I would like to welcome you to the Ecuador Expats Forum. This forum is for the sharing of information about visiting, volunteering, living, working, or retiring in Ecuador. This group is primarily for those already living in Ecuador to discuss common issues or concerns, and also for those who are considering Ecuador as a place of residency. It is my hope that members of this group will relate true life experiences that are entertaining, factual, objective, and informative.

Please respect others and refrain from arguing about religion or politics, or any other topic unrelated to living, volunteering, working, or retiring in Ecuador. Of course, sometimes politics may be pertinent (such as news content about the region), or religious topics may be of interest to the group (such as festivals, NGO projects, etc...), so please use good judgment when posting about these things and try to do so objectively and impartially.

Vulgarity, profanity and indecent material are strictly prohibited and will result in such material being removed and the offender being banned from the group.


Sincerely,

Deborah Millard


Photo: Is of the main buildings.
Chirije (chee-ree-hey) is the newest and most attractive ecological and archaeological park along the Ecuadorian coast. Completed in 1996, Chirije is surrounded by 238 hectares of Dry Tropical Forest and miles of unspoiled beaches. This valley was the home of many consecutive pre-Columbian settlements.

Chirije is one of the many interesting archaeological sites of coastal Ecuador. The archaeologist Emilio Estrada discovered the site in the 1950s, and named a new culture called the Chirije Culture here. (Found in Arqueologia de Manabi Central, 1962). Chirije, an ancient seaport, was the site of the great settlement of the Bahia culture (500 B.C.- 500 A.D.). These seafaring merchants traded skillfully crafted ornaments or whole shells as far north as Mexico and as far south as Chile, for gold, copper and other precious items.