Santa Rosa, Ecuador - Polarsteps

Santa Rosa, Ecuador: Population: around 85,000. The city didn't really start to grow substantially until the 20th century. The economy is based on shrimp farming, bananas, livestock, agriculture, some mining, and commerce. Way back when, before the area was called Santa Rosa, there were two or three different groups of people living here, people who had previously been ruled by the Incas. There have been remains of their settlements found in the area of Santa Rosa. The "city" dates back to the mid-1500s but the conquering Spaniards didn't follow the regulations for founding a new city, so there are no founding documents. Some historians say the city was officially founded in 1600, and then a second time in 1617. So, my impressions: Santa Rosa is a typical agricultural and coastal town, meaning there's nothing particularly interesting here and the place is virtually covered in sandy dust. I think the store owners have basically given up on keeping the sidewalks in front of their businesses clean, judging by the dirty sidewalks. This town has no interesting parks, no ecological areas, nothing even related to such things. the few parks it has are small and just neighborhood parks, dusty, dirty, and grey. There are two plazas, both of which are nice but nothing more. The one old church has no plaza of its own, though there is a small park across the street from it. The climate is definitely nice, though.