Guayaquil

Edgar picked me up a bit after 8am to bring me to the airport. While saying good bye, he made it very clear to contact him for *anything* if i run into problems on the rest of my trip and passed on warm regards from his wife too. Sweet guy.

Flight was only an hour to guayaquil which is about an hour drive from the ocean, so wanted to spend a day here before exploring the coast. Being close to sea level makes a world of difference. Its stinking hot and humid, but I'm not complaining - bring on the heat! But i have to be careful. The sun is ridiculous here. 15 mins without sunscreen will scorch the skin.

Spent my day popping in and out of all the downtown cathedrals and strolling along the massive waterfront boardwalk (malecon) which is littered with amusement park rides, restaurants and kids play areas.

The old town is a really cute hilltop area next to downtown with narrow cobblestone lanes and restaurants and tiny hotels around every corner. Reminds me tons of a hilly greek island village but with vibrant colours instead of white and blue. There are 444 steps to reach the top. I started counting, but then noticed around step #20 that each step had an engraved plaque.

The heat and humidity here is on another level. All you do here is sweat. I could have used an ocean to jump into. Hopefully Tomorrow!Read more