Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Coast
History
Several thousand years ago Ecuador's south coast was
moist and filled with lush vegetation, much the way the
north coast is today. Early farmers (3000 to 1500 BC) set-
tled in the area and cultivated a variety of fruits and vege-
tables. Years of farming and shifts in climatic patterns slowly altered
the landscape, but it wasn't until recent history - with the introduc-
tion of cacao plantations, bananas, and shrimp farms - that the far-
reaching and permanent changes occurred. These new ways of life,
along with increased population growth and development, have
changed the land significantly.
Flora & Fauna
Marshy grasslands and swamps command the coastal
floodplains during the rainy season, while the coast itself
is rich in Pacific marine life and seabirds, including peli-
cans and frigate birds. An island excursion from Puerto
López to Isla de la Plata provides the opportunity to witness whales
and dolphins from mid-June through October, as well as red- and
blue-footed boobies, gulls, terns, and petrels. These are some of the
prize species that people travel to the Galápagos to see.
Mangrove forests continue to provide habitat for marine animals and
shorebirds in a few areas along the coast where they have not been re-
placed by shrimp farms. The remaining tropical dry forests are home
to many endemic species, including cacti and bush-dwelling birds. In
Machalilla National Park, for example, barren vegetation includes
similar species to those found in the Galápagos, such as opuntia cac-
tus and palo santo trees. In fact, Isla de La Plata, just offshore in the
park, is known as the “Poor Man's Galápagos,” though more for the
similar bird life than anything else. The coastal cloud forests provide
habitat for exotic creatures such as howler monkeys, predatory cats,
nocturnal kinkajous, and tropical birds like toucans and humming-
birds. Bromeliads, orchids, and strangler fig trees fill the canopy and
even the insects are spectacular, with electric-blue morpho butter-
flies, powerful leaf-cutter ants, and giant purple bird-eating spiders.
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