Weekend trip part 1: Guayaquil

I'm back from my weekend research trip to Guayaquil and Vinces, which was delightful. I flew 35 minutes into Guayaquil (pronounced Gwai-ah-keel), located along the coast. The city is definitely the economic and financial capital of Ecuador, although most political operations occur in Quito. Guayaquil is a port city, and almost all of Ecuador's cocoa is (and most of its other agricultural products are) exported through Guayaquil. Although I only flew to Guayaquil because it was the quickest way to get to Vinces for a cocoa meeting, I wanted to check out the city for at least a day because I've never really seen much of it. I stayed with a new friend, a Peace Corps volunteer who kindly offered to show me around the town and to let me stay with her.

The Malecón

It does have a boat like feel

The white/grey building is a Municipal building in Guayaquil. Lovely!

We saw some of Guayaquil's main attractions, mainly the Malecón- the city's famous boardwalk, completed in 2000. The whole thing is supposed to feel like a ship, and they had some cool towers for looking out over the river. Along the whole way were restaurants, kiosks, boutique shops, an ecological park, cool statues, etc. I'm glad I got to see it- it's the main thing people talk about when they talk about touring around Guayaquil.

Barrio Las Peñas

I want to live in the one with the windows that open to a mini balcony

Wow, when did we arrive in Europe?

We also saw Barrio Las Peñas, which reminded me a lot of Valpo. It's a small hill with colorfully painted houses looking out over the river, and there are stairs that lead to the top, with bars, restaurants, dance clubs, galleries, etc. on either side of the stairs, making it a cool place to go out at night. Apparently Las Peñas is the place where Guayquil's historic homes have been best restored/maintained. Lower along the hill are ritzy apartments and hotels. We ate empanadas in the afternoon, and then later returned to Las Peñas in the evening. One of the best parts was partaking in the delicious street food on our way home late at night- most people chose an assortment of meat on a stick, but my PCV's friend (an Oxy graduate!) and I shared a delicious choclo asado con queso- a roasted husk of corn coated with butter and cheese.

Guayaquil has a decidedly different feel than Quito. The vibe was much more Caribbean, likely due to the significantly warmer climate- it was in the high 80s and humid while I was there. There is also a much more racially diverse population in Guayaquil- a lot of Afro Ecuadorians from Esmeraldas come to Guayaquil, and there's a significant Asian population. Quito, being an Andean highland city, has a much more indigenous feel, Guayaquil has a much more mestizo feel.  Quito is 2850 meters above sea level- most of Guayaquil is just 1 meter above sea level.  Guayaquileños (those from Guayaquil) in Quito have mentioned to me that Guayaquil is much more abierto- open- and Quito is mucho more tranquilo- calm. Guayquileños like to dance salsa much more than Quiteños, for example, and many people have commented that the highland indigenous presence in Quito makes for a much more modest climae in comparison to Guayaquil. I just spent half a day and one evening there, but I certainly picked up on the different ondas- vibes- in each city. 

Next stop: Vinces, also known as Little Paris!