Guayaquil, Ecuador

There are two major metropolitan areas in Ecuador, the capital city of Quito and Guayaquil (pronounced why-a-keel). We haven't made it to Quito yet other than passing through or passing by, though that is on the list. We spend a considerable amount of time in Guayaquil, considering that our car is registered there, we use the visa office there, and we have a friend who lives there.

When we first moved down, we stayed by the malecon on the Guayas River whenever we visited Guayaquil. Our favorite place to stay there was the El Manso Boutique just across the road from the malecon.

As an added bonus, this hostel provided an excellent vantage point (that first balcony) to watch the Gay Pride Parade that happened to be there one one time when we needed to be in town!

There is so much to love about Guayaquil! The malecon is wonderful, with sculptures, gardens, shops, eateries, and the Captain Morgan and other boats to take you out on the river.

In various places downtown, there are intricate giant sculptures of a parrot, monkey, and an inguana. We haven't been to the iguana, yet.

And, there is the Parque de las Iguanas. Be careful walking under trees. They poop from on high! They apparently make good perches for the pidgeons, too!

On top of that, Guayaquil has awesome old architecture and colorful buildings.

We'll be spending more time there because we haven't seen all we want to see.