I arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador yesterday. The largest city in Ecuador, it holds about 2.5 million people. Guayaquil resembles what you may expect of a large 3rd world city; children peddling merchandise at stop lights, trash in the streets, stray dogs roaming about, worn down, poorly constructed buildings, a general haze of smog and an odd odor filling the air. The poverty of the area is very apparent. There are some nicer areas (parks, malls, a newly constructed riverfront area (the Melecon), fancy hotels, gated communities), but the majority is stricken with poverty. 70% of the people in Guayaquil are considered poor, families surviving on about $45 a week. I hear that there has been much improvement in the last decade to clean up the city and make it more tourist friendly. For instance, they've decorated
... read more