Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, Guayaquil, Ecuador...

I have been to Guayaquil on a number of occasions however, only in transit to somewhere else like the Galápagos Islands or Machu Pichu. This is my first time touring the city. Since there was no fallout from the election results of yesterday, we were allowed off the ship for our tour. Our guide Fernando and driver Augustine picked us up at the entrance gate to the port. It was Monday morning rush hour with heavy traffic into the city. Established in 1538, this port town is one of the oldest cities in Ecuador. Some of the colorful architecture from centuries past can still be seen today while wandering around the hot and steamy city streets. The city is also home to turn of the century homes, neoclassical buildings, green spaces shared with heat-loving land iguanas, and plazas. Fortunately, Guayaquil still manages to maintain historic charms in some areas. Our first stop was the Malecón 2000. This riverwalk is divided into several sections. We visited the elegant Club de la Union Building with the Eiffel designed Exhibition Hall next door. The city’s pier along the Guayas River underwent a major renovation developing and beautiful Malecon, a modern well-kept area featuring sculptures, a museum, restaurants, movie theatres, markets, and an ecological park. Next, we visited the central section, home to the historic Civic Plaza with its sculptures, the Municipal Palace, Moorish Clock Tower and Rotonda Monument. Continuing our walk along the boardwalk, we saw the Guayaquil Yacht Club and the Naval Yacht Club buildings. Next, we drove to the colonial district of Las Peñas and Santa Ana Hill, called the old neighborhood. We walked along a couple of streets of this hillside enclave, which is dotted with brightly painted homes, cafes, bars and souvenir shops. We stopped at the bottom of the Santa Ana staircase with its 444 steps bring the main vein of Santa Ana Hill. Next, we walked to the Aerovía de Guayaquil, a cable car system which crosses the Guayas River from downtown Guayaquil to Duran City, Ecuador. We crossed with a view Duran City and returned for our view of Guayaquil…this was a great opportunity to view the city. On our return we stayed on the gondola until Independence Park, this park is four square city blocks of gardens, benches and the Liberty Column known as the Independence Monument. We then walked up Boulevard 9 October from the park to meet our driver. Before heading back to the ship, we made a brief stop at the Plaza Iguanas next to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Guayaquil. Fernando was a great guide, very informative and accommodating…Another hot but pleasant day on this South American adventure.