The
capital of
Sucumbios,
the country's
second youngest
province,
Lago
Agrio
has
yet to reach
its thirtieth
birthday.
Originally
founded by
Lojanos looking
for a new
life in the
east [its
official name
is Nueva Loja],
it was used
by Texaco
in the late
1960s as a
base for oil
exploration,
and took its
nickname from
Sour Lake
in Texas,
the company's
original headquarters.
Lago, as it
is often called
by its 30,000
or so locals,
has a hot
and bustling
centre along
its main street,
Avenida Quito,
where the
high-fronted
buildings
seem a little
grandiose
for a hard-edged
frontier town.
A couple of
blocks to
the north
and fronted
by a simple
church is
Lago's park
– just about
the only gesture
to greenery
you'll find.
At 250km from
Quito
and only
21km from
the Colombian
border, the
town is not
the jungle
outpost it
once was.
Colonisation
and oil exploitation
in the area
has been rapid.
Only scraps
of forest
remain for
many miles
around, particularly
to the south
where oil
pipelines
crisscross
the landscape
down to Coca
and beyond.
Around 15,000
people from
the Cofan
tribe lived
in this area
when Texaco
moved into
the
area. However,
the Cofan
were among
the worst
hit by the
industry.
Thanks to
the effects
of disease
and displacement
they now number
only a few
hundred, squeezed
into five
small communities.
Three of these
are in the
forests on
the Rio Aguarico.
At Lago's
Sunday market
(located between
Avenida Quito
and Avenida
Amazonas)
some Cofan
come wearing
traditional
dress - a
long tunic
and sometimes
a headdress
for the men.
The women
wear colourful
blouses, skirts
and jewellery
to trade their
produce. Their
craftwork
includes hammocks,
bags and occasionally
necklaces
made from
animal teeth,
colourful
insects or
birds' beaks.
Oil remains
the reason
for Lago Agrio's
existence.
But even though
the town itself
is of little
interest,
the basic
infrastructure
of hotels,
paved roads
and transport
links that
arrived with
the industry
have given
tourism a
foothold here.
Just 40km
west of the
Reserva
Faunistica
Cuyabeno,
Lago
Agrio has
become the
main access
point to vast
expanses of
forest, encouraging
new tour operators
to open every
year.
Last
updated 21st
June 2006
