Guayaquil is the biggest and most populated city in Ecuador. It was named after an indigenous chief “Guayas” and his wife “Quil.” They chose to die together rather than to surrender to the Spaniards. Myth or historical fact, I’m not sure.

First impressions derived from the taxi ride from the airport and a brief walk around, Guayaquil reminds me of Venezuela (probably due to all of the safety warnings from Ecuadoreans themselves) and Cuba, especially Havana (the way the city center is set up and probably because of the Malecon.)

My head is a bit foggy due to lack of sleep and adjusting to the altitude change. You get tired faster and you find decision-making a sincere challenge.

I ate some local food (cheese empanada and a bolon: green plantain dumpling mashed with cheese and rolled up into a ball) but my body was craving cold, cold, cold (!) like ice cream and Coca Cola. Terrible, I know, but the altitude-challenged brain wants what it wants. And they aren’t forthcoming with ice here, unless it’s already in the big buckets of juice or chicha they’re selling.

 Upon quick inspection, something that has sparked my curiosity and I can’t find anything on the internet about them; cartoon characters seemingly made out of papier mache or something, standing upright all over the city with boxes taped around the necks. Possibly, it’s a colorful, less intense, way of begging?

The pictorial begins with The Guayaquil Cathedral and proceeds from there:

30dec15. Guayaquil, Ecuador.