Guayaquil - Ecuador
Destinations
Guayaquil is the largest
city in Ecuador, home to its main port and much of the
country´s wealth. The climate is hot and humid,
often cloudy and overcast. Corruption is rife in Guayaquil
and crime is an issue, especially outside of the central area.
The city is not as dangerous as it used to be in the
1990´s but you should still remain aware of your surroundings
and take sensible precautions.
Although Guayaquil is not
the most
attractive destination in Ecuador and has little in the way of culture, it serves as a transport
hub for flights to the Galapagos Islands and buses to various beach
resorts and other destinations in the costa, so you may need to spend a
day or two here. The city is very noisy so avoid hotel rooms
facing onto main roads. The heat and humidity are
uncomfortable
for most of the year so you will probably want a hotel with
airconditioning or at least a fan.
Pass the time strolling
on the
Malecón (waterfront) beside the River Guayas with its statues and monuments along
the riverfront,
visiting various museums and the picturesque barrio of Cerro Santa Ana
with its coloured houses. The Malecon is fenced in and the
gates have security guards, so this is probably the safest place in
Guayaquil to wander. The train carriage at one end of the
Malecón is a reminder of Ecuador´s
famous railway on which it was once possible to travel from
Guayaquil to Quito, now reduced to a fragment of track from the
Devil´s Nose and Alausi to Riobamba.
Dining in Guayaquil is
not always as varied or upmarket as you might expect in a city of this
size, but the Malecón
has a variety of eating opportunities, from takeaway snacks and fast
food chains to restaurants. The smarter hotels such as the
Oro Verde and Uniparkhotel also have good restaurants.
Avoid carrying expensive
cameras or jewellry in Guayaquil. Ask your hotel to flag down
a taxi and negotiate the price for you - taxi drivers here rarely
condescend to use the taximeter and are renowned for overcharging.
Take a card with your hotel´s address on it and
check what the taxi price should be for your return trip.
The local accent is not
easy to understand - Guayaquileños tend to
speak very rapidly, missing the "s" off the end of words and running
all the words in a sentence into one lump. Be
prepared for Spanish to sound very different here than in Quito.
Guayaquil´s
airport and bus terminal have both been renovated in the last few
years. The airport is now clean and efficient, and the bus
terminal is reasonably efficient.
Useful
Spanish Vocabulary for Guayaquil, Ecuador´s largest city and
main port:
malecón: waterfront promenade (be sure to pronounce the
accent on the o, otherwise it means something entirely
different and not very polite)
puerto: port
museo: museum
Ecuador
Destinations: Guayaquil
Ecuador´s main port and largest city, Guayaquil has a few
tourist attractions such as the Malecón and several museums.
Website www.ecuadortravelsite.org, text and photos by Sarah Clifford.
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