Loja is very pleasant

At 7000ft (2100m) Loja, Ecuador is hot by day, cool by night, and dry. It is not on the typical gringo trail and it looks to be nice city to live in. Parks, public transportation, and cool architecture really sell a city to us.

But the highlight is the orchid garden at the Reynaldo Espinoza Botanical Garden. A lot of the flowers are small and not so brilliantly colored. I suspect they are native, not hybrids. And it is completely outside, not in a greenhouse. I had a lot of fun going around spotting flowers, pretending I was on an "orchid safari" as I had recently learned that there are tours to see orchids in situ in the forest.

Various orchids at the Reynaldo Espinoza Botanical Garden.






Eduardo Dega tiles ring this fuente (fountain) in Parque de la Independencia.


A couple of buses pulling up to an enclosed stop which is part of Loja's mass transit system called Situ (Sistema Integrado de Transporte Urbano). The right-hand lane is dedicated to Situ buses.


The stations are at the level of the bus floor, so you can step right on to the bus through the wide, mid-bus doors.


Restored Colonial buildings at the corner of Lourdes and Bolivar.


The outstanding Art Deco Provincial Government Building.