Guayaquil..the last stop

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Stopping in Guayaquil before zooming off to Chile, what a contast with what we´ve seen so far. In the morning, in Cuenca, you could still see elderly campesino ladies carrying their burden of goods for sale, and as usual, dressed in their usual colourful dresses and hats. Arriving at the gleaming new Guayaquil airport, in a taxi to the centre, the road in was very new, motorway wide, very modern, and commercial building shining in the evening light. By far the most modern looking place we´ve seen in two visits to South America. The hotel was 5 star, booked because it was very cheap, right on the waterfront. The city, according to a resident, had been rated the 3rd most vilent in the world (just behind Bogota). Now, with the new building development, and this was very evident along 3 km of waterfront (Malecon 2000) the city has plunged down the league of violence. Wa it reassuring , or worrying thuhg to see so many security men at every building and intersection- usually with rather obvious machine guns. We didn´t venture out that evening, needless to say!

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Photos

Santa Ana
Above the favelas, after a hike uphill in a very humid 35 degrees