Ecuador Through Artists' Eyes
(BPT) - Mention South America, and most travelers envision the mysterious Amazon, the majestic Andes, the unmatched Galapagos Islands and the magnificent Pacific beaches. What many don't know is you can enjoy these experiences and more, conveniently packaged in a country roughly the size of Colorado - Ecuador.
This fall, 16 artists from the USA, Canada, UK and Germany discovered just that as part of the Feel Again Project, led by the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador. The project invited international teams of artists to find inspiration in the diverse landscapes of Ecuador's four main climatic regions - the Amazon, the Andes, the Galapagos Islands and the Pacific Coast.
"The amount of different landscapes and microclimates in such as small area really surprised me; the variation is quite staggering," says Team UK artist, Conor MacNeill. "There's so much to do across a manageable amount of landmass."
The Amazon
Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, as reflected in the famed Amazon basin. The lush landscape offers visitors a chance to encounter an exotic range of land, water and arboreal life, including pigmy marmosets, two-toed sloths, scarlett macaws, pink river dolphins, piranha and jaguars.
For Team UK artists Jason and Keiko Hindley, the greatest inspiration came from the people working to preserve that biodiversity - particularly the indigenous Kichwa Añangu community, which runs the Napo Wildlife Centre. The Centre is a great destination for families, they say, with so much to see and do, and guides that adjust treks accordingly for different ages and fitness levels.
Photo by: Sebastian Crespo. Quilotoa volcanic crater, Ecuadorian Andes
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