We grit our teeth and drove through to Guayaquil

Trip Start Jan 28, 2008
1
71
83
Trip End Sep 18, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow
Where I stayed
Hostal Montesa
(Guayaquil hotels)

Flag of Ecuador  ,
Friday, July 25, 2008

Guayaquil is Ecuadorīs biggest city (not the capital though). We arrived here after changing buses in Tumbes earlier Friday morning (having spent all Thursday night driving from Trujillo). There was really no need to stay in Peru any longer, so we just grit our teeth (the bus rattles) and kept going until we got here.

We found a hostal room for $15 a night. There are no windows or air-con though, so its a bit humid. We headed out that night to enjoy the cool breeze along the river front, where half of the city population was celebrating Guayaquil Foundation Day! We missed the fireworks, but everyone was happy and in a good mood.

After a big sleep, we hit the travel agents on Saturday to try and organise a trip to the Galapagos. Douglas at Centro Viagar was really helpful, and gave us a few options. His best option was a $1700 trip including airfaires on the Santa Cruz, a luxury cruiser with 90 passengers and a jacuzzi! However, we resisted the temptation to book on the spot, and waited until Monday. After a bit more leg work, we actually found a tour in the end with Andres at Galasam Travel. The price was the same, but the dates suited us better. We are booked on a first-class motor yacht (Fragata) with a 16 passenger carrying capacity.

So, we leave on Thursday for the islands. Which left us with a little bit too long to waste in Guayaquil. There is only so much you can do in a big, busy city. We bought snorkelling gear. We have been trying to organise a few things for our wedding in January. And we have been eating A LOT of fruitshakes. The 3 Canastas is the most amazing fruit cafe EVER!

We also visited the Simon Bolivar Parque, a little green oasis in Downtown. There are giant iguanas wandering around everywhere, and turtles in a pond. I had no idea that iguanas climbed so high up trees. You had to watch where you walked.
Slideshow Print this entry