Port Description

Esmeraldas, Ecuador

Esmeraldas means emeralds, which aptly describes the color of the tropical jungles that permeate this northwest corner of Ecuador. Up until the mid-1960s, no roads led here; the tangled vegetation was too dense. The only way to arrive was by sea or mangrove, in a canoe. Rivers rush through the thicket from town to town, some of which are quaint and quiet, others hop with markets and discos. Throughout, the sultry beats of Afro-Ecuadorian "marimba" music add further heat to that of the equator.