Made it to Guayaquil!

Kyla had to decide between two of her most highly developed (but incompatible) skills for this trip: (a) thinking of (and packing) everything we could possibly need for a year and (b) packing light enough for an Amazing Race-type competition. As evidenced by the photo below, we went with option (a) and, even though our bags are heavy, I’m hoping our time in Ecuador is light.

We landed at 1 am, schlepped our enormous bags to a hotel, and, after a few hours of sleep, spent our first day exploring Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous city (per the internet). We walked along the waterfront, communed with urban iguanas and hit the hotel pool.

At night, we explored the Las Peñas neighborhood and walked up 444 steps to the top of the Santa Ana hill, where we found 947374938 more steps to get to the top of a lighthouse with great views of the city. In the morning, breakfast felt like the set of Ted Lasso (see final pic).

Now we are off to Olon, where we plan to spend most of the year (though who knows?!?).

One final fact about Ecuador: per Wikipedia, there are only 250 Jews in all of Ecuador. Well, we added a few more today. Brace yourself, Ecuador.Read more