2020 Travel the World - Week 6

I started a Travel the World Series last year. (It should be noted that I did a similar thing in 2018, only it was the 50 states.) For 50 weeks in 2019, I visited a different country (virtually) and shared facts about that country. I then selected one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. Fifty weeks; fifty countries... BUT there are 195 countries in the world so that was just a little over 25% of them. Of course I couldn't stop, so this year I'm continuing with fifty more countries, one per week.

This week's country is...

Ecuador

Ecuador is a small country in northwestern South America. It is located just south of Columbia and north of Peru. 

It is one of only two countries in South America that does not share a border with Brazil.

The country is divided into 4 geographical regions – coastal lowlands, mountain highlands, eastern jungle lowlands, and the Galapagos Islands.

Forming a part of the landscape of the country are the Galápagos Islands, situated in the Pacific.

Ecuador is the smallest country in the Andean highlands.

Ecuador is the only country in the world named after a geographical feature. The official name of Ecuador is República del Ecuador, which literally means “The Republic of the Equator.” The equator runs through the country and, in fact, there’s a large monument about 45 minutes away from Quito where you can stand in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.

One of the most interesting facts about Ecuador is that there are at least 14 recognized languages spoken in the country. 

Water at Quito boils at 90 degree Celsius, rather than 100 degrees Celsius, because of altitude.

The first female president, Rosalia Arteaga served for only 2 days.

Voting is mandatory to citizens aged between 18–65 in Ecuador.

Ecuador has many active volcanoes.

The summit of Mount Chimborazo, Ecuador’s highest mountain, is the point on Earth closest to the sun. Due to the mountain’s location along the equatorial bulge, its summit is the farthest point from the Earth’s core. This also means that Ecuador is the closest country to space.

The national tree of Ecuador is the Cinchona tree which produces Quinine, the first drug used to prevent and treat malaria.

The national flower is the rose.

Over 25,000 plant species are found in Ecuador. In fact, 10% of all the plant species in the world are grown there.

That iconic Panama Hat you love is actually from Ecuador. Panama hats are woven hats made from toquilla palm plants—plants notable for strong, durable fibers. The hats are made in Ecuador and originated from humble regions, despite their dashing imagine today. These famous woven hats were traditionally worn in Andean and coastal regions of Ecuador as far back as the mid-1600s.

Ecuador is the world’s largest exporter of bananas, accounting for up to 29% of all bananas exported in 2011.

The majority of the balsa wood in the world comes from Ecuador.

Forty percent of adults in Ecuador don’t have bank account.

Lunch is the largest meal of the day in Ecuador.

Seventy-four percent of Ecuador population is Roman Catholic.

I decided to let this Ecuador fact be the inspiration for this week's card... There are more mobile phones than people in Ecuador.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Sugar Pea Designs Picture Perfect stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Ballet Blue CS and DP from my scrap file

Embellishments; AMuse Studio Rhinestones