Ecuador, Summer 2019 (Part 1 - Arrival in Guayaquil)
My parents are both from the small Latin American country of Ecuador. Growing up I spent a lot of time down there including a short stint where my mother, sister, and I lived there in the late 90’s. As I grew older, the visits became more infrequent. I admittedly prioritized travel to places other than my family’s home country.
The last time I visited Ecuador was during the Holiday season in 2013, two months into my relationship with Audrey. I knew that if I was ever to take her to visit, it would have to be a lengthy trip. There is so much I want her to see and experience with me that a week long trip would never be enough.
In late 2018, when it was looking more and more likely that we were going to move from Boston for Audrey’s education, I committed that we would take a long vacation down to Ecuador after I left my job. Fast forward to June 2019 and that’s exactly what we did.
As soon as Audrey accepted her offer from the University of Oregon, we bought our plane tickets, put in our notices, and started planning our trip down to Ecuador.
Fortunately for us, Audrey’s sister would stay at our apartment to watch Tessie and Jaeger while we were gone. On Monday, June 24, we boarded our flight on JetBlue that took us down to Fort Lauderdale and then on to Guayaquil.
Everything seemed to go right for us upon landing. We were the first international flight to land that night which meant that the notoriously long line at passport control was empty. Our bags were also one of the first ones unloaded off the plane. Finally, on our way out, the system that randomizes who gets their bags looked at through customs let us just walk through.
We were out of the airport in record time and greeted by my mom who picked us up.
Despite being married for a little over four years, Audrey had still not met most of my extended family. The next two days were spent catching up with relatives and making the proper introductions.
We spent one of our first days in Guayaquil exploring “Cerro Santa Ana” as well as the “Malecon 2000.” Cerro Santa Ana, located on the Northeastern side of Guayaquil, is a large hill where the city of Guayaquil was first founded. Back in 2001, the city of Guayaquil dedicated a decent amount of money to restore the area as it had become a run down slum.
This restoration helped the area become one of Guayaquil’s biggest tourist destinations with it’s cute colonial charm and magnificent views. The highlight of the cerro is the 444 steps to get to the top. Numerous restaurants, cafes, art galleries, and artisan shops line the sides of this route to the top of the hill.
At the summit, a lighthouse, naval museum, and chapel await you. The lighthouse is 60 feet tall, which, while sitting atop a 200 foot hill, gives you an incredible, 360 degree view of the city.
The view from here, where Guayaquil was first founded, gives you a real appreciation of what a massive, sprawling metropolis this city has become.
After admiring the view from the top of the lighthouse, we made our way back down to the base of the hill to go the Malecon 2000 next door.
Completed in October 1999, the Malecon 2000 was a huge municipal renovation project restoring the dilapidated old Simon Bolivar Pier and rebranding it into what it is today. Stretching a little under 1.5 miles, Malecon 2000 is home to several statues, food courts, museums, restaurants, bars, and the first IMAX theater in South America. There are also several docks where people can board ships to tour up and down the Guayas river.
The renovation of the pier has been seen as a model of urban regeneration and was declared a healthy public space by the Pan-American Organization of Health and the World Health Organization.
One of the first things we came across was La Perla, a 185-foot tall Ferris wheel overlooking the banks of the river which opened in 2015. From here you are able to get a great view of Cerro Santa Ana as well as the rest of the pier.
