Guayaquil, Ecuador - Valetine´s Day

So I made it back to Guayaquil yesterday. I was feeling bad about the negativity I posted before I left the Galapagos, because I came to find out it is undergoing one of the biggest urban reviatlizatioon projects in South America and they have this great walk along the ocean that is one big park. So, I take back what I said (but as you will see later, it is too late! )

I took a long walk in the late afternoon along the Malecon 2000, which is a couple miles long(or I should say kilometers! I like metric so much more). It reminds me a little bit of the River walk along San Antonio, but it doesn´t have all the shops, as it is more of a park. There is a huge pond filled with koi and trees and gardens and the there are tons of spots fr children to play and a big open arena where they can have concerts. There were artists drawing pictures of people and palces and there was so much going on. They say it is Ecuador´s version of Central Park, and I guess it is a little. They also have an Imax (even Tucson doesn´t have that!) So, I walked along time just watching oeple. It was Valentine´s Day so there were so ma ny couples walking, holding balloons and flowers and people kissing off in corners. It was really great people-watching and you could feel all the romance in the air. :) At the end of one side of the Malecon, there was this little historic neighborhood called Las Penas. It has 500 steps up through all these little historical buildings, around fountains and curves, with little shops and restaurants and bars. As soon as I started to climb the stairs, there was a torrential downpour. It was so amazing because, as you can imagine, each step from the top had it´s waterflow, plus the flow from each step before it. So, there was this huge cascading waterfall all the way along from the top down! I get under some shelter but it turns out it was on someone´s patio. they were very nice and tried to get me to sit down, but i decided I really wanted to be in the rain, along with a bunch of other people. So I climbed a few hundred steps. I decided to stop for a beer and wait out the rain a bit when I passed this Rastafari Shop.I asked if there was any reggae music in town and he told me to go get a beer and come back and listen to some reggae at the shop with him and this other guy. I thanked him anyway and walked out and then went to the bar next door. When I got there, I wasn´t really into the atmosphere so I bought a beer to go and went back next door to the reggae shop. There I met Victor and his brother Edwin who was taking off on a bus to go surfing on a beach a few hours away. So, then it was me and Victor. He didn´t speak any English so we spent all our time talking in Spanish, which was great for me. We listened to a bunch of reggae music from Chile and Brasil and Ecuador and talked about music and surfing and all sorts of stuff. He and his brother own the shop and take turns running it while each of them travel. We ended up making lists for each other of good music so I have a bunch I need to find on the internet when I get back. I also bought a CD for $2 of some Ecuador music with lots of drums-percussion that was awesome. It was so random to stop there and have a beer but I had such a good time. Later on I went out to eat along the Malecon and had a few beers and watched some other bands play out in the squares (there were several areas to eat and drink along the walkway.

This morning, I woke up super early and got to the airport to find out out I missed my plane to Bonaire. Actually, I didn´t miss it, but I missed checking in an hour prior so they wouldn´t let me. I forgot to change my phone time back from Galapagos time! I was so upset and there was no one to talk to and the airport gate guty was not helpful at all. Eventually I resigned myself to going back to my hostal and trying to make the best of it. Things happen for a reason...On my way way to breakfast, I ran into Victor (and Guayaquil is a small city!) and told him waht happened. How random!

Anyway, Internet is closing. Caio for now!