The museum is set over five floors and housed in a specially-built structure -- striking for its bold lines and contemporary feel– takes visitors on a cultural journey through the indigenous highland Indian, Amazonian Indian, Afro-Ecuadorian and ‘montubian’ (coastal) worlds.

At Mindalae guests can not only appreciate the ability, creativity and ancestral traditions of Ecuador’s artisans, but are also able to acquire the handcrafts made by 107 creators from all the country, under the concept of Fair-Commerce.

There is an ample display of the creations of Ecuador’s Amazon peoples, like the Shuar, Ashuar, Zapara, Waorani, Siona and Secoya and a permanent exhibition of 28 stone plaques with engravings or petroglyphs representing the Amazonian primitive Rock Art.

Its Cafeteria serves Ecuadorian specialties. It opens from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 at the corner of Reina Victoria and La Niña streets in northern Quito. www.sinchisacha.org.

With the closing of the San Cristobal airport and to continue providing a rewarding service with a memorable itinerary, we requested some adjustments to our current route aboard the M/V Santa Cruz, which were approved by the Galapagos National Park until the San Cristobal airport reopens.  

In a nutshell, these changes include:

• Arriving guests on Monday spend time at the highlands of Santa Cruz Island (lunch included), in route to the Charles Darwin Research Station; they need to be properly dressed and equipped for the afternoon outing.
  
• Wednesdays visits will be Rabida (Jervis) Island AM and North Seymour.
  
• On Thursdays, we head to the east of the archipelago, and visit both lowlands and highlands of San Cristobal Island.  This is our chance to see giant tortoises up in the highlands.
  
• Guests arriving on Friday we start the expedition with a site on the northern coast of Santa Cruz Island called Las Bachas Beach.

The rest of the itinerary remains unchanged, including the optional early visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station for guests departing on Monday morning.  Beaches, snorkeling sites, lectures, whale watching, and glass-bottom boat outings have not gone through any changes. Please visit www.galapagosvoyage.com for complete itineraries

The President of Ecuador declared the conservation and the environmental handling of the ecosystems of Galapagos a national priority.

Metropolitan Touring fully supports all actions toward the conservation of the Galapagos Archipelago and adheres to the wishes of the President to stop all kinds of illegal activity in the islands. Our company will contribute in every possible way in the discussion and definition of a proposal that will fulfill these expectations.

The Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador has issued a statement saying that the Presidential Decree 270 does not affect any tour operations that currently take place, under the proper controls, in the Galapagos Islands. At present, all tourism activity in the Galapagos Islands is being carried out normally and in accordance with the current regulations that prioritize the conservation of the archipelago’s eco-system.

Ecuador ’s Ministry of Tourism is also currently developing Plandetur 2020, a master plan that will set guidelines regulating the tourism activity in all of Ecuador in order to guarantee a sustainable development of the tourism industry in the country, aimed at preserving its numerous natural wonders, the cultural heritage of its native populations, as well as expand the economy.

The airport at San Cristobal Island in the Galápagos will be closed until July 9, 2007 for repairs of the runway.

During this time itineraries of Metropolitan’s MV SANTA CRUZ will be slightly modified to accommodate the operation via the airport on Baltra Island.