THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMMUNITY AGUA BLANCA
Going 5km from Puerto Lopez north you will find Buena Vista and a sign marked Agua Blanca which leads you to the National park. Here there is a small village and an archaeological artifacts museum of the Manteño race with nice ceramics that is open from 0800-1800. Agua Blanca is a typical coast village with a rustic "cane guadua" (bambu) and shade palm constructions. It was an antique capital of The Señorios Manteños de Salangome where thousand of people once lived. Its citizens were excellent navigators using balsawood ships to transport commercial products between Mexico, Ecuador and Peru.
Thanks to a decade of efforts, some archaeological excavations have discovered some very relevant architectonic ruins and pre-Columbian archaeological ceramics. Some of the historical evidence is shown in an on-site museum under the community's administration. Archaeological earthenware, funeral urns, stone seats of power, ornate ceramics, and more than 600 stone building structures are exhibited in the museum. The small museum, built by the local community houses a fascinating collection of artifacts found at the site.
The classic tour starts with a visit to the site of funeral urns from the Manteña period that were exposed by a landslide, where the guide will explain more about the culture and practices of these people. This is followed by a pleasant walk through the algarrobo trees of the evergreen spiny forest along the Buenavista River, dry for half the year and then a torrent following periods of heavy rain. This valley is home to many species of birds, whose songs fill this forest. With a little luck you may even spot a large tree iguana.
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