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Published: February 22nd 2011
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So it turned out that the guard who sent us to a bank to deposit $20 to get our visa stamp wasn't on the take... that's part of the process. And since we didn't get it done in Quito, and there isn't an office to get that particular stamp in Cuenca, we had to head down to Guayaquil to get it done before our first 30 days elapsed.
Saturday night, we headed over to the apartment of Dameon and Karen Walker, a couple from Cleveland who packed up their two boys, Elijah and Joseph, and decided to give South America a try around the same time we did. We've been hanging out with them quite a bit, Justin and Dameon bonding over a shared love of the NBA and beer, and Chris and Karen bonding over whatever women bond over (presumably idiotic husbands). Karen cooked up some awesome chicken tenders and mac n' cheese, and we all proceeded to polish off every drop of beer and wine in their place.
After a slow start Sunday morning, we threw a few things into our backpacks and headed off to the bus station. Around noon, we boarded a bus for Guayaquil,
expecting to arrive about four hours later. Unfortunately, the bus had other ideas. Somewhere around the 90-minute mark, we pulled over to the side of the road... apparently, the left front tire hadn't been installed correctly and was about to fly off. In true Ecuadorian fashion, the bus wasn't carrying the proper tools to repair the problem. So, we sat by the side of the road, taking in the foggy view from our high point near Cajas National Park and waiting for the replacement bus to arrive. Two hours later, we were back on our way.
Telling someone from Cuenca you are visiting Guayaquil is roughly like telling someone from Iowa you're visiting New York City... after a while, you feel like you should get a medal if you aren't raped and murdered within three hours. More than twice the size of Quito, Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador and the center of commerce and trade. With about 3 million people and no mountains to hem it in, it is a sprawling metropolis. The energy on the streets is pulsating, especially when compared to the sedateness of the much smaller Cuenca (think Chicago vs. San Fran, which are
roughly the same population sizes). While it's certainly someplace to be mindful of areas you don't know, we found the bustle refreshingly familiar.
After checking into the comfortable
Dreamkapture Hostel , we took a stroll around the suburban Alborada neighborhood. We first went to the local mall, which was still packed with families at 7 on a Sunday night. We then checked out a row of crab shacks, where we grabbed dinner. Much to the delight of locals, we covered ourselves in crab bits as we smashed and searched for delicious morsels of meat. After a quick bite of ice cream, we headed back to the hostel, where Justin was able to watch Kobe and LeBron battle in the All-Star Game.
The next morning, we woke up early in order to get to the visa office as close to open as possible. After a quick detour to drop a stranded Swedish couple off at the bus station, we arrived downtown at the government building to find a swarm of people. After asking a guard where to go, we were relieved to be directed to a mostly empty basement office. The secretary there told us we needed to go to the
second floor. On our way back up, we checked again with the guard, who sent us back downstairs. Trying our luck with one of the clerks, we found we were in the right place.
However, although we'd come with everything we'd been told (copies of our passport, number 5 envelopes ), we were missing a few things. After showing the clerk the list we'd been given by our boss, he sighed and plugged our name into the template for a Spanish-language letter we signed, even though we still don't know what it said. He also motioned to a manila envelope we were supposed to have, sighed, and put a paper clip on our papers. Then he sent us off to the bank to deposit our $20, where it took help from two guards for us to fill out our deposit slips correctly.
When we arrived back triumphantly, he looked at us like idiots... where were our goddamned manila envelopes? We shrugged and headed back out, eventually finding a paper store a few blocks down. Finally, having completed our tasks, we left our passports to be stamped with the instructions
to come back in 90 minutes.
Guayaquil has recently bought into the theory that any amount of downtown blandness will be overlooked if you build a riverwalk (see San Antonio). Stretching over 2.5 km, the Malecon 2000 is a quiet stretch along Guayaquil's shallow, muddy river that reminded Justin of a similiar space in Charleston (although that's the only similiarity between the two cities). In the middle is a statue commemorating the 1822 meeting between revolutionary legends Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. Along the walk are more statues, fountains, food stands, artisan stalls, a beautiful botanical garden, a children's area, an exercise space, museums, and one of only two IMAX theaters in South America. It was pleasant except for the overwhelming heat... it was almost like we were standing near the equator at sea level in the middle of the day.
After swinging by Parque Seminario, which is (rightfully) known for its abundant iguana population; picking up our passports and signing our names to the official immigrant registry; and grabbing an almuerzo for lunch (a set menu of the day, usually a soup, entree, rice and juice for around $2), we headed down the Malecon 2000
to Las Penas, the artistic center of the city, which features brightly-coloured houses perched on a steep hillside. We staggered up the streets and staircases, afraid that we were about to burst into flame in any minute. At the top, we climbed up the lookout tower and got a panoramic view of the sprawling city. After finding our way down to the bottom of the hill after yet another ice cream (ice cream is everywhere here... and everybody's skinny), we jumped in a cab and headed back to Cuenca... thankfully, the bus was able to make it all the way this time.
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P Sullivan
non-member comment
WOW!
Well, congrats you two! Sounds as if you've settled in somewhat and teaching school. oh my..now that's WORK! I know from having only 2 grandsons, but kids ARE exhausting. Am enjoying reading your entries and still envy your spirit.... stay cool! best, Patricia P.S. it's quiet and boring here in DCASP!