an orientation to Ecuador

There are a lot more indigenous communities and different ethnic groups in the Americas than we (mostly WASP-heritage) US Americans usually realize. Ecuador is just one example, with 24 languages spoken there (as listed by Ethnologue) and at least 16 distinct cultural groups, as depicted in the map below:

The two main places where Lowland Quichua is spoken are in the Napo and Pastaza regions, shown on this second map and bordered by the Napo and Pastaza rivers:

(source of both photos)

Last summer I stayed just outside of Tena in Napo right along the riverbank, and this summer I plan to work in Puyo, which is just a little South from there. From my experience in the towns of Tena and Puyo and at the more rural field school, as well as from traveling around the country a bit, I can tell that I will have a much different setting this summer if I stay in town than I did last summer in the rainforest. I'm trying to modify my expectations, because there will be many things that change in this upcoming summer compared to the last time I was there. I will to add more pictures to make the setting clearer, so look for those in the near future.