A few facts about my new country of residence

ECUADOR

Official name: Republic of Ecuador (In Spanish, República del Ecuador, or, Republic of the Equator)

Neighbors: Colombia to the north, Peru to the south and east

The Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador.  They are about 620 miles west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean.

Official language: Spanish (spoken by about 94% of the population)

Thirteen indigenous languages are also recognized in the country.

Land area: 109,484 square miles 

To compare

Colorado - 103,729 square miles

Population: approximately 15.2 million (depending on your source)

To compare

Illinois - 12.8 million

Capital city: Quito

Largest city: Guayaquil

Monetary unit: US dollar

Current president: Rafael Correa (since Jan. 2007)

The country is divided into 24 provinces.  Each province has its own administrative capital.

(The province where I am on the list to labor is called Manabí.  Its capital is Portoviejo, and that is where we have our bach.  The land area of Manabí is approximately 7,100 square miles.  The estimated population according to the 2010 census is 1,345,779.)

Climate

There is great variety in the climate, largely determined by altitude. It is mild year-round in the mountain valleys, with a humid subtropical climate in coastal areas and rainforest in lowlands. The Pacific coastal area has a tropical climate with a severe rainy season. The climate in the Andean highlands is temperate and relatively dry, and the Amazon basin on the eastern side of the mountains shares the climate of other rainforest zones.

*Thanks, Wikipedia!*

Because of its location in relation to the equator, there is little variation in daylight hours throughout the course of the year.  The sun rises around 6:00 a.m. and sets around 6:00 p.m. daily year round.

Ecuador has the most biodiversity per square kilometer of any nation in the world.

Perhaps that's enough for now.  Come on down and you can learn more along with me!