Guayaquil and the Pacific Coast

Few foreign visitors see Ecuador's Pacific coast beyond the view from the plane window as they head out to the Galápagos Islands. If you have the time, this is the center of the country's development—all economic roads lead to Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city—and vacation culture—the tourism industry here touts the south coast as the Ruta del Sol ("route of the sun"), a string of beach resorts, still modest at this stage, but growing in number all the time.