Galapagos: Part 1 - Guayaquil

(This section of the trip log includes our arrival and our first day on our own in Guayaquil, Ecuador. You can enlarge any picture in this narrative by clicking on it - it will open in a separate window and in many cases, show detail you can't see in the smaller version.)

Thursday January 9

We drove up to Minneapolis Wednesday afternoon, got the car settled into its parking space for the trip, had supper with Katie and George at the Mexican Restaurant (Salsa a la Salsa) downstairs.  On Thursday morning we were up at 2:30 AM. (groan) and out to the curb for the cab at 3:15.  It didn't arrive, so Katie called for an Uber which DID show up and got us to the airport in plenty of time.  Note to self – forget the stupid cabs – quoted $60 and didn't show up. Uber cost us $28.

rockersBoth legs of the trip were fine.  The first one to Miami was totally full but we did buy the "Main Cabin Extra" seats so had a bit of room at least.  Apparently I was the only one who was able to sleep – I got 2 small naps in.  We then spent 4 hours in the Miami Airport but we got to walk around, have lunch at a nice Cuban restaurant (La Carreta) and rock in their nice chairs along concourse D.  (At left John was in charge of watching baggage while Katie and I had a turn wandering.)

We got to Guayaquil on time; Wilderness Travel had arranged the shuttle service from the hotel and had us there at Hotel Oro Verde in less than an hour, customs and all.  They were very efficient at immigration – no forms, just scan the passport and do stuff on the computer.

 Friday January 10

Very nice hotel - definitely a step up from the ones we typically book on our own!  Comfy bed (though John didn't like the pillows), nice fixtures, tea and kettle in room.  A very nice shower and fantastic breakfast buffet - lots of pastries, breads, rice and beans, sausage and bacon, eggs cooked to order, pancakes, fruit.  The first time through I didn't find the yogurt - it was "pourable" and so housed in a pitcher.  But once I found it, it went onto my fruit cup very nicely!

We arrived a day early, thinking it might be nice to have a day of leisure and it also gave us some travel flexibility in case of weather issues.  So today was "walk the Malecón" day.  Malecón 2000 is an urban renewal project - a riverwalk about 1.5 miles long along the Guayas riverfront and a great place for visitors to start. 

Heroes MonumentIglesiaSanFrancescoIt's about a mile from the hotel down to the river.  On the way we walked through Parque Centario, commemorating 100 years of independence from Spain.  There are numerous sculptures in the park but the large one is Columna de los Próceres - a monument to the heroes of the independence movement at the left.  We also admired Iglesia San Francisco and its accompanying square - I imagine it's quite nice all lit up at night but we are told that, while it's fine during the day, it's not very safe for tourists to walk along the city streets after dark.  The Boulevard 9 de Octubre ends at the Rotunda (commemorating a meeting of Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín in 1822) which John is admiring at the left below.

rotunda   botanical garden   iguana
From the Rotunda, we walked south through the Botanical Garden area (center),  saw the first iguana of the trip (right), a colorful play area, flea market type booths and assorted rides.  Katie scored "best find of the day" when she found a bottle of water from a vending machine for only 40 cents – and it even gave us change for 2 quarters!

singing in the rainValdiviaWe spent an hour or so at the MCAA (Museum of Contemporary Art and Anthropology) which is both free and air conditioned!  It includes a nice children's area, some very interesting modern artwork and a collection of artifacts beginning around 3000 BC.  I particularly liked the exhibit of Valdivia figurines and their evolution over the ages.  One of the video art exhibits caught my attention (for the first time ever) - this was a short (4 minute) video by Berna Reale of someone in full haz-mat protection, twirling an umbrella, dancing along a red carpet through a garbage dump to the tune of "Dancing in the Rain."  A still clip is at left above.  I was also amused by the idea of a "modern Valdivia" (at right).

Las Penascobblestone streetWe had lunch at a food court near the museum - some good local "plates."  Katie headed back to the hotel then (it was still early afternoon so quite safe) and John and I walked over to lower levels of Las Peñas (seen at left from near the museum), though my feet were already aching (poor choice of footwear for today's walking) so I knew I wasn't up to climbing to the top!  This is the oldest neighborhood in Guayaquil, which, thanks to urban renewal in the early 2000's,  is now home to small colorful cafes, galleries, boutiques along cobblestone streets (pictured at right) connected by 444 steps up to the lighthouse.  We did, however, go far enough to find a lovely painting, small enough for our house, featuring some yellow trees that just "pop out" at Galeria Antonio Mafaldo. 

night heroncrosswalksAt the foot of the hill we discovered a family of yellow crowned night herons.  There were just a few trees but apparently they were nesting there as we saw quite a few in a very small area.  Another new bird to check off!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for some gelato (very good) and enjoyed some of the art work in the crosswalks (example at right).  This was between 3 and 4 PM and the traffic was astounding. There were police directing at all of the major intersections because the lights just weren't enough to deal with both cars and pedestrians!

We had supper in Le Gourmet (in the hotel).  It's their upscale dining room and is priced as such but I didn't find it as good as it should have been.  The dessert was great but the chicken was somewhat dry.  Fortunately it came with a sauce so that helped.

The next morning we were shuttled back to the airport to fly to the smaller Galapagos airport on Baltra to begin our explorations there!