxury hotel on the island for the rich and famous.  Needless to say, once she moved in and started bossing the Wittmers around, things got a little messed up.  She along with two of her lovers, and the dentistdisappeared one day, and to this day nobody knows what happened to them.

Long before all this took place, the pirates were active on the island, and they carved out caves in the highlands close to the only fresh water spring on the island.  We went on a hike to see the caves; we also saw the only other unique carving of its kind found so far in the Galapagos, a human head which looks much like the ones on Easter Island.  The Wittmers first child was born in one of these pirate caves.

On the drive up to the highlands from the coast it was very interesting to see the different zones of vegetation, I believe there were seven.  Along with the other Islands of the Galapagos, Floreana was formed by a Volcano, seeing the way the vegetation has taken over the landscape was a real treat.

As we hiked through the woods in the highlands we saw many giant tortoises, they are fed regularly on feeding platforms throughout the wooded area on the way up to the pirate caves. The view near the pirate caves of the island and extinct volcano was breathtaking.

One of the staff members from Red Mangrove that accompanied us on our Tour was from Floreana.  He said that when he was growing up on the island there were only eight families (large extended families) living on the island.

We enjoyed our visit to this unique, beautiful little island.  And think its past is prime fodder for a movie, except of course, we’re thinking of a G rated movie 

For more information about the Floreana Island www.visitecuador.com.ec

La estación del tren de Chimbacalle, uno de los 7 Tesoros de Quito

Quito (Pichincha).- La estación del tren Eloy Alfaro de Chimbacalle es uno de los tres nominados, de la zona sur de la ciudad, para convertirse en uno de los 7 Tesoros del Patrimonio Cultural Material de Quito.

La actividad, emprendida por el Municipio, se enmarca en la designación de Capital Americana de la Cultura Quito 2011. El objetivo de la campaña es promover y divulgar el patrimonio cultural material de Quito y al motivar la visita de los turistas a los lugares ganadores.

Existen un total de 37 candidaturas en la ciudad. Para votar por los tesoros de Quito se debe acceder al sitio web: http://www.cac-acc.org/votaq.php o por medio de nuestra página de Facebook Tren Ecuador.

La estación ferroviaria Eloy Alfaro, ubicada en el tradicional barrio de Chimbacalle asentado en el sur, es un monumento patrimonial de la ciudad que recuerda la culminación del denominado Ferrocarril del Sur. Su construcción se realizó entre 1905 y 1908, año en el que llegó por primera vez el tren a Quito.

En el espacio donde se ubica el andén, funcionaban las oficinas de atención al público, telegrafía, imprenta, boletería y la administración. Mientras que los edificios aledaños servían de bodegas o cuartos fríos para conservar los productos y mercancías. Adicionalmente había oficinas de correos y para los ferroviarios. Era la estación más grande y más importante de del país.

En sus alrededores se forjaron industrias, transporte de diligencia, posadas, residenciales, entre otros. Chimbacalle empezó así un desarrollo vertiginoso en la década de los años 20. Pero a partir de los años 70 este auge comenzó a decaer y el movimiento comercial se trasladó a otro sector de la ciudad. El tren desapareció de a poco, pues le ganaron espacio las carreteras y los vehículos a motor.

Tras los convenios firmados en el 2008 y 2009 entre Ferrocarriles del Ecuador, el Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas y el Municipio del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito a través del Fondo de Salvamento del Patrimonio Cultural (FONSAL), se recuperaron las edificaciones de la Estación Eloy Alfaro, que ahora brindan servicio a los turistas y a los usuarios del tren./Ferrocarriles del Ecuador.

Para mas informacion visita www.visitecuador.com.ec

Galapagos ranked #1 destination by focused adventure travel site

by Chris Owen (RSS feed) on Jul 16th 2011 at 7:00AM

AvidTrips this week announced the results of its first Top Adventures survey taken in June 25 at this year's Adventures NYC in Central Park. From a field of 60 domestic and international adventure destinations, the results reveal the world's top three adventure travel destinations as The Galapagos Islands, the South Island of New Zealand, and Machu Picchu respectively. That caught my attention. Going further I discovered a really easy to navigate, focused adventure travel website that offers a wide variety of adventure travel options complete with ratings on difficulty and activity levels, price and more.

"The launch of our annual Top Adventures survey is part of our ongoing efforts to bring the world's most amazing adventure trips to travelers" said Sanem Eruçar, Founder & CEO of AvidTrips.

Respondents were asked to select up to three places they most want to visit. In addition to ranking the Galapagos Islands number one, results revealed differences in desired adventures by age and gender.

The South Island of New Zealand emerged the top pick among female adventurers, followed by Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. Male adventurers picked the Galapagos Islands first, followed by Patagonia and Yosemite National Park.

Travelers in the 18-34 age group would like to visit the South Island of New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu, whereas adventurers in the 35-54 age group selected Bora Bora, French Polynesia, the Galapagos Islands and Yosemite National Park as their most desired adventure destinations.

AvidTrips is a different sort of website that empowers adventure travelers to discover and book adventure trips directly with the world's leading adventure tour operators, skipping the travel agent.

"Whether you're a horseback rider or trekker, scuba diver or cyclist,we aim to bring you the widest selection of the most exhilarating adventure experiences - so you can focus on finding the trip that's right for you." says AvidTrips on it's website.

After joining via Facebook, users can pick activities and see a map of where they are being offered world-wide. I chose "climbing" and was presented with a map showing organized tours at various locations, complete with a description of what is being offered and a price.

Just for fun, I picked a tour called Everest Base Camp with Island Peak (like I could survive it) and got a quick overview of what to expect along with a detailed description of all that would be happening. Included too were alternative but related tours and resources for further investigation.

This is good stuff to simply kill some time on a hot summer day or get a serious idea of what is involved, when the best time to go is and what costs might involve.

For more info about the Galapagos www.visitecuador.com.ec

A lizard hitches a ride in the Galapagos Islands

For more info about the Galapagos Islands check www.visitecuador.com.ec

Quito: 8 Ways It’s Changed Since the Mid-90s

I lived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, 15 years ago and recently had the chance to visit it again for the first time in 13 years (I did visit it once about 13 years ago). Of course, I the first thing I noticed was that the city has changed. A lot. The second thing I noticed was that, well, it’s a quirky sort of place–one worthy of its own little photo essay.

Hope you enjoy this virtual tour of Quirky Quito…I certainly enjoyed setting it up!
PS: I got in trouble in El Jardin Mall when I shot Photo #8!

What Has Changed

1. People Multitasking

When I lived in Ecuador, people did one thing at at time. You went to the bank. Or you went food shopping. You put makeup on before going to work.
Now, people are busy. Really busy. And they have to multi-task. This woman obviously didn’t have time to get ready for work. So, as one would logically do, she got ready for work–at work. Here, she’s applying makeup while waiting for her customers…

2. Water Faucet in the Sky

Not sure what this is about. I think it’s art. A sculpture of some sort. Anyway, it confused me when I saw it. For a moment, I thought I was under a sink and not in the center of a capital city. Glad I now realize where I really was. PS: I don’t recall this from when I lived in Quito. I’m sure it wasn’t there.

3. Toy Chicky Buses

Back when I lived in Quito, you took chicken buses; you didn’t buy them. Now, you can go to an upscale mall and drop a few bucks on a greeting card and then buy someone a chicky bus (toy version).
PS: Can you imagine how happy I was when I saw these? They made me feel so welcome. It was as if they knew about me and this site.

4. No Longer a Millionaire

I remember how exciting it was to change money–back in the day. You’d go to a “casa de cambio’ and hand over $500 and get back–1,000,000 sucres. ($1 equaled 3000 or 4000 sucres at one point.) You were an instant millionaire–in sucres, anyway. But now, you’re a mere hundredaire or thousandaire–in dollars. And yeah, as you guessed it, that money doesn’t go quite as far. Fortunately, you can still get a cheap almuerzo.

5. Old Town, New Town Safety Reversal

Back when I lived in Quito, the New Town was safe and the Old Town wasn’t. Now it’s the other way around. OK. That’s cool. Still–watch your bag/backpack, etc. wherever you are. Most people I met had been robbed or knew someone who had been. I’m happy to report that I stayed safe.

6. A Bar in the Airport?

I remember the good old days, when the Quito Airport was really limited and had a cage of sorts that one would enter upon leaving. That’s right–in order to leave, you’d enter a cage. And the people waiting for you would look in at you. Or maybe they were in the cage? I can’t remember.
All I know is that a bar in the airport is…well….rather cool. And it feels quirky to me because well, it looks sort of upscale. It’s feels odd to me since it’s not the Quito Airport, the one with the cage, that my friends and I knew and loved. But I’m not complaining…glad it’s there.

7. An Apple Store?

Please, Quito–now, you’re really freaking me out. Now, I know this is not a quirk–it’s a sign of modernity, of being high tech, of a developing country…developing. Still, I included this on my list since it was a shocking change (for me). I like the name, too. Sorta funny. I guess it sounds better than “Tienda de Manzana,” which seems a bit ludicrous (if you speak Spanish).

8. Alien Mannequins

Perhaps you thought that unusual mannequins were found mostly in the Middle East. Well, think again. The aliens have invaded South America, too, and especially Ecuador. Check out this bizarre mannequin from El Jardin Mall in Quito. PS: I almost got arrested taking the shot. The police were not happy! Perhaps they were aliens, too?

And the one thing that hasn’t changed in Quito but confuses me nevertheless…

Vulcan Tires

I know that martians have something to do with dry cleaning, so it’s only logical that Vulcans would have something to do with tire repair? Right? Or am I still in MannequinLand? In any case, the tires still say Vulcanizadora on them. And that’s exactly what it was like back in the 90s.

What Do You Think?

Have you been to Quito? See anything out of the ordinary while there? Did I miss anything? LOL Do you find the city quirky in any way? Or does it seem like another other Latin American capital city to you?
Meanwhile…have you unraveled the mystery of the Vulcans and the Martians? Dry cleaning versus tires? If so, could you help shed some light on the topic in the Comments section? Thank you.


Article from: http://www.chickybus.com/

For more info about Quito www.visitecuador.com.ec