Ecuador is a small country on the equator in the heart of South America. The land contains the world’s largest mega diversity with four distinct regions: the Amazonian rainforest to the east, the Andean highlands to the north and south, coastal plains to the west, and the Galapagos Islands off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. While the country experiences political instability caused by Spanish colonization and the fight for independence, it has a rich culture influenced by a large indigenous population with a rich history of generational craftsmanship.