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Wed 4th Jan- Thurs 5th Jan
We decided that it was time to move on (4th Jan) so we got a bus to Guayaquil, basically doing the journey I has done to get to Puerto Lopez last time in reverse. We got the bus at 8.45 arriving in Guayaquil by 1pm. Stayed at the same hotel as last time I was here and had a quick lunch at the Ecuadorian fast food place, was slightly quicker this time, but was also very busy with lots of people on their lunch breaks so I'll let them off! We walked along the 'malecon 2000' the riverfront, which was good as we walked the bit I didn't have time to walk last time. We walked through the tropical garden, which was very well maintained and Mum pointed out lots of plants (many of which are house plants at home). Then it was on to an area at the end of the riverfront called 'las Peñas' and 'Cerro Santa Ana' which I could see last time but didn't get the chance to go there as it was getting dark. There are lots of bright coloured houses there- the area has been "refurbished into an idealised version of a quaint South American hillside village" (LP). Opposite this area was another hillside area, though this one hadn't been done up so was in its original state, still with different coloured buildings but not as fresh or bright. It was interesting to walk around but not so good was the uphill climb, with 444 steps up in the hot and humid weather, especially when my feet started to hurt as I'd worn my flip flops! Was worth it though :-)
On Thursday morning (Mum's birthday) we went for breakfast where Mum tried a 'tamal'- it was different to the ones I had had in Colombia though as although it had chicken in it, the corn part was sweet. We then went to the parque Bolivar to see the land iguanas. Due to the rain most were hiding in the trees but Mum still got to see them. We also saw a red squirrel sitting in a tree!
Not the most exciting thing to do on your birthday but we spent the afternoon on a bus to Cuenca, about 4 hours from Guayaquil.We arrived to pouring rain so went to a hostel then I took Mum out for a birthday dinner; luckily we were only 4 blocks from the main square and didn't get too wet with our coats and umbrellas, just a bit damp! Meal was good though and we tried a 'humita' which is made from corn and cheese, it was very nice. It seems like that and the tamals are southern Ecuadorian specialities as I haven't noticed them before.
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