Guayaquil and Quito Ecuador

---

GUAYAGUIL (Guaya kill)

Guayaquil, Ecuador greeted us with a horrific monsoon and high humidity! The flight from Santiago was four hours. Our hotel, Oro Verde, provided as part of the Galapagos tour, was a 5 star hotel with a spa and fitness center - a very welcome respite for two weary travelers!

Guayaquil is the main port and largest city in Ecuador, founded in 1534 on Santa Ana hill. We walked from the hotel, thru part of down town to the waterfront on the Guaya River. This part of Guayaquil is very kept up with parks, statues, plazas and a shopping center at one end. At one of the parks we came upon a huge land iguana just hanging out with the locals. Santa Anna, located at the north end of the waterfront, was calling us with all its little pastel houses perched on different levels of the hill. 444 steps later we found ourselves at the top where a little church, the original light house and cannon, and a museum, all left by the Portuguese, sat on the square.

QUITO

Hi everyone from Quito, the capitol of Ecuador! This charming colonial city is 9,000 feet in elevation, 2nd highest capital in the world. What a temperature change from Guayaquil to Quito, one of the reasons Ecuador is the 2nd most diverse, per area, country in the world. We finished our Galapagos cruise and have been in Quito for a couple days at Hotel Patio Anduluz (part of the Galapagos package). Mary celebrated her birthday on the 16th. We spent part of the day at the Center of the Earth Museum. Mary’s standing in the southern hemisphere and Bill’s close by, in the northern hemisphere! We’ve enjoyed good Ecuadorian food here (lots of fresh vegetables and a tasty Ecuadorian sauce), shopped, walked up and down the many hills visiting sites. Our favorite was a World Press exhibit at the Quito Cultural Center. Now we’re off to Peru - Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu.

---

Comments

[Hotel In Quito]

http://www.hotelakros.com/
Guayaquil waterfront is really a nic e place when we travel to quito