ECUADOR: THE COAST

The jewel of the Coast is Guayaquil, known to its citizens as "The Pearl of the Pacific. " Guayaquil is the largest city and commercial hub of Ecuador. It is, in fact, the largest seaport on the entire South American Pacific coast. The city was founded in 1537 by Francisco de Orellana, who further ascended to greatness by discovering the Amazon River and tracing it back from Ecuador to the Atlantic Ocean. In the ensuing centuries, the city has been sacked, destroyed or burned to the ground with some degree of regularity by pirates, marauding Spanish privateers and earthquakes. Many of the city's old wooden buildings, however, have survived these disasters and still stand in Las Peņas, the historic district of the city which has become a haven for artists and galleries.

Guayaquil boasts beautiful monuments such as the semicircle of La Rotonda where the famous liberators Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin clasp hands as they did back in 1822, and commemorating the only occasion when the two great liberators met each other. Another monument, the Moorish style clock tower, dates from 1770. The United Nations monument, various water fountains, and a great variety of tropical plants serve as the frame for this city when viewed from the river. Las Penas neighborhood, which somehow survived the procession of city disasters, is located at the foot of Cerro del Carmen and preserves the most historic section from the colonial period. Its wooden architecture brings to mind the great influence of the principal naval yards in the Pacific during the Spanish colonization. This area also has the oldest church in Guayaquil, Santo Domingo, founded in 1548 and restored in 1938. Other important churches are La Merced, San Francisco and, of course, the Cathedral.

Believe it or not, one of Guayaquil's most fascinating attractions is its cemetery (built above ground because of the water table) which dominates the skyline as you drive from the airport into the city. A hub of trade and commerce by day, by night Guayaquil becomes a lively social center with modern, top quality hotels, casinos, restaurants, clubs and shops. Close to Guayaquil are the Botanical Garden and the Cerro Blanco Wildlife Reserve. This dry forest reserve is laced with nature trails so you may view some. 160 bird species which reside there and, if you are lucky, howler monkeys, ocelots, pumas and jaguars.

North from Guayaquil is a rich archaeological area where traces of the Valdivia culture (3,400 BC. to 1,500 BC.) were unearthed and Santa Elena where the oldest cemetery in the New World (dating back to 5,000 B.C.) was excavated. You can actually visit archaeological digs still in progress in the coastal town of Salango where the artifacts are on display in an interesting museum. Salango is a part of the new Machalilla National Park encompassing 139,905 acres about 53 miles north of Guayaquil. The mean temperature in this area ranges about 75o F year around; ideal for walking and observing nature. La Plata Islands, another part of the Park, have been called a "little Galapagos." Here you can see red-footed boobies, frigate birds and other tropical species while dolphins and whales can often be seen offshore from June to November.

Machalilla contains one of the largest tropical dry forests remaining in the world.  Its unique vegetation gradually changes, as the park descends in elevation and cloud forest species begin to emerge. Finally you will discover a tropical rain forest.  Such great diversity within a small area is due to the park's location at the juncture of the cold Humboldt current flowing north and the warm El Nino current flowing south. Humpback whales migrating north along the Channel of La Plata can be easily observed from the end of June until October. Dolphins are numerous and can often be seen riding the wakes of passing boats and giving acrobatic leaps above the water. The park offers a wealth of cultural attractions as well. Hiking or driving through the park will bring you to remnants of such ancient cultures as the Manteno, which dates back to 1500 BC.  Adventurous and skillful Manteno navigators traded the treasured spondilus princeps shell up and down the Pacific coast from what is now Chile to the Maya territory in southern Mexico.  Just south of the park's border lies Valdivia the site of one of South America's oldest cultures. Pottery remains from Valdivia have been dated at between 5000 and 3500 BC. Included in Machalilla National Park is Isla de la Plata, a sanctuary for marine birds such as red-footed, blue-footed and masked boobies who share the steep cliffs with frigate birds, albatross, red-billed tropic birds and other seagoing birds. This unique and varied geography, along with the rich cultural heritage of the region, are making it one of Ecuador's most popular new vacation destinations. The 135,900 acre (55,000 hectare) park is now easily accessible via the new coastal highway.