Larry from our Salinas Cultural Society, had organized a trip to Guayaquil in order to check out as many of the photographic sites as we could fit into a day trip. I know, what could possibly be interesting in busy, dangerous old Guayaquil- well, you will definitely be very surprised. And today was the day!
Our 15
passenger van met us in Salinas at the old and now unused bus terminal at 8AM.
Getting up early and ready took me back to my other life when I actually had to
work for a living LOL.
When my
friend Lee and I got there, the van was already waiting. We were down to 10
passengers and since everyone arrived early, away we went.
Our first
stop after a 2 hour trip was at the Plaza Lagos, Samborondon, a very high end
outdoor mall –think Rodeo Dr. in Los Angeles. This place was very pretty with
lots of water features but with stores way beyond the pocket books of these
‘pobres jubilados’ LOL. Which of course does prove that there are lots of very
wealthy people in Guayaquil keeping these stores and restaurants in business.
Our group
Our group
One of the
more interesting stores I found for my audiophile husband was a high end audio
store! Needless to say, he wants to go there so another trip to Guayaquil must
be scheduled for us.
There were
many school children there on an educational field trip
We first
went to a pavilion with many local birds- mostly different types of parrots
Next, a
wonderful wooden path through a natural mango forest with many animals
displayed in very natural looking pens. For this, no admission was charged but
a donation could be done at the entrance.
The path
wound around this very natural place in the heart of the city for several miles
Lots of wild
animals
And on one
of the worker’s shoulder a very friendly exotic pet- still haven’t found what
kind of animal it is
The park
ended at the river with a long pier and great views
Our next
stop was Iguana Park- a small park right downtown Guayaquil. A beautiful church
was on one side of the park.
And many
many iguanas all around. To be exact, it was at your own peril to walk beneath
the trees as they were also full of iguanas who pooped where ever and on who
ever.
Since it was
now close to lunch time and our group was starving, we were dropped off at the
Malecon where there were many restaurants.
The
Guayaquil Malecon is a must see for all visitors. It is 2.5 km long and so very
interesting.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g303845-d317919-Reviews-Malecon_2000-Guayaquil_Guayas_Province.html
There are
tall ships
Many many
interesting walks
Children’s
areas
And gardens
I walked the
entire way and took lots of photos
plus met a very interesting man- LOL
plus met a very interesting man- LOL
In the
afternoon we went to las Penas. This is the oldest neighborhood in Guayaquil
and has many restored 100 year old homes,
galleries, bars and restaurants. Here is also where Santa Ana Hill is located.
Steps numbering up to 444 lead you through the many colorful homes and stores.
All the steps
are numbered
Lots of
great views
The tower at
the top has another 56 steps
The views
from there are amazing
One of the cute little senoritas living in this neighborhood
Our last
stop before heading home was the Artisans’ Market. This had many of the same
articles for sale as we had found at Otavalo along with the same pretty bloused
indigenous women- great bargains in paintings, clothes, glass ware etc etc. I
bought a beautiful apron with pretty stitching and a small leather purse with
many zippers.
Busy
bargaining- it is expected
The pretty
young woman who sold me my apron
So that
completed our day trip to Guayaquil. After seeing all these beautiful photos
even the most skeptical person must now be convinced that there are many
spectacular sights to be seen in Guayaquil!
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