Faro Cerro Santa Ana
Over the next three weeks, Fun Photo Friday will feature favorites from Guayaquil, Ecuador. So, for a taste of what’s ahead, here is today’s photo gallery and slide show:
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Guayaquil building art
Reaching the Malecón, Ursula and I turned south to enjoy the gardens, statuary, and buildings along the way. We’ll return to the Malecón with our tour group later the next day, and you’ll see more of that next week. But today is our tour without the group, so here we go southward. Here are examples of some of the statuary you’ll see along this park:
Statuary
Statuary
Plaza de la Administración, or City Hall, with its magnificent architectural details:
Plaza de la Administración
Plaza de la Administración
Plaza de la Administración
Next to City Hall is the nifty Plaza de la Independencia Guayaquil, which you’ll get to see more in depth in two weeks. This is the Plaza de la Independencia Guayaquil from the street:
Plaza de la Administración
Back across the street to the park you’ll come across the Torre Morisca (Moorish Clock Tower):
Torre Morisca along the Malecón Simón Bolívar
Another view from the park before I switch to something that happened the next day:
Guayaquil
Our tour guide, whom we would meet the following day, was Daniel.
Tour Guide Daniel
We treated Daniel to lunch on the stipulation that he take us to the best place for bolón de verde. Bolón de verde is a mashed green plantain dumpling with bits of chicharones (pork skin) imbedded in it, or either stuffed or topped with cheese. The dumpling itself is deep fried to a crispy outer shell with a softer interior. Here was our delicious lunch that next day:
Bolón de verde with chicharones
Bolón de verde with cheese
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Guayaquil Malecón Simón Bolívar
Yes, we sometimes travel by land rather than cruise ship. Ursula and I did so in February, 2016, for a comprehensive tour of Ecuador. We flew into Guayaquil, Ecuador, one day before we were to meet up with our tour group, which meant we had an entire day in Guayaquil to explore on our own. So, departing our room at the Hotel Oro Verde, we headed east along Avenue Nueve de Octubre to Malecón Simón Bolívar. It certainly didn’t take long to start finding photo opportunities, less that half a block.
Guayaquil street
Guayaquil art
At 2.7 million people Guayquil is the most populated city in Ecuador. We found the city energetic, colorful, pulsating, and very photogenic.
Guayaquil street
The buildings, both traditional and modern, were a nice visual mix that seldom clashed. And the highly traditional street lights really seemed to tie it all together.
Guayaquil street
Of course the colorful façades didn’t hurt any, either.
Guayaquil street
I found some buildings even deserved multiple photographic treatments from various angles.
Guayaquil street
Our stroll eastward took us directly through Parque Centenario with its beautiful statuary.
Parque Centenario, Guayaquil
It was here, in the park, where we ran across this rather famous gentleman:
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Beyond the park is the Church of San Francisco.
Church of San Francisco, Guayaquil
From the church we turned north for a couple of blocks before once again heading east, which turned out to be rather fortuitous turn because we came across the Bank of Guayaquil. On the side, above the bank’s entrance, was this beautiful mosaic mural:
Guayaquil mosaic façade
Close-up images reveal the fine detail of this colorful work:
Guayaquil mosaic façade
Guayaquil mosaic façade
Less than ten minutes later we arrived on foot at the Malecón Simón Bolívar and the rotunda commemorating the meeting between Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín at the Guayaquil Conference of 1822.
Simón Bolívar and San Martín
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