Guyaquil Indpendence and Columbus Day

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I would have thought Guyaquil Independence Day is celebrated in Guyaquil and in Guyaquil only. Wrong idea! I was planning to run loads of errands today, i.e. go visit the SAEC, sign up with the Spanish school, buy some maps at Instituto Geografico Militar (IGM), and register myself in Ecuador (necessary with the six month visa I got). When the first two were closed it slowly dawned on me that there was something wrong. I still made the long hike up to the IGM in the smog filled heat. A friendly soldier asked me to come back on Monday...So not much to arrange today. Instead I studied some Spanish, tried the wireless access at the Magic Bean restaurant (I didnt manage), had a long nap and did some work.The pollution here is horrible. I might try to hike up Rucu Pichincha tomorrow, depending on the weather.

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