Guayaquil was not the first big South American city I’d visited. Back in 2017 I had taken a day trip to Santiago during my time studying at Valparaiso’s Federico Santa Maria Technical University. I’m not that fussed by big cities if I’m honest. The noise, the people, the hustle and bustle don’t excite me. I thought they did once, which is why I moved to London for my undergrad degree. I gave it a good bash, but ultimately I’m so much happier now I’ve left that life behind.
Santiago, in a big group of foreigners (about 30 of us) was not the best introduction to South American cities. Of course we were a magnet for thieves and the group didn’t leave unscathed. The location, however, was marvellous sandwiched between the Andes mountains. Guayaquil, by contrast, rests just inland of the coast of Ecuador, with the Rio Guayas cutting through it.
For a city so close to the coast, and situated on the banks of a huge river, Guayaquil is stiflingly and surprisingly humid. I’d passed through very briefly to get from the airport to the bus station, unsurprisingly with other things on my mind.
This time around, I was going to be staying for longer. My original plan had been to pass through the city as quickly as possible. My research had cautioned me that it was a city best left to the locals. Incidentally, my uncle got in touch after following my travels and put me in contact with a friend of his who lived in Guayaquil. Happily enough, she offered my friend and I a place to stay before we headed off to the paradise of the Galapagos.
We stayed with the family at their spacious house in what I assume are the suburbs, a gated community along one of the main road arteries to the city. Since the humidity is off the scale, the air con was a welcome addition, as was the promise of an iguana hiding in the wardrobe of the room we were staying in. We never did catch a glimpse of him, which upset my inner David Attenborough.
My friend and I were whisked off on a brief tour of Guayaquil’s main attractions:
- Malecon 2000 – a neat, spacious promenade alongside the vast river
- La Perla – a ferris wheel that offers great views over the city. Not quite the London Eye, but I do love a bird’s eye view
- La planchada fort – complete with cannons! Built to protect the first urban settlement of the city on the hill behind it and now a national monument
- Numa Pompilio Llona the lowest street encircling a hill of colourful houses and winding streets. This road itself was lined with some amazing street art, but the steps up the hill were no joke. We didn’t make it to the top of the hill because the heat was too oppressive – the sweat was REAL and as for trying to breathe, forget it! We ultimately decided that we’d seen enough view from La Perla
- Sweet & Coffee – essentially a Starbucks, I treated myself to a … and CAKE (my biggest weakness)!
- The Point – a most fabulous twisty building next to where we parked the car. I’m a big fan of it
Upon returning to the house, my friend and I made our way to the local shop and made the most of the time to explore the compound in which the house was set. A weird experience, as despite being situated within a guarded compound, all the houses were fortified like prisons. Considering I hadn’t been to keen to spend my time here to begin with, I decided I was incredibly grateful to be hosted by a generous family, fluent in English as well as Spanish. Me gusta.
I had booked a morning flight to the Galapagos, acting along the lines of “the less time spent here the better”, before I discovered I would be fortunate enough to be hosted. The flight is just under 2 hours, at 1 hour 50, which is pretty inconsequential after the marathon flight it takes to get to South America in the first place.
Typing this up now reminds me of a fella (from Ireland I think) who was on the same plane from Colombia as me. We ended up talking because we were both dressed in highly-touristy colourful patterned baggy trousers. He was heading straight on to the Galapagos for a month’s placement, while I was headed to the deep interior of deepest darkest Ecuador. Chance encounters are a special thing when travelling. Connecting with strangers, who come and go in a moment, holds a special place in my wanderlust heart. I used to be awful at saying goodbye, so it gave me great pleasure to be able to easily let go of the friends I made. Some people aren’t meant to stay in your life for long, so enjoy the time you have with them before you both move on.
Getting to the Galapagos is a little different than heading off to other countries. It makes hopping on a plane to Peru seem easy by comparison. You have to have the right paperwork, permissions and baggage weight and that’s just the beginning!
Since the Galapagos was slap bang in the middle of my South American Odyssey (sounds much better than plain old “travelling”, right?) I had been trying to work out the cost of storing excess baggage (aka, a whole bag of mine) at the airport itself. It was that or depending on the kindness, and security, of whichever hotel I would book to stay in at Guayaquil.
As only spontaneity can afford, the gift of having a host meant I could leave whatever wasn’t needed at the house, safe and sound. What a relief that was! Not only did it mean that I could save a sizeable amount of money, I could rest easy, safe in the knowledge that my gear was perfectly safe.
I can’t wait to tell you about my time in the Galapagos! It’s one of my favourite places, and a part of the world I didn’t think I would visit for years to come! I still can’t quite believe I actually went there!
Until next time travellers,
From me to you,
Jenni
🦋
Collecting Continents 