After our night out with Carmen, Xavier and Andreas I didn't sleep a wink. No more pop before bed... Needless to say when the alarm went off at 6 am this morning I had a really didn't want to get out of bed. By 7 am Abbi and I had all our bags packed up and ready at the door, waiting for our ride to the city.
Carmen came down to meet us and unfortunately had some bad news. She would be joining us on the drive to guayaquil as one of her family members had passed away in the night. She was dressed in all black and was a bit quiet. We didn't want to ask too many questions, so Abbi and I tried our best to keep the conversation light while we waited.
Xavier and Andreas were a little late to pick us up but we were on the road eventually and on our way to the city. I felt so bad when we finally arrived in Guayaquil because the hostle was impossible to find. We stopped and asked for directions about 10 times before we were successful.
When we arrived at DreamKapture our new friends were so cute and helpful as Abbi and I signed in. They helped us with our bags and helped me orgainize with the front desk staff a taxi for 5am the next day. They even came into the dorm room with us to make sure everything was up to snuff ;) They were all so concerned with our well being and safety and we really appreciated thier care.
We said our good byes to Carmen and Abbi and I arranged to get picked up at 3pm for a tour of the city with Xavier and his mom!
A little bit about Xavier:
He lives and works in Switzerland with his father and brother. His mom lives in Ecuador, she is retired and runs a coffee and pastry shop in Playas. Xavier is very passionate about Ecudaor and is involved some how in a government marketing plan to stimulate tourism in his home land. I found out later in the day that he wants to open and manage an eco-friendly hostel in Playas. His knowledge about the country is expansive and very impressive. I believe that he will succeed greatly with his goal and will be a great contact to have in the future!
Anyhow... after our goodbyes etc, Abbi and I had some free time. We had breakfast in the hostel and the lady who served us was incredibly rude and slow. I practically had to beg to get any service. Its such a change of pace from the little towns to the big city, you notice it right away.
After breakfast we decided we should venture out of the confines of the hostel and check out the scene near by. It was very different in Guayaquil this time around. I felt a new sense of confidence as I walked past the people on the street. Don't get me wrong though, everyone was still staring at us like we were from another planet, but i feel I understand how things work a little better after being here for one short month. I didn't have as much fear and stress going on as I did the first time I walked around the city.
At 3:30 Xavier arrived to pick us up. When we climbed into the car he quickly outlined the plan for the after noon;
1. the market
2. a giant jesus statue at the top of Las Penas
3. the old streets of Las Penas
4. a quick stop to visit someone??
5. a double decker bus tour of the city
I though this was a pretty tall order for one afternoon and there was no way we could fit in all in but none the less, off we went!
The market was amazing! Wall to wall and floor to ceiling, there was everything there you could imagine from clothing to art, to jewelry to fabric etc. etc. etc. Before we got out of the car Xavier told us to point out what it was we wanted to his mom and she would do the bartering for us. She got us the most amazing prices, we payed 1/4 of what we would have paid for our souvenirs if she hadn't of been there. I managed to get everyone exactly what I wanted to bring home. Up until this point I hadn't been able to find a single thing that was worth carrying all the way back. I was so pleased with the market that just going there would have been enough to make it a great day but the day was far from over at this point. ( pictures to come )
Xavier took us next to the giant jesus statue at the top of the 151 steps of Las Penas. The views of the city were unreal from the the summit.
Next stop was old town Las Penas. Xavier told us about the fires that had destroyed the homes and community there about 100 years prior. We learned that the government is rebuilding the area and trying their best to restore it to the way it was originally. The cobblestone street the we walked along had to be ripped up so that new water lines could be installed and the amazing thing was that when they rebuilt the road, the placed every stone from the road back in it's original position! There were quite a few art galleries and restaurants along the way that we rebuilt using the original style of architecture that existed before the fires. This area has become the pride of the city and a more affluent place to hang out. When we came to the end of the road Abbi and I were surprised to realized that we were in almost the exact spot that we stayed at a few weeks prior, the night before we flew out to the Galapagos.Our next stop was to visit some place that Xavier wanted to research as a model for his hostel. To my surprise it was the Manso Boutique, where I spent my very first night in Ecuador. So funny how things work out and come full circle... I end up randomly on my last day exactly where I started out! I was happy that I got to show Abbi where I had spent the first night. While Xavier went and met with the owner of Manso, Abbi and I sat down in the diner and ordered some food from the 100% organic menu and took a small tour of the property. By the time Xavier had finished meeting with the owner and ordered his dinner it was getting a bit late. We had only 15 minutes to make it to the bus station for the double decker tour.
I was absolutely starving at this point and was quite angry when we decided that we'd better get the food to go if we wanted to make the last bus. I payed for our dinner as a thank you to Xavier for showing us such an amazing last day in the city and then we RAN to catch the bus. We made it just in time and when we arrived at the station, Andreas was there waiting to meet us.
We climbed the steps to the open roofed bus and ate our dinner before the tour started. The food was the best food of the whole trip! Fresh quinoa burgers with an olive and basil salad on the side. Andreas got the bus driver to run across the street and buy us some beers and before long the bus was rolling out of the station.
It was a perfect time for the tour. The sun was down and there was a nice breeze blowing as we drove along the Malecon. We saw the mayors office, a few important historical monuments and few other points of interest along the way. By the time the tour was over I was exhausted and ready for for bed. I think I was going on over 24 hours with no sleep by that point.
The guys dropped us off at the hostel, we said our good byes and thanked them for being such great tour guides. Without them, our last day would have been a lot less eventful and we wouldn't have learned so much about the city of Guayaquil. Abbi and I really lucked out with these friends. They were able to shed a new light on the culture of the city and the people for us. They showed me a new appreciation for things a otherwise wouldn't have understood on my own. Thank you Xavier and Andreas!
Now it's off to sleep. There are three alarms set so I don't miss my taxi at 5am.
Good night Guayaquil and Ecuador. I've had an amazing and eye opening adventure. I hope to come back some day and see how you ( and I ) have grown and changed.
<3
Muchas Gracias
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