Tungurahua volcano - Ecuador

 A few weeks ago I went to the collectors fair in my city and saw, literally, thousands of cheap cards. However I only bought 14. I was surprisingly very selective. Only 14 but I think I bought some interresting cards. One of them was my 2nd card of the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador. I got the 1st one many years ago, from a UNESCO swap. This volcano is part of the Sangay National Park, a UNESCO WHS since 1983.

Tungurahua is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. It is one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes. Three major volcanic edifices have been sequentially constructed since the mid-Pleistocene over a basement of metamorphic rocks. Tungurahua II was built within the past 14,000 years following the collapse of the initial edifice. Tungurahua II itself collapsed about 3000 years ago and produced a large debris-avalanche deposit and a horseshoe-shaped caldera open to the west, inside which the modern glacier-capped stratovolcano (Tungurahua III) was constructed. 

 

 Foto: Isabel Wuth

Tungurahua causes many tremors in the nearby city of Banos. Tungurahua has had at least seventeen eruptions in historical times. Prior to a long-term eruption beginning in 1995 that caused the temporary evacuation of the city of Banos at the foot of the volcano, the last major eruption had occurred from 1916 to 1918, although minor activity continued until 1925. - in: https://volcano.oregonstate.edu

EC-1702

What a nice surprise i had a few days ago!! My 1st official from Ecuador, only my 5th card from this card. All the cards, from all the countries are more than welcome in my mailbox but its a nice feeling to get a card from a not so common place. 

This a card from the Chimbacalle Station in Quito, Ecuador's capital. 

In 2011 Quito elected its "Seven Wonders" and Chimbacalle Station has taken the first place from a list of 36 atracctions in the city.

EC-1702, sent by Paola. 

The first Ecuadorian train, built by General Eloy Alfaro, roared into Quito on June 25, 1908 and thus fulfilled the long-sought dream of uniting the important port city of Guayaquil on the Pacific coast with the capital city in the Andes.

Most sections of the Ecuadorian railway network have lain dormant for decades but this  train station is once again fully functional and shines brightly as one of the most important tourist attractions in Quito. Since 2011, it has also been the starting point for four different tourist routes into the country’s interior. This makes the train station a key starting point for tourists who would like to use Quito as a base for discovering this small but very diverse Andean country.

The station was fully restored without modifying the original architecture. The colonial style has been completely preserved and is evident in the large windows, the massive girders and the wooden doors with their decorated high reliefs. The main entrance still preserves the colorful ceramics of the era. - in: http://www.ftnnews.com/other-news/14167-chimbacalle-train-station-comes-first-in-a-contest-to-name-the-seven-wonders-of-quito.html

Cuenca - Ecuador

I have 4 cards from Ecuador and all of them are from Unesco sites, one from each site. Cuenca was the only site i was still missing but now with this card sent by Agata, i've all the sites from this country!!! Having all the sites from a certain country, always makes me happy...

The Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca is on the WHS list since 1999.

Photo by Patricio Hidalgo

The Old Cathedral of Cuenca or Iglesia del Sagrario (Church of the Shrine) in Cuenca was the main place of Spanish worship during the time of Spanish colonization; it functions today as the Museum for Religious Art. It is located at the Parque Calderon, opposite the New Cathedral.

Planning for the church started in 1557 and construction began ten years later, using stones for the foundation and walls from the ruins of Tomebamba. During the colonial period the church was the main center of worship for the "Parish of the Spaniards"; it was reserved for the people from Spain, while indigenous people had to stay outside or worship elsewhere. 

 In 1787 the bishopric was established in Cuenca, and the church became a cathedral. The new tower erected in 1868 carries a memorial plate: "Torre más célebre que las pirámides de Egipto" (Tower more famous than the Egyptian pyramids) in reference to the use of the old tower as a key reference point for the French Geodesic Mission in 1736, which determined the arc of the meridian. In 1880 construction for the New Cathedral was begun.

With the consecration of the New Cathedral, the Old Cathedral ceased to be used for regular services. After a major renovation that started in 1999 the Old Cathedral serves today as the "Museum for Religious Art" and a venue for concerts and cultural events. - in: wikipedia

Galapagos Islands - Ecuador

My quest for new unesco cards continues. Yesterday i was organizing my spanish cards and found a Siega Verde card i didn't know i had :o Cards from this site are not that easy to find! It was a very good surprise.

Today i've received another great card, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, send by Steffi. I've 3 of the 4 sites from there, i'm only missing Cuenca. The birds on the card are blue-footed boobies.

Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 km from the South American continent, these 19 islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique ‘living museum and showcase of evolution’. Located at the confluence of three ocean currents, the Galápagos are a ‘melting pot’ of marine species. Ongoing seismic and volcanic activity reflects the processes that formed the islands. These processes, together with the extreme isolation of the islands, led to the development of unusual animal life – such as the land iguana, the giant tortoise and the many types of finch – that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection following his visit in 1835. - in: www.whc.unesco.org/en/lis/1

Quito - Ecuador

This is my 2nd card from Ecuador and like the 1st one, is also from an Unesco site, in this case, the city of Quito, the capital city. Quito, along with Krakow, were the first World Heritage Sites declared by Unesco in 1978.

The card was sent from Croatia by "ddonkey".

"Quito has the largest Historic Centre, least-altered and best-preserved in the Americas. The Historic Centre of Quito is located in the center south of the capital on an area of ​​three hundred twenty hectares, and is considered one of the most important historic areas in Latin America. Has about 130 monumental constructions (which hosts a variety of pictorial art and sculpture, mostly of religious inspired in a multi-faceted range of schools and styles) and five thousand properties registered in the municipal inventory of heritage properties. Unfortunately for several years has been somewhat neglected, which contributed to the deterioration of many of its buildings and surrounding streets to see invaded by informal trade. This not only played down beauty but also contributed to the sector has become unsafe. But now everything has changed thanks to the program that the Corporation of Development of the Historic Center is pushing to return to this place its glory of past years.

Walking through the historic centre of Quito today, now that it has been almost completely recovered, it has again become a pleasant experience. The Corporation of Development of the Historic Center, is responsible for the restoration and conservation of churches, streets and plazas of this place. It have implemented several tourist sites that invite to visit the Historic Center on a trip to the past, which is not only tourism but also educational. To this end, members of the Municipal Police have been trained to serve as guides in those tours. At night, when the lights turn on the city it can stroll through downtown in a horse-drawn carriage to the colonial style." - in: wikipedia