KILL OR BE KILLED IN GUAYAQUIL

We took a van yesterday with 15 friends from Gualaceo to Guayaquil on the coast. We went from wearing coats and scarves to sunglasses and flip-flops in four hours. The air was sticky with humidity, and it felt great after being so cold for a whole week. When we arrived everyone went their seperate ways and I was  picked up by my friend Jennifer from Wisconsin, now living in Libertad, Ecuador for more than eight years. She´s 31, six feet tall, blonde hair, blue eyes and sticks out like a green pickle in a blueberry patch. The only thing that puts locals at ease around her is her perfect Spanish. We take a taxi to the home of a family she knows in Guayaquil and we eat rice and beef stew together well into the wee hours.

           If Cuenca was the Paris of Ecuador, Guayaquil is the L.A. , unfortunatley also including the crime rate. But you can´t help but to love it for its own uniquness.There are  palm tree-lined  boardwalks with young people roller-blading, ice-cream stands on every corner, fancy malls and an Imax theatre, and tons of families walking around taking in the picturesque views of the port city. Jennifer and I left the house today around noon and took a taxi to the Malecon, the boardwalk over the river where all the action happens. We hiked the 500 steps in 100 degree heat to the lighthhouse where from there we could take photos of the  entire city. On the way back down, we ran into my new van friends from Gaualceo , as well as my old Spanish teacher! It was a wonderful family reunion on the riverfront.

      Jennifer and I toured all of downtown Guayaquil, it seemed, until our feet were throbbing. We even toured an iguana park. Yes, it´s literally a park with ponds and fountains just for all the iguanas and turtles that live there. Then, just for fun, we bought ourselves new jelly shoes like from the 80´s for $5. We found a salon to get pedicures, but they were booked, so we just went grocery shopping instead at the local Tia to bring food back for the family we´re staying with. After a huge typical late supper, we´ll all head back out near the Malecon for ice-cream that Jennifer swears tastes just like Cold Stone. I hope so!