Playas

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Cerro del Muerto was one of the recommendations that Isabelle of the Dreamkapture hostal in Guayaquil had made. I was not too sure if this was any good hike, as people in Playas seamed to be somewhat hesitant about it and said it could better be viewed from a mirador in the distance rather than going hiking on the hill itself. I was not too sure what this was all about.

Cerro del Muerto, Mountain of the dead person, is called so because from the distance it looks like a huge dead body lying on the ground (and which indeed can be seen as such only from the mirador). So I took a local bus from Playas, a beach resort mainly visited by Guayaquileños, to this little reserve.

After a little while walking from the street I came closer to this small, but interesting rock formation. From this side and fairly close to it it did not look like a dead body, but I somehow felt like being in the Far West of the USA.

There is a shrine of the Virgen Mary built into the rocks which is easily accessible by a flight of stairs. Occassionally processes and masses are held here. And I was to watch one later on! However, when I arrived I did not see a single soul around. After walking up to the virgin I wanted to climb to the top. However, I could not see any path. I walked around the right side of the rock where there were some traces of a path, then climbed up a bit through the rocks, but it looked too dangerous, especially as I was only in sandals. I walked around the left side of the rock and still could not find the way up. I found it strange, as in the tourist office they had told me it was just a 15 min walk up and the lady did not look like she was into difficult rock climbing. Then I saw a person on top. I shouted up to him ‘Donde está el camino para subir?’ and he pointed to some place. I went to that place and by the time the guy had come down and showed me how to walk up. After all, it was not THAT easy. At least they could have told me in the hostal or in the tourist office that sandals were not the appropriate tools for this 'walk'.... My newly found friend was a friendly 17 year old local, and we chatted for quite a while. He was quite happy when I gave him a postcard of the famous castle Neuschwanstein (near Munich) as a present. All in all I really enjoyed the place and the hike, even if short, and want to include it in the book.

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