Milagro, Ecuador - Polarsteps

Milagro, Ecuador: Around 135,000 live in the city of San Francisco de Milagro. The city is known as the "sweetest land in Ecuador" because of its sugar cane and pineapple farming. Milagro sits about 45 kilometers (28 miles) east of Guayaquil and is considered a bedroom city of Guayaquil. Milagro dates back to 1786. The story is that a couple, María de Salcedo and her husband Don Miguel de Salcedo, had moved from the mountains down into the plains of the river, and María got sick. An indigenous neighbor gave Don Miguel some roots and told him how to make a potion with them, which he did, and he gave the potion to María. She was healed of the deathly illness. The people living in the area began calling their home "the house of the miracle." In 1786, Don Miguel asked the governor of Guayaquil if they could name the area of their home and neighbors "Milagro" (miracle). And so started the town of Milagro. Archeologists have found that the indigenous people have lived in this area since at least 500 AD. It was the Spanish conquest in 1526 that ended their civilization. In 1874 one of Ecuador's first railroads crossed Milagro which did wonders for the growth of the town. In 1879 electricity was introduced to the town, which also happened to be the first town in Ecuador to have electricity. So, my impressions: Milagro is a small city, it has everything needed to live here, including a new mall. The city center is much larger than I expected and surprisingly busy. There are some nice parks and plazas.