Exploring the river city

After our included breakfast, we wanted to head out to Las Peñas & Cerro Santa Ana (a hill where the early settlements began).  Kim had a slight foot problem and we yesterday had toyed with the idea of a taxi ride up and walking down.

Outside the hostel, he wanted to go by taxi.  I had to find out where exactly we could describe as the destination (as those two names represent broader areas) and then translate it.  He mistook it as a reluctance to take taxi and got grumpy.  Hailing a taxi, the driver wanted too much money so we ended up walking up.

It wasn’t too much of a hike and I don’t think there was a road up there to anywhere meaningful, despite Google Maps showing a road.  So a taxi would definitely have been a mistake.

The houses lining the numbered steps were colourful and mostly simple but well kept.  There were pictures of them in their previous state which ranged from simple homes to shacks.  There were gates leading to side streets but an attempt to explore resulted in one of the many security guards beckoning us back.  I think they don’t want tourists getting mugged.

At the summit was a lighthouse and a little church.  We ran into the Seattle family that was in the guesthouse in Quito with us and exchanged our travel experiences before returning to the hostel.

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For lunch, the hostel receptionist recommended a place maybe three streets back fro the waterfront.  They did set meals of yummy soup, main, juice and cookies (as dessert) for USD3pp.  It was in an area with several other outfits some as cheap as USD2.50.  It was a very satisfying meal.  We detoured to the waterfront briefly to take in the Guayaquil in History Miniature Museum, where the city’s history from its founding to today was explained with about a dozen miniature displays.  It was very well done, including the narrative and music.

After no internet for five days on the Galapagos cruise and a further five days with nearly no internet (which was probably more frustrating), we spent the afternoon on our devices. I had plenty of admin to do and once that was over, I caught up on photos and blogs.

We couldn’t help ourselves and returned to Menestras del Negro for our final dinner in Ecuador.  With such pleasant conditions, we enjoyed another walk on the waterfront bordering the Guayas river.  That marked the end of our stay in the river city and our adventures in Ecuador.