Ecuador, part I: Guayaquil

In an unexpected surprise trip, I'm traveling to the Galápagos this summer - thanks Lindblad Expeditions!! And as part of their generosity, I was allowed to invite a teacher friend to join me, so I chose my UCSF hospital school counterpart, Erika - who used to volunteer at LPCH. We decided to come a couple days early to Ecuador, because 1) a friend who went to the Galápagos a couple years ago had their flight delayed and missed the first few days of the cruise; 2) we didn't want to feel tired when we started the expedition, and 3) ECUADOR! Why not?!

I actually didn't find out about this trip until I was in Boulder City, about a month ago. After many phone calls trying to figure out the best packing methods and things to bring, Erika and I finally flew from SFO through Miami to Guayaquil. The largest city in Ecuador, Guayaquil is the jumping off point for any tourist going to the Galápagos. The original settlement was located on Cerro Santa Ana, a hill along the Guayas River that allowed for great visibility and defense. It was founded in 1538 by Spanish conquerors, and went through a period of sieges and pirate attacks.

For many years, Guayaquil was decaying - with abandoned buildings, degradation of the city center, and dangerous neighborhoods. But in the 1990's it went through a period of renewal and transformation - particularly through the restoration of Malecón 2000, the riverside boardwalk. One thing we noticed while walking around was the police presence - they seemed to be everywhere, which was both reassuring and, in a way, slightly unsettling.

The colonial architecture of Las Peñas

Overall, we were absolutely stunned by this lovely city! We arrived at our hotel just north of Cerro Santa Ana and the Malecón in the early afternoon, then headed out for a stroll. We started first in the charming Las Peñas neighborhood, filled with colorful houses and cobblestone streets. After winding our way around the twisty streets at the base of Cerro Santa Ana, we found our way to the Malecón. There are lots of fountains, gardens, statues, and monuments all along the boardwalk, making for a really nice place to hang out. We found a late lunch at the food court area, then headed back north. 

The start of the 444 steps

Since it lies between the Malecón and our hotel, Cerro Santa Ana was our next stop. Several years ago, this was a seedy, dangerous neighborhood but during the period of revitalization, the area was cleaned up and is now a nice tourist destination. We climbed the famed 444 steps (they're numbered!) on Diega Noboa y Arteta, the main artery up the hill. 

With Juan Pueblo,
the mascot of Guayaquil

Along the way there are several bars and restaurants, little plazas and statues, as well as cannons and the remains of the old fortress. At the top of the hill is the Plaza de Honores and the faro, a blue and white striped lighthouse that is a replica of one on Isla Santa Clara guarding the entrance of the gulf. From the very top of the lighthouse, we had a gorgeous 360° vista of the entire city, including the Capilla de Santa Ana, the chapel on the top of the hill originally built in 1548(!). 

The view of Plaza de Honores and Capilla de Santa Ana 

The view from the gondola

The next morning, we took the Aerovia across the River Guayas to Durán. It was a fun view of the entire Malecón, and interesting to see everywhere we walked yesterday. The Aerovia is brand new gondola, only opening in December of 2020, and there weren't many people riding it. It was meant to be a faster alternative for commuters going from Guayaquil to Durán - a 45 minute bus journey - and our trip across was less than 10 minutes long and cost $0.70 each way.

Unfortunately, the Durán bridge to Santay Island was temporarily closed when we arrived (a few years ago it had been hit by a boat and is still not open), so we rode back across to Guayaquil and walked the 4 km down the Malecón to the Guayaquil-Santay Bridge. 

Biking across the Guayas River

The boardwalks, with Orange Trumpet flowers

The drawbridge was up when we got there, so we walked around the neighborhood while we waited for it to reopen. This was not a touristy area of town, but it was interesting to see a different part of the city. Not long after, the bridge reopened and we rented our bicycles and made our way across. There was only one other couple that had crossed the bridge right before we did, so we pretty much had the entire island to ourselves. Santay Island is a protected reserve in the middle of the Guayas River; surrounded by mangrove forests, it has an ecovillage of about 50 homes, as well as a crocodile farm and amazing birdwatching. The boardwalk winds through the marsh, where we saw tons of butterflies (including huge blue morphos) and lots of birds. We also saw a Giant Sensitive Plant - the leaves close up when you touch them! At the crocodile farm there were also tons of birds - white ibis, yellow and black crowned night herons, and parakeets. There were also a few green iguanas in the enclosure with the crocodiles.

We had a delicious lunch of chicken and rice in the little village, before biking back to Guayaquil. 

The Ecovillage on Isla Santay

This gorgeous orange guy kept coming for me...

It was a quicker walk back to the Malecón, and on our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Parque Seminario - a square in the middle of the city central that is curiously filled with wild iguanas. They are all along the paths and grassy areas, as well as being hidden in the bushes and in the trees. It's so strange walking through the bustling city streets, only to stumble into this park! While it was so cool to see them all, it bugged me that people were feeding and petting them. But I guess that's why they all congregate there, and don't wander off into the city streets.

Iguanas were everywhere underfoot, but don't forget to look up -
they sometimes fall from the trees!

After a bit of a rest (and a delicious fruit smoothie), we walked back up Cerro Santa Ana for dinner. My chuleto y arroz and a bottle of water cost a total of $4, including tax! 

The next day, we had a lazy morning before transferring to our trip hotel, the Hotel del Parque. It's a beautiful old hotel on the grounds of the Parque Historico, a historic area with a small zoo, gardens, and traditional crafts and shows. Because of COVID most of the park was closed, but it was still nice to wander around the grounds and see the monkeys and iguanas. The funny thing is that when we checked in, they wanted to give us two rooms, both with king sized beds, and we told them we didn't need two rooms - we could just share. The lady was like, "huh???" but gave us what we wanted. Our room is HUGE and right outside is a gorgeous orchid patio where we sat and read for a while. 

Not a shabby place to spend an afternoon...

A lovely start to our expedition!