MATT DUTILE

Wrote and photographed “Higher Pursuits,” It was while bent over trying to catch his breath that Dutile realized Quito required a different style of travel. “You’ll want to frantically run around to do and see everything in Ecuador’s high-altitude capital,” says the New York–based photographer. “And there is indeed much to see and do. But it’s when you slow down a little, and take time to appreciate the parade of street vendors or the dazzling Spanish-era architecture, that you really begin to enjoy Quito. Your lungs will definitely thank you.” From the churchfilled colonial quarter of Centro Histórico, Dutile’s travels took him across the equator to Mashpi Lodge. “This is one of the world’s greatest ecological hot spots, filled with toucanets, motmots, rain frogs, and hundreds more species. Floating over the forest canopy in the Dragonfly cable car is sure to play on the highlight reel of my life.”