Guayaquil and getting there...

It was an 8 1/2 hour bus ride from Baños to Guayaquil...somebody put me out of my misery! I was told 6 or 6 1/2 hours max...those last two hours were a doozy! AND to top it off, I had the world's chattiest, self proclaimed metro-sexual sitting behind me. He was a young guy named Jonathan who is originally from Venezuela. He was nice enough, but boy oh boy could this kid talk. He was basically standing up in the seat behind me to talk to me the entire way to Guayaquil. He talked about different movies, singers, health care in his country versus Ecuador, where he lives, what he eats, what he does for a living, how much things cost and the list goes on and on! At one point, I had to say, I am tired and going to sleep now and I just ignored him for a while till he sat down. And then, I had to put up the "talk to the hand" gesture while I tried to watch the X Files movie that was playing. Because I still have to concentrate pretty hard when talking to the locals (they talk so fast!), I think he exhausted me more than the bus ride. I did pick up a few new words in Spanish and I did have to talk soley in Spanish so, that was good practice for me.

The ride itself was through some very steep green mountains. I was praying that they have regular maintanence checks of the brakes on the bus! We also made our way through many small towns. Passing through one of these towns, I saw Cuy cooking on the street. I had read about it, but didn't think I'd actually see it. Cuy is roasted guinea pig. I usually try not to have a negative reaction to the food people eat, but seeing these 6 very large, stretched out, fully in tact guinea pigs on a circular spit was pretty darn...well...yeah just...eeewwwww! Later, I saw a picture of it served on a plate and they serve it with the feet/paws in tact. I won't say that it tastes like chicken because I don't know. I did hear that it doesn't taste that bad, but it is very fatty. Ahhh...no thanks, I'll pass.

Finally, I made it to Guayaquil - not the capital of Ecuador, but the city with the largest population. I found a room at Hotel Montesca and immediately headed out walking. I needed to walk after being on that bus for so long. I walked to the main riverfront along the Rio Guayas. It is an area known as Malecon 2000. I walked to Las Peñas and Cerro Santa Ana...up about 500 stairs. It was breezy and nice out and I definitely noted the change in climate from Quito. I went from sweaters and a scarf in Quito to short sleeves and a skirt in Guayaquil. At the top of the steps, there's a light house, the Capilla Santa Ana and a beautiful view of the city.

My time in Guayaquil was short. I had one night there. Tomorrow...Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands!