Guayaquil, iguanas and strolling the Malecon

I left Cuenca early last Monday morning heading for Guayaquil, pronounced, Why a keel, via a van service that travels back and forth between the 2 cities hourly throughout the day. Guayaquil is Ecuador largest city with a population of 2.16 million. It is located near the Pacific coast of Ecuador with a riverfront along the Rio Guayas. The drive took about 3.5 hours, travelling about an hour of that time through the beautiful Pargue National Cajas where I hiked last week. It is such a lovely drive through there seeing the highlands, glacial lakes and numerous water falls. Later as we neared the coast we passed acres and acres of banana plantations. Guayaquil is huge sprawling and hot, so hot and so humid it was overwhelming. The temperature Monday was 30 and the humidity reading must have been off the charts. I planned to spend one night here before heading to Puerto Lopez the next morning. I stayed at a hotel in the center part of town so I could walk the famous Malecon 2000 along the Rio Guayas and see some of the beautifully restored buildings as well as visit a couple of the parks. I did that in the afternoon and early evening, seen all I wanted to see and was glad I was leaving early the next morning because the the heat and humidity was a little too much for me.

Guayaquil may be the only city in the world that has land iguanas living downtown. They are a sight to see wondering around Parque Bolivar. Jody's Oscar would just love it there.

The Malecon 2000 riverfront promenade runs along the banks of the Rio Guayas for 2.5 kilometers and is made up of playgrounds, beautiful sculptures, gardens, ponds and lots of restaurants. It really is a beautiful place to stroll and lots of people are there doing just that.

I ate one of the best ham sandwiches I have ever eaten, served in a little restaurant near the hotel where I stayed. It was carved off the roast, the sign called it Virginia ham, placed inside a large but light and flaky roll, slathered with a sweet savory sauce, then topped with chopped pecans. It was deelish.