Our trip included free air, but we had to get to New York first. We ended up with a 7 hour layover at JFK. Not our favourite way to spend time in the city but we did get the benefit of no lines whatsoever at the check in counter for the second flight.
We found JFK procedures to be much more streamlined and organized than those at Pearson. We were through security in about half the time.
The flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador was from 9:30 to 4:30 a.m. I don't sleep well on planes so it was a movie night until about 2 then some sort of sleeping for a couple of hours. It was just a relief to get back on the ground.
We slept in a nice king bed for a couple of hours then headed off to breakfast. There were quite a few new items to try and we were both pretty hungry. It was fairly meat centric as you can see!
After meeting with our tour rep to hear about plans to head to the islands tomorrow, we thought we'd like to explore a bit of Guayaquil. It's the largest city in Ecuador and there are some beautiful parts but also some sketchy areas. This was the warning sheet we were given. The cruise people also gave us one. Basically, you shouldn't go out alone or walk around the area of the hotel or take unknown taxis.
So, we followed directions and hired an Uber like taxi procured by the concierge of the hotel. We had a very nice driver who spoke only a few words of English but we managed with the help of our Spanish speaking tour person. I need to learn more Spanish than how to order wine or beer, say thank you and find a bathroom. He dropped us off at the beautiful riverfront area and arranged to pick us up two hours later at a pre-arranged spot. And it only cost $20 US! We gave a nice tip.
The waterfront is a walkway with gardens, theatres, restaurants and play areas. It felt very safe to us but there were very visible security people around all the time.
We saw a few feral cats around but these two kittens were the best. If Carrie had been here, she would have scooped them both up for sure!
We had been told we should climb the 400 steps to a lighthouse at the end of the boardwalk. Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn somewhere and wasted a bunch of time. Not wanting to miss our ride back, we only climbed 180 or so of the steps. As it was 30 degrees, sunny and humid, I don't think either of us was upset. On the way to the steps we saw this group of colourful homes on a hill.
The steps went through a barrio or neighbourhood composed of homes and shops.
When we got back to the hotel, we were pretty hot and sticky and decided it was time to try out the pool. Not my usual first choice of activities, but going from -15 to +30 can influence one's thinking.
Here I am at my first ever swim up bar on my first warm birthday! I'm not the more bald guy in the foreground!
We tried out the steak house in the hotel for dinner tonight. Our appetizer was pulpo or grilled octopus. It was great and is something I'd like to try at home.
These were our mains.
We met a couple of Aussies who will be on our cruise and one of them was nice enough to take our picture. Wake up call is 5:15 for our flight to the Galapagos, so good night!
