Guayaquil, Ecuador

We have arrived in Ecuador. We are currently staying at a backpacker's hostel in the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador's economic powerhouse. Large ocean going vessels can dock here importing and exporting all sorts of good. A main export of Ecuador is the banana. Ecuadorian chocolate is supposed to be excellent and the question of where I think Belgian chocolate gets its supply from has been put to me.

Our bus trip was not 16 hours but 19 due to the bus coming in late and the border crossing. It was probably our worst bus experience to date as we were both not feeling well and I had to break the rules of only urinating in the bus' washroom a couple different times. Ashley started feeling very faint in line for the border and had to sit while our passports were being stamped; she always picks the best times. In the end we made it none the worse for wear.

Yesterday we took a public bus to the waterfront of Guayaquil (pronounced huay-a-kil just so you know). The city is not all that spectacular although the waterfront was very pleasant. There were beautiful gardens and ponds with paths to walk through. There was also a museum, an Imax theater, and a food court where we shared a plate of rice and beans for $2.

At the end of the waterfront were 444 stairs leading through a very old part of town up to a lighthouse and church. The steps took us through old shops, storehouses, and residential homes which must have been the heart of the old city. The lighthouse compound was also one of the better defensible positions in the harbour. There were original canons still on display and the views of the city stretching into the horizon were unbeatable.

Along the waterfront were also tall ships. They give tours up and down the river. I was disappointed to find that they did not actually use the sails their rigging and masts proclaimed but instead were powered by diesel. The ships were quite large though, I would say that around 150-200ft. Ashley proclaimed that "the stern is six brothers in length, so it has to be more than 150 feet." She further explained that she imagined her brothers laying in a line on the stern, that this would equal about 38 feet and that the boat was more than five times that size. There are a number of things I would like to say about this and I shall list them below:

1. Apparently having relatives for school principles does not actually improve one's education.
2. When did we adopt the "brother" as standard unit of measurement?
3. There are some Asian countries who do not allow more than one unit of measurement per family and therefor have a hard time with construction projects.
4. I would hate to see what happens when something needs measuring that is a-brother-and-a-half in length. Maybe it would be one brother and one nephew in length? Ashley quipped the nephew piece just now.
5. How would square feet and volume work?

Ecuador has adopted the US dollar as its currency. It is an interesting switch for us as we were constantly trying to convert into USD in Peru and now we are confronted with the true cost of things. It is strange as well for me because the prices here are somewhat what I experienced them when I was growing up. A McDonalds meal is under $5 again.

Today we are heading to Riobamba another large town in Ecuador but in the mountains. I have friends who lives there that we will be connecting with.