Guayaquil, Ecuador - Las Peñas

Another Hill to Climb

Being somewhat groggy from our recent food poisoning, we left this climb to the end of the afternoon.  Four hundred and forty four steps to the top of hill that was the epicenter of the city when the Spanish finally managed to subdue the natives.  For most of the next 300 years it was home to a mix of fishermen and artisans but then the big money moved in with the cocoa boom of the 1920's.  It's now a heritage site and contains many shops, art galleries and bars.

Guayaquil, Ecuador - Seminario Park

You're Being Watched
Yes, just another park in yet another city in front of yet another church.  We didn't go for the architecture or the history.  This park is known for something completely different.

Guayaquil, Ecuador - Funny Feeling

Like Deja-Vu, All Over Again
Ecuador is so varied - the Amazon jungle, the Andes and now this.  The largest city in Ecuador is nothing like the rest of the country.  Hot, sticky, languid - it's perched on a slow-moving grey river that oozes into the Pacific.  We came out of the mountains, down 6,000 feet and entered a completely new world.  It feels like a sauna.  But, hang on, I've been here before, I think.  What about it is so familiar?