Guayaquil is the coastal city of Ecuador where people visit mostly in transit to Galapagos. It is cheaper and easier to adjust if you choose to transit in Guayaquil rather than Quito. Unless of course your purpose is also to spend few days exploring Quito and surroundings. There is more (nature and mountains) to do in Quito as compared to Guayaquil.
We were in Guayaquil for about 2 days whilst travelling to Galapagos, so what can we do whilst in the coastal city? Internet has got quite a few suggestions, though all of them are similar and didn't really excite us much. It is afterall a very city location so most of the activities are based around the city, unless you choose to do a cocoa tour which takes you hours outside.
The city itself is quite easy to navigate and you can probably do most of the things in a day. Be sure to protect yourself against the sun! We got burnt after the 1st day.
Transportation
Uber is the way to go! It is super cheap and abundant. The most we paid was USD 3 to get from near the airport to the city center (that was a 10min ride). It was USD 2 to get from the airport to our hotel near the airport (a 5 min drive) whilst an airport taxi would be USD 5.
Hot chocolate
Ecuador is known for its cocoa hence chocolate. Although walking in the city, you don't really see lots of chocolate shops. I guess it would be more popular in Quito. If you want to buy some Ecuadorian chocolate, buy them from the supermarket at reasonable price. Those fruit flavoured ones are pretty delicious. And of course, who can forget about hot chocolate! I can drink them in any weather conditions! The best hot chocolate is at La Pepa De Oro in Grand Hotel. You can only have that after breakfast hour (don't make the same mistake as we did the 2nd time - they serve a different menu during breakfast hours). One of the best I've ever had! Thick and chocolatey you wouldn't regret it!
Las Penas
Colourful colonial houses paint the backdrop in this area! Start the walk of 444 steps to the top where the lighthouse is (it was closed when we went). A really nice walk with great views on the top). End it with a walk along the cobblestone street. Stop for a drink or some food along the way
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| Cobbled stone walk |
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| Walking up 444 steps |
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| Colourful houses on the hill |
Malecon 2000
It's a natural progression after you're done with Las Penas. A walk along the waterfront. It is more catered towards families as there are playgrounds and theme park. Personally, I was not that much impressed by it but can imagine it will be a nice way to spend the weekend for families. The walk is about 2KM.
Mercado de Sauces 9
This is a local food market that is pretty interesting to explore. They have the market side where you can buy fresh food and fruits and the street food side where you can find all the local street food and cerviche. The prices are also very reasonable. It is a little out of the way from the main attraction but with Uber it is very doable for a couple hours.We had the mixed cerviche from Gust Conchas - was not the wise choice as it came with raw clams and osyters which made it all too fishy. The cerviche was not the best and found it quite expensive (USD 14). The small food stalls on the other side would be a better choice for more variety.
Also, get that bottle of aji from the market - it is not too spicy but really good flavour!
Parque Seminario
Where you see iguanas chilling. As we were going to Galapagos, it was not so much of an attraction for us but it was nice to see them just minding their own business whilst tourists snap photos.
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| Iguanas minding their own business |
There are a few other tourist attractions but we didn't have the time to explore - Isla Santay is apparently a nice day trip out.
Food to try
We always like to try local food because the way to a person's heart is through his/her stomach! To be honest, Ecuadorian food is not the most exciting or adventurous (except maybe guinea pig), but since we were there we just had to try it for ourselves!
Encebollado - This we like the most. It is a clear fish soup with herbs and with a squeeze of lemon and aji, a really delicious dish! For only USD 2, it is sufficient as a meal itself! The amount of fish served in a bowl is ridiculous
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| Encebollado |
Patacon con Queso - fried plaintain with cheese. Not a big fan of the cheese there - white cheese that is rather rubbery and tasteless. Nothing to shout about with this dish, it is a very dry dish as the plaintains are very thin and fried to crisp so after a few of this, you'll be quite done
Encocado - this is a coconut milk stew usually with seafood. Also a thumbs up and must try! When it's done well, it is so fragrant. We had a really good one in Galapgos (Lo & Lo).
Empanadas - A very South American food. The empanads here are huge and with a variety of fillings - fish, prawns, meat, cheese. We had a good one in Galapagos (Mundo, open in the morning and late afternoon) for USD 2.
Bolon de Verde - the "Verde" refers to green plaintain used to make the Bolon. Not a fan of this. It is basically a big ball of mashed plaintain that is fried, with chunks of white cheese and chicarron. It's too dry for our liking, and very heavy.
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| Bolon - not very appetizing looking and doesn't taste that great but is a local fav |
Cerviche - How can you be in Ecuador and not eat cerviche!! At Red Crab in Guayaquil we had one of the best cerviches, and also a Peruvian one at one of the food halls. In Galapagos, we had a really good one on the liveaboard. Often times, they serve it with popcorn! That's kinda weird, but it is a additional crunch for the dish. Other places serve it with roasted choclo (corn).
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| One of the better cervices we had |
Humitas - it's basically a tamale made from Choclo (those giant Peruvian corn). Really like this - when done well, it is melt in your mouth smooth and moist. Eat it with a little aji and the flavours pop!
Crab - you have to try it when you're here. Red Crab has got a good selection but make sure you know what you ordered! We had a language barrier and instead of ordering the crabs in their shells, we ended up having a dish of crab meat. Flavours were still great but a little disappointed not to be deshelling the crabs.
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| Crab meat from Red Crab |
To be honest , as mentioned before, the food in Ecuador didn't quite leave us wanting. A few gems here and there but not the type of cuisine we will be dreaming of after we leave.
If your main purpose is just to get to Guayaquil and only have a day or two to spare for transit, go via Guayaquil. The lower altitude and cheaper air fare makes it more accessible than Quito. If you have more days, Quito would be nice to explore.
We stayed near the airport and that was good for us - easier to catch the early flights out to Galapagos, and it wasn't that difficult to get into the city center (Uber is so cheap). There are also enough restaurants within a 3KM radius of the airport area that you wouldn't go hungry.
Post on Galapagos diving adventure will follow next.....
