Ecuador is one of the smallest South American countries, just over 100,000 sq. miles, about the size of Nevada. The country is bisected by the Equator which also touches the Galapagos Islands, one of the regions of the country.

The 14 million Ecuadorians have lived in some political and economic turmoil since 2000. The country is dependent almost exclusively upon its significant oil reserves, but these seemed to have been mishandled prior to 2000 when the economy collapsed. The country then abandoned its local currency for the U.S. dollar, which brought a period of stability, but that was followed by fierce political fighting in 2005-2006 resulting in the nationalization of the oil industry. In 2007 a Constitutional Convention was called and the legislative branch was suspended pending the acceptance of a new constitution.

The country was the northern portion of the extensive Inca empire until conquered by the Spanish in 1533. When the Spanish granted independent in 1819, Ecuador was a part of Colombia, but it then declared its own independence in 1830.

The eastern part of the country is Amazon jungle, the center is beautiful, salubrious highlands, and the coast is where the oil is found. The Galapagos Islands lie roughly 600 miles off the coastal city of Guayaquil.