One branch of the highway from Guayaquil leads to General Villamil, better known as Playas, the nearest seaside resort to Guayaquil. Look out for the bottle-shaped ceibo (kapok) trees between Guayaquil and Playas as the landscape becomes drier, turning into tropical thorn scrub. Fishing is important in Playas and a few single-sailed balsa rafts can still be seen among the motor launches returning laden with fish. These rafts are unique, highly ingenious and very simple. Without sails, they are used to spread nets close to the shore, then two gangs of men take two to three hours to haul them in.
As the closest resort to Guayaquil, Playas is popular with city dwellers and prone to severe crowding, especially during the high season, when there are frequent promotional beach parties. The beach, 200-400 m wide, shelves gently and is lined with square canvas tents hired out for the day (US$3). There are cafés, showers, toilets and changing rooms along the beach, with fresh water, for a fee. Local authorities work at keeping the beach clean, but it is difficult when busy. Beware of thieves when it is crowded and don’t walk along the beach at night, it is not safe. Out of season or mid-week the beaches are almost empty especially for anyone who walks north up the beach towards Punta Pelado (5 km). Playas is also a popular surfing resort with six good breaks. There is an iTur (on the malecón, Tue-Fri 0800-1200, 1400-1800, Sat-Sun 0900-1600).
An interesting walk, or short drive, is to the village of El Morro, east of Playas. It has a disproportionately large wooden church built in 1737, with an impressive façade (under ‘permanent’ repair), and nearby there is the mysterious rock formation of the Virgen de la Roca, where there are a small shrine and marble stations of the cross. There is regular pickup service from the crossroads of Avenida Guayaquil and Avenida Paquisha.
Some 3 km further down the road is Puerto El Morro, up a scenic mangrove estuary in the Gulf of Guayaquil, a national wildlife sanctuary since 2007. Traditional boats can be seen here. There’s no accommodation, but a few basic eating places. Eco-club Los Delfines (contact Simón Figueroa T09-283 4542) offers mangrove tours including a visit to Islas Manglecito with thousands of frigate birds and the possibility of seeing dolphins.
Following the coast southeast, a road goes to the quiet beaches of Data de Villamil and Data de Posorja, then crosses the peninsula east to Posorja, an important fishing port on the Gulf of Guayaquil. Construction of a major new deep-water cargo port and container terminal was underway in 2009. Guayaquil–Playas buses continue to Posorja.
Northwest of Playas, up the coast, is Engabao, a small settlement where you can find deserted beaches and wooden fishing boats along the coast. There’s no food or lodging here, but there are some surf spots. A pickup goes here from the crossroads, a 30-minute bumpy ride down sandy tracks. Along this road, 1 km from Playas, is the Centro Ecológico de Playas, where you can hire horses....
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