Central & South Coast - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 303

South of Guayaquil is Machalá , the capital of El Oro province and
home to a half-million people. This isn't a particularly attractive des-
tination itself, though there are possible coastal excursions from
here. The main activity in this region is agricultural, primarily ba-
nana plantations, as well as shrimp farming and export. For the most
part, Machalá is stopping point on the way to Peru.
History
Though coastal natives fought well and resisted the earli-
est Spaniards , they fell to Francisco Orellana and
Guayaquil was founded in 1547. In fact, the city was
named after the last Indian chief, Guayas, and his wife,
Quil, who committed suicide rather than submit to the Spanish,
which was an assured death anyway. Developed as a port city and
built around cocoa, bananas, and other exports, Guayaquil - even
during the colonial era - maintained more contact with the outside
world than other cities. Since themid-19th century it has been the lib-
eral political and economic powerhouse behind coastal Ecuador. As
the colonial bureaucrats in Quito lost power, Guayaquil was already
coming into its own as a major international export and trade center.
Leaders from Guayaquil were the voices of liberation for the country
and joined forces with freedom fighters from neighboring countries.
Ever since, opposing socio-economic and political perspectives have
forced Quito and Guayaquil into conflict. Today, Guayaquil boasts
the largest urban population in the country and, arguably, the great-
est economic power.
Flora & Fauna
Although Guayaquil is very much an urban center, a few
small reserves around the city offer examples of native
vegetation common to this area. Just south around
Machalá is the region's largest intact mangrove forest,
while a short distance away in the opposite direction is Cerro Blanco
with a reserve of tropical dryland forest. Continuing north along the
coast and inland, in the Chongón Colonche Mountains, are some of
the country's healthiest cloud forests, complete with a mind-blowing
array of birds, as well as howler monkeys and predatory cats (see
pages 284-85).