Fri–Sun, Oct 23–25 · 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Distrito Quito Design Week
Palacio de Cristal, Itchimbía, Quito. Free with registration: a market of furniture, objects, textiles, and fashion.
Photograph by Cayambe, CC BY-SA 3.0.
This weekend in Ecuador
Oct 23–25
Design weekend
Sat, Oct 24 · from 10:00 a.m.
De verde a maduro
Plaza El Quinde, La Mariscal, Quito. Free, with twenty restaurants, a bolón contest, and live music through Salsa en el Solar.
Photograph by Pedro M. Martínez Corada, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sat, Oct 24 · 6:30 p.m.
Gypsy jazz
Teatro Centro de Arte, Guayaquil. Die Drahtzieher with Sepia Jazz Band, $15 or two for $25.
Guayaquil on Viator Teatro Centro de Arte
Photograph by Jordan Fischer, CC BY 2.0.
Fri–Sun, Oct 23–25 · 3:00 p.m.
Driving Miss Daisy
Antonio Vega Muñoz 14-46, Cuenca. In English, and the run continues through November 1.
Photograph by Pablo Zuñiga, CC BY 4.0.
Sat, Oct 24 · morning
Otavalo’s Saturday market
From Quito. Plaza de los Ponchos, the textile market, fills on Saturday.
Photograph by David Adam Kess, CC BY-SA 3.0.
This week in Ecuador
October 19, 2026
Three things from the latest issue.
Industry blackouts, homes spared
Since October 12, about 185 large industrial customers and about 8,900 medium-voltage ones have been off the public grid three days a week, and on October 17 the Energy Ministry extended that for a second week while keeping homes, hospitals, and schools off the schedule.
Photograph by Jfbeltranr, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Red alert, and flooding on the coast
From the red-alert declaration through 10 p.m.
Photograph by AnitaAD, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tortuga Bay closed in the afternoons
The Galápagos National Park closed Tortuga Bay, on Santa Cruz, from 3 to 6 p.m.
Photograph by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Coming up
The next dates
Cotopaxi National Park
Four worlds, one republic.
Andes, cloud forest, Amazon, and the Galápagos. A field guide for people who read before they book.
The Cotopaxi chapterPhotograph by Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0.
0°The equator
2,850 mQuito
5,897 mCotopaxi
1,000 kmTo the Galápagos
Ecuador is a capital in the clouds, a marble city in the south, a Pacific of humpback whales, and islands that rewrote biology.
Visit
Where to go
Short chapters on the places that actually explain the country.
Do
Wildlife, at a respectful distance.
The wildlife chapterRetiring in Ecuador
Thinking of staying
The 2026 guide: health cover, money, a US address, and the visa pages that outrank this site.
- Cost of living in Quito and Cuenca for retirees Money
- Health insurance for expats and retirees in Ecuador Health
- How to move money from the US to Ecuador Transfers
- Banking in Ecuador as an American Banking
- How to keep a US address and get your mail while living in Ecuador Mail
- Keeping your US phone number in Ecuador A number
- Why you need a VPN in Ecuador A connection
- Visas for a longer stay Paperwork
- Where to live in Ecuador Cities
- Renting a home A lease
Plan your trip
Three useful things
A short, practical list. Nothing here is required.
A partner
Airalo
An eSIM for Ecuador, ready before you land.
A partner
Klook
Tours and tickets across Ecuador.
The owner’s company
UIO Transfers
A private car from Mariscal Sucre Airport. Not a third-party ad.
“A partner” is a sponsored link. “A resource” goes to that company’s own homepage. UIO Transfers belongs to the owner of this site. Affiliate disclosure.