Guayaquil, Ecuador, South America

This is Maria from Copa airlines. We had purchased one-way tickets to Ecuador and when we were about to board the plane in Guatemala, immigration for Ecuador required return tickets, which we did not have. Maria spent an hour on the computer trying to get bus or flight tickets out of Ecuador. She succeeded and got us some tickets to Peru for the 1st of April, which we will cancel in time. Immigration in Ecuador is more difficult than Guatemala. In addition to having to have a return ticket, you can stay only three months every 12 months. Applying for a one time 6 month extension is not easy either. If you get a 6 month extension, this is 9 months total before you have to leave the country or apply for residency. Residency is expensive. They have other types of visas in Ecuador, like the retiree visa, the volunteer visa, the investor visa and more. Security is even tougher than in the US. They will take your tweezers and your kids' tiny scissors away...

This is a view of Panama City on the way.

Ecuador is south of Colombia and North of Peru

Welcome to Guayaquil.

This is our hotel. We would highly recommend it. It is one block off the Cathedral, close to the Malecon, and the area is as safe as it gets in Quayaquil. Plus it's super clean. Fare includes a good buffet-style breakfast and sauna/jacuzzi. One night for 4 people is 75 USD.

 

The view from our bedroom.

It feels very different from Mexico or Guatemala here.

Downtown Guayaquil is a lively place

The "malecon" is a walkway along the river. It is a haven in the city.

The gardens along the "malecon" have a wide variety of exotic trees 

From this point on the Malecon 2000, it takes only 5-10minutes to walk to the cathedral:

This is the statue of Simon Bolivar in front of the cathedral.

 

The "parque de iguanas" by the cathedral with the statue of Bolicar.

What is this orange thing? Can I eat it?

 

  They are coming down the trees for feeding time, around noon.

  They are fed lettuce, cabbage and banana peels

 It's best to avoid walking under this one tree on the plaza...

 Right on the plaza is this mall.

 This is another plaza in Guayaquil.

We went to the terminal terrestre to get our bus tickets to Loja tomorrow. It's 10 USD per person and it will take 8-9 hours. This bus station is immense and modern.The bus ride ended up being gruelling. Next time, we'll chose another option for travel.

There are only locals here.

 There are only locals here.

 To go to Loja, we have a choice of either the day bus or the night bus. Over one year we did both during our trips to and from Guayaquil. One time we chose the Ejecutivo night bus for $12 per person. It is a clean and comfortable bus with reclining seats. Now, how the trip goes depends on your driver. We once had a driver who was going too fast and many people were puking on the bus all night. We almost could not sleep at all and felt sick the whole time. Another time we had a smooth driver and we slept the entire night.