Esmeraldas (City)

V!VA User‘s Description

Despite its rather alluring name, there is nothing much to attract even the most daring adventurer to Esmeraldas. The city is a dirty, depressing industrial port. Part of the blame must reside with a series of mudslides in 1997-1998, which destroyed much of the town and area. Whatever the reason, the city of Esmeraldas is no one's idea of a tourist destination. Oppressive heat and humidity, paired with a reputation for being unsafe, mean the city is more suitable for brief stopovers than longer stays. Dusty streets packed with a mechanical menagerie of buses, cars and taxis crisscross through town, passing street vendors, mom-and-pop stores, fruit and vegetable stalls and a variety of look-alike local restaurants along the way.

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