Dominic Hamilton (site & features)
Traveler's Ecuador Companion
(2nd ed. with Derek Davies)
The Globe Pequot Press, Dec 2001

Dominic was born in London, but was irrevocably affected by watching too many episodes of the cult British children's TV programme "Mr Benn" (right>) when he was little. He has since spent most of his adult life trying to emulate Mr Benn's ability to visit the costume shop down the road, walk through the back door, and find himself in the midst of a foreign adventure.

Dominic, a master's graduate of the Institute of Latin American Studies in London, wrote the first edition to the award-winning Traveler's Venezuela Companion, and is co-author of the Traveler's Ecuador Companion, and the Traveler's Russia Companion.

As a writer and photographer, he sells articles to UK & US publications, contributes to photo libraries, and works as a TV documentary producer and promotional video director/producer. He is Contributing Editor of South American Explorer magazine and gives regular talks at the Quito clubhouse.

He now lives in Quito with his wife and first child (named Julian, but not necessarily after the man below...!). He works as a Quito Visitors' Bureau's International Media Relations Officer, as well as continuing to work for guidebook publishers, newspapers and magazines in the US, UK and Latin America.

>> www.nomadom.net

Julian Smith (Features)
Moon Handbooks: Ecuador
Moon Travel Handbooks, 2nd ed., 2001

Julian Smith is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer specializing in travel and science. He is a co-founder of On Your Own Publications and helped launch and edit Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, an international peer- reviewed scientific journal.

A former naturalist guide and Canyonlands National Park ranger, Julian is the author of four travel guidebooks and has contributed to five others.

His writing and photography have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and many other print and online publications. His work has been syndicated worldwide by The New York Times.

Moon Handbooks Four Corners, his most recent guidebook, won the 2004 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for Best Guidebook from the Society of American Travel Writers.

Born and raised in New York, Julian has earned degrees in biology and wildlife ecology from the University of Virginia and Utah State University. He lives in Santa Fe, NM, where he gets outside as much as humanly possible.

>> www.juliansmith.com

We regret we cannot answer travel questions free of charge. Please buy one (or all!) of our guidebooks. If you still can't find the answer you're looking for, then contact us. Many thanks.

Try posting a message on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, the South American Explorers' Bulletin Board, or consult our links page. For serious environment or eco travel queries, submit a post to the Planeta Ecuador forum.

If you are a writer considering contributing to the site, please get in touch with Dominic Hamilton.