Bahía de Caráquez
Encyclopedia
La Villa de San Antonio de Caráquez, known simply as Bahía de Caráquez or Bahía, is a coastal city in the Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

ian province of Manabí
Manabí Province
Manabí is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Portoviejo. The province is named after the Manabí people.-Economy:Manabí's economy is based heavily on natural resources such as cacao, bananas, cotton, etc. It's industrial sector is based on Tuna canning, tobacco, and alcoholic beverage production...

. The city is located on a sandy peninsula on the country's western coast at the mouth of the Río Chone
Chone River
-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.* *...

. It has seen significant development during the last 15 to 20 years, particularly because it has become a vacation destination for people from Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...

 and Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...

.

Bahía became an Ecocity on February 23, 1999 due to the devastation caused by two natural disasters in 1997 and 1998. The city features the world's first certified-organic
Organic certification
Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, [food] processors, retailers and restaurants.Requirements vary...

 shrimp farm.

Across the Rio Chone is the city of San Vicente. Locals cross the river by bridge and boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...

.
The bridge was completed as of November 2010.

Bahia differs greatly from the neighboring San Vicente. Featuring great condominiums and hotels the city is a popular tourist destination for the wealthy.

The city also boasts a well-known archeological museum, which displays artifacts found in Manabi
Manabí Province
Manabí is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Portoviejo. The province is named after the Manabí people.-Economy:Manabí's economy is based heavily on natural resources such as cacao, bananas, cotton, etc. It's industrial sector is based on Tuna canning, tobacco, and alcoholic beverage production...

 from very different periods. The collection includes statues
Statues
Statues is a popular children's game, often played in Australia but with versions throughout the world.-General rules:# A person starts out as the "Curator" and stands at the end of a field. Everyone else playing stands at the far end...

 from the Valdivia culture
Valdivia Culture
The Valdivia Culture is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas. It emerged from the earlier Las Vegas culture and thrived on the Santa Elena peninsula near the modern-day town of Valdivia, Ecuador between 3500 BC and 1800 BC....

as well as several other lesser-known historical communities.

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