Introduction to Hassanda Coffee Garden in Ecuadorian Coffee producing area

Ecuador uses a decimal metric unit of measurement and the temperature is measured in Celsius. But the weight is measured in pounds, and liquids (such as gasoline and diesel) are measured in gallons. Catholicism. Catholicism has been the main traditional religion in Ecuador since colonial times. Many churches have become famous tourist attractions because of their historical, architectural and artistic value. [national flag and national emblem] the national flag is made up of yellow, blue and red, with the national emblem painted in the middle. (see figure below) Economic indicators (2005) [GDP] $36.243 billion (2005). Of these, oil and minerals accounted for 23.6%, trade 15%, manufacturing 12.5%, transportation and communications 9.8%, agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery 8.2%, construction 7.3%, real estate and enterprise activities 5. 9%, government, national defense and social security 4.6%, education 3%, financial intermediation 2.9%. [per capita output value] US $2743.00 (2005) [economic growth rate] 3.93% [government budget] US $16.401 billion. [external debt] $11.25 billion in public debt and $8.075 billion in private debt (April 2006). [inflation rate] the annual inflation rate is 3.14%. [bank interest rate] the statutory bank interest rate is determined by the Central Bank of Ecuador and is the average reference rate set by the Ecuadorian financial system. In June 2006, when the central bank's benchmark interest rate was 2.93% 1535, Frey Thomas de Belanga of Spain and others stumbled upon the Galapagos Islands. Thomas was born in 1487 on the Douro River in the province of Soria, Spain, and was the fourth bishop of Panama at that time. He was ordered to go to Peru. When his ship set sail from Panama on February 23, under the impact of a strong current, they were taken to the unknown sea, and on March 10, they discovered a small island in the Galapagos Islands. At that time, there were only two days of fresh water left on the ship, and the sailors landed in lifeboats and found a large number of seals, sea turtles, giant tortoises that could carry people, and iguanas that looked like venomous snakes, but they did not find fresh water, so they sailed to another larger island more than 20 kilometers away. As there was still no wind, it took them several days to get there, and the water ran out quickly and they had to starve, including the horses on the boat without grass.

When Thomas and the crew landed on the island, they were frantically looking for water and were so thirsty that they squeezed juice from the fat leaves of the cactus to drink. At last a source of water was found in a rocky gully. Thomas attributed it to the gift of God, because it was good Friday, and they had piously celebrated mass before they set out in search of water. But Thomas will never know that the island they landed on is the only island in the Galapagos archipelago that has plenty of fresh water, today's St. Cristobal Island (Saint Cristobal).