DAY 16
Monday, January 30 Guayaquil, Ecuador. Weather: Sunny and warm (despite the forecast)
We are here for two days, so when I heard some passengers denigrating the city I was dreading it. (Thinking about it later, I realized this may be in part of their disappointment of not being able to go to Machu Picchu, like us, or to the Galapagos, or even just to Peru in general.) They were wrong. We both enjoyed our time there.
It didn’t get off to a good start, though. When we went to get onto the 9:30 shuttle into town we were directed to the one that took people to the port entrance, instead. And when the real shuttle paused there the driver would not let us board. Then when we showed up for the 10:30 shuttle at 10:10 it had already left! We spent the day onboard.
We’re seeing a lack of planning, of attention to detail. With a cruise ship of this size, why just one bus? Why did they sell a shore excursion that offered a tour of the MAAS museum on Monday when it was closed?
DAY 17, Tuesday
We were determined to beat this system. Showed up for the 8:30 town shuttle at 8:00. It dropped us off at the Seminary Park, also known as Iguana Park for its denizens.
The first impression from the drive in was also not positive. It took us through an extensive suburb with homes like little fortresses. Some had little courtyards with high walls, but all of them were surrounded by electrified fences, even electrified razor wire!
The drop-off, in Seminary Park, was fine. The brochures said the walk from Seminary Park to various sights was long and daunting. Well, not for ex-New Yorkers. It was literally a walk in the park! The path takes you to a lovely, quite impressive waterside walkway with an amusement park, huge old trees, viewpoints to climb, and MAAS, the city’s archaeological and contemporary art museum. The town’s sign was there. Big, bold letters with a colorful animation playing over them.
I think our favorite thing was to explore and climb Santa Ana Hill, which did involve some exertion—444 numbered steps to the top, where the lighthouse stands. This is not a tourist gimmick; it’s a real neighborhood.
If you marvel at how the people of South America created the amazing ancient cities high in the Andes, here’s your answer. I turned around a little up from the halfway point and snapped a picture of this man carrying three cases of beer on his shoulder.
We also wandered through the MAAS museum. As it was Tuesday, it was open to us. Free admission. They display an intriguing mixture of ancient and contemporary art. For example, one case of tiny clay figurines had on the adjacent wall a figurative abstract.
On our way back we found a supermarket where we bought some snacks. We quite like Guayaquil.