20 June 2008, Guayaquil, Ecuador: None of us had been to Ecuador before, so before going there, we read up on travel tips and other travelers’ experience on their blogs, and found out that Ecuador has a reputation for being an unsafe place for tourists. In Chilean Patagonia, other travelers told us they had their jacket and hiking boots stolen from under their seat on a bus in Ecuador. Such encounters are not uncommon; we also read about that in travel advisories issued by various countries’ governments about the crimes taking place there. The country is riddled with violence and crime; there are many cases of unsuspecting independent travelers (those not in big tour groups) being physically assaulted by gangs throwing glass bottles at them so as to knock them out in a robbery attempt. Robberies at knife or gunpoint are not uncommon too in this developing country.

Another thing we had to consider was the safety of the hotel we were going to stay at. It is common for your valuables to be stolen from your hotel room or even hotel safe, and many times it is an inside job. For us, the safety of our belongings and the hotel location was of paramount. We kept ourselves safe by wearing non-conspicuous clothing, and wore no jewelery. We only took out our camera to take photos when we went on the bus and boat tour. Almost every shop has an armed security guard standing outside, some with automatic weapons. Seeing that reinforced our view that this isn’t a safe place.

Guayaquil is Ecuador’s biggest city, but it is not the capital (which is Quito). Guayaquil is the capital of the Ecuadorian province of Guayas. We stayed just two nights in Guayaquil before making our way to Galapagos. Initially we wanted to explore Mindo, a place near Quito that is famous for its cloud rainforest and wondrous nature, but a few weeks before we were due to fly to Ecuador, there was a high-profile gun robbery at a popular Mindo forest lodge and the tourists at the lodge were held hostage while they were being robbed. Even the usually quiet Mindo region is now not spared from violent crime. Besides, all the rainforest lodges we contacted didn’t have internet access, so we knew it was a no-go even though it meant we won’t be able to see the world-famous Amazon rainforest that is being destroyed at a breakneck speed.

We went on a boat tour complimentary of our hotel on The Henry Morgan pirate ship. The ship was docked at the Malecón 2000 which is the city’s newest seafront promenade, so we walked a short distance from the hotel to the Malecón. The Malecón was the main project in the redevelopment of Guayaquil; the malecón (breakwater) along the Guayas River was rebuilt and a boardwalk was constructed along its banks.

It is quite safe inside the Malecón as there are plenty of security guards standing around during the day and the whole promenade is fenced with only certain entry/exit points.

 The Henry Morgan pirate ship took us on a 60-min journey down the Rio Guayas (Guayas River)

 Here’s the captain!

The malecón or promenade stretches a long distance. It’s a pity we couldn’t just whip out our video camera to take photos or videos of the promenade and the crowd. The place was bustling with families walking and sitting around. There are playgrounds, fish ponds, green open areas, and there is even a food court at the end of it. Everywhere we saw stall vendors selling drinks and the Pinguino stands selling ice cream.

 Down the river

Cerro Santa Ana (Santa Ana Hill) - A settlement was first established in the area around 1534 until moving permanently to Santa Ana Hill in 1547. The city was an important port and ship-building center for the Spanish, but it was plagued by pirate attacks and several devastating fires.

The refurbished, brightly painted houses and shops give a very unusual look to the hill. The hilltop fort Fortín del Cerro (Fort of the Hill) was once used to protect Guayaquil from pirates.

 Art Deco-style

At the other end of the malecón

 Decrepit and refurbished houses side by side

Would you live here?

 Riverfront property

 Houses perched on the hill

An Ecuadorian on a fishing boat. Around you can see many wild water hyacinth plants floating around.

A ship repair yard

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