More Guayaquil

Last night we had dinner with Emma. She has been living in Ecuador for about 6 years and the last 3 in Guayaquil. She met us at our hotel and we walked to the Malecon, about 3 blocks from our hotel. The Malecon was developed in 2000 and it is a great addition to the city. It borders the river and stretches about a mile. It has shops, restaurants, places to sit, ponds, statues, fountains, playgrounds, etc. It is a vibrant place with lots of activity and plenty of security to keep it that we.

We walked to a restaurant called Resaca, which is Spanish for hangover and even though it was two for one happy hour when we arrived, we all escaped a hangover the next morning. We had a great meal and wonderful conversation with Emma about Ecuador. She gave us suggestions for what to do and what to see. Thank you, Emma.

In the morning after breakfast we went to the park across the street to see the large iguanas. They are land iguanas and they have the run of the park. Opposite the hotel across the park is a cathedral. Originally built of wood in 1547, it later burned down and was rebuilt in 1948 and has been renovated since.

The Cathedral across the park from the hotel

One of the downtown land iguanas

 

As we walked towards the Malecon we passed the government building that is an example of European architecture. Looking at it you could imagine you were in Europe, not South America. Rich and I walked from one end of the Malecon to the other and then down to the Mercado de Artisans to buy a few souvenirs before heading back to our hotel.

Rich on the Malecon

We had a late night flight to Miami so we got a bite to eat before getting a taxi to the airport, for $4. We had to wait until 8pm before the American Airlines ticket counter opened and we could check our baggage and go through security. There was a large duty free shop but we passed on that, including the alpaca ponchos. It was too hot for that.

Our flight to Miami was uneventful but not very restful. Despite having to cart our bags clear to the other end of the airport to check them in for our flight to Philadelphia and the 3 hour delay due to a bird strike issue with the plane, we did make it, but tired.