The Grand City of Guayaquil

Yup! I am in Guayaquil pronounced wire-kill (that's the closest form of pronunciation I could think of). Guayaquil is the largest and most populous city in Ecuador, It's located in the coast and it's about 6 to 7 hours away by bus from Quito depending on the drive.

I had wanted to visit this city for a while and turns out I had chosen the best time to visit because there are festivities taking place this weekend, Guayaquil is celebrating it's foundation. I took a night bus last night from the south terminal Quitumbe because I wanted to sleep my way through the long trip and wake up in Guayaquil. The bus was huge and the seats were very comfortable so I was able to sleep through most of the trip.

This is how the long distance buses look like inside, not too shabby. They also show movies and play music, on the side of the seats they have empty plastic bags for garbage and at the very back there is a   tiny bathroom/restroom.

I arrived in Guayaquil early in the morning and fortunately for me my airbnb hosts were waiting for me so I didn't have to worry about having arrived way too early. The neighborhood looked a bit sketchy at first sight and I was a bit worried as to what to expect but when I was shown my living space for my short stay in the city I was blown away, turns out there is literally a whole apartment with 3 bedrooms built on top of the main house and since there were no other renters, this is what I was presented with.........a whole apartment to myself! and might I add at a very pocket friendly price.

After I settled in my hosts asked me what I had planned for the day and I told them I wanted to go to the main part of town to check out the festivities taking place there and then later on go to a free salsa concert that was being held around the area. They suggested accompanying me to the festivities and showing me around the city if I wanted, of course I wasn't about to pass up the wonderful opportunity of being shown around by locals, so I agreed.

I ended up being introduced to the extended family and we all went out together, they were really cool people and made me feel very welcome. We took a walk along the old part of the city which was really pretty and full of people. The streets were so full that it actually got tricky trying to maneuver our way around at some point.

My hosts, such lovely people I can not thank them enough for their generosity and kindness.

After walking for a while and enjoying some of the activities around us, we finally got to where the free salsa concert was being held. We were kept waiting for 2 whole hours but thankfully they were playing good music to keep folks entertained so that made things slightly better. For real though, I can not believe we had to wait for 2 freaking hours!

Finally the musicians showed up and did their thing, making up for the tardiness.

That's it folks, first day in Guayaquil was awesome and I hope the next day I get to experience a good time as I did today.

Random Thoughts of The Day:

This city is HOT!!! and humid to make matters worse, good thing we went out later in the evening when the heat wasn't as bad.

There seems to be more interracial mixing here than I have seen in Quito. I have seen so many varied complexions and they are all so beautiful.

The girls in this city are curvier, Its not like I am gawking at people's bodies but some of the outfits I have seen leave little to the imagination.

The Spanish accent here is very fast and I have trouble keeping up, it's even giving me a headache from the effort I have to exert to follow conversations. I like how it sounds though.

There is a club or bar next to the house where I am staying at that has been playing some really good salsa music. Even though it's very late at night it doesn't bother me because I like the music.

I just found out one of my favorite bands Grupo Niche will be performing tomorrow night. I am so excited and depending on how things work out I might go to their concert.