Day 21 - a day in Guayaquil

We had a good night at the hotel in the gated suburb, but breakfast seemed very thin compared with what we’ve got used to, there was fruit, fruit juice, ham, cheese, jam and bread to toast.  After several phone calls to say Diego would be late, had arrived, hadn’t arrived, he came and knocked on our door.
As promised, he took us to the Guayaquil cemetery to see the celebration of the day of the dead.  It was chaotic, with a road closure, flower sellers and other hawkers and people everywhere decorating tombs.  Most recent tombs are stacked like niches in a crematorium but these were much bigger and contained coffins.  Some had no dedication and were saved waiting for loved ones who are still alive.

Then it was on to the city centre where we walked through towards the Malecon (the promenade) where there is a memorial to the two leaders who freed South America from the Spanish (Simon Bolivar and San Martin) and who met in Guayaquil. The weather was overcast, warm and incredibly humid, so we felt like grease spots.


The city is not very pretty as it is the main port and is almost all fairly modern.  We went on a boat trip and saw the Malecon from the water, which was interesting and really pleasant as the wind chill offset the humidity.  Diego didn’t join us on the water as his back was playing up, so we had no idea what the commentary was all about, but we had fun working out how the helm was going to get the boat in and out of the tight berth and just watching life on the river.

Our next stop was a hill at the end of the Malecon with the lighthouse on top.  From a church near the Fire Brigade museum, we set off up the hill but soon had to turn towards the sea to avoid a no-go area.  We would have had no idea, so it was just as well we had a guide.  We took an alternative route, but it was really hard work climbing up the steps so we did about 200 of the 500 total but still got excellent harbour views.

When we got back to the city centre, Diego took us to a popular lunch spot and despite wanting local fare decided on steak and chips with fried onions, a really good choice as the steak was tender and delicious.  He then took us back across the harbour bridge and to the supermarket, where we stocked up on some snacks for later and some wine for the Galapagos cruise.

We have discovered two more things about our hotel.  They aren’t doing any evening meals as it is a public holiday until the weekend, which ties up with our experience of last night, and it is near something interesting - the Parque Historico Guayaquil - so we headed off for a look.  The park is in 3 parts, a small zoo dedicated to local species, a range of reconstructed historic buildings such as a sanatorium and a chocolate hacienda and a botanical garden.  It was free and rather nice, though the weather was still very warm and humid.


And then it was back to the hotel to cool off and get all our stuff sorted out ready for the next phase of our trip, the Galapagos.

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