Central & South Coast - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 276

Santa Elena Peninsula. In Salinas , there is a centrally located
Pacífictel, as well as Internet access at Café Planet (Av. 10 and Calle
25) and a couple of banks, including Banco del Pacífico (Enriquez be-
tween Calles 18 and 19) and Banco de Guayaquil (travelers checks, Visa
and Amex), on the Malecón. The post office is on Calle 17 and Av. 2.
Touring & Sightseeing
The Central Coast -
from North to South
Bahía de Caráquez & Vicinity
Better known as Bahía, this is an attractive coastal resort
town that claims to be the entrance to Ecuador. Legend
states that a tribe named the “Caras” arrived in Bahía de
Caráquez aboard balsa wood sailing vessels, having come
“from where the sun sets.” This was recounted by Ecuador's earliest
historian, the Jesuit priest Juan de Velasco, in The History of the
Kingdom of Quito (1789). The Spanish founded Bahía de Caráquez in
1624 as the second major port for Spanish exports. Now it doubles as
a small port city and shrimp-farming community. The new hotels are
a good indicator that tourismdominates its economy at this point. It's
just a hop north via ferry, across the mouth of the Río Chone, to end-
less miles of sandy beaches.
Bahía remains a small and clean town of under 20,000 people, worth
a visit if only to admire the setting (though there is plenty to do for a
short stay). In fact, Bahía has become something of a model for sus-
tainable development. As a result, the people here are much more
conscious of environmental and community development issues than
in other places throughout the country. Ecotourism has emerged in
an effort to create sustainable jobs, while educating both locals and
foreign travelers about preserving the region's precious biological di-
versity and a healthy urban community.
Anice day excursion is the short boat ride to Isla de Fragatas , where
mangroves, nesting frigate birds and other wildlife live (see Eco-
Travel , page 291).
Better beaches and family-style hotels and bungalows are across the
bay in the smaller coastal town of SanVicente , along themain street
near the beach. The setting here is a bit more relaxed than in Bahía,
and you can save money with larger groups in the family-oriented