Galapagos Trip 2023 -- Day -2 and -1 -- Off to Guayaquil, Ecuador

Day -2:  Flight to Guayaquil

What flight do we take?  As I indicated in the previous blog which is the overview of our Galapagos adventure, we started by flying to Guayaquil, Ecuador.  There are only two cities that offer flights to Galapagos (or at least the Baltra Airport in Galapagos), Guayaquil and Quito.  This is at least in part due to the special screening for possible contaminants and the fumigation of luggage (checked and carry-on) required for flights entering the Galapagos Islands. We would need to fly to Galapagos from one of those two cities.

The UnCruise Galapagos cruise included a one night stay at the Wyndham in Guayaquil and included the flight from Guayaquil to Galapagos, so it was an easy decision to start our adventure in Guayaquil.  To add a little "insurance" in case our flight or our luggage was delayed, we decided to go a day early, hence two nights in Guayaquil with a day to explore a bit.

There are no direct flights to Guayaquil from DFW and only two airlines provide access to Guayaquil from DFW with one stop, American and Spirit.  We had splurged on our Alaska trip last year and flown business class on Alaska Airlines, which made life a lot easier (or dare I say more like flying in the good ol' days).  We hoped to fly business class again.  Since Spirit doesn't have business/first class, then American via Miami it was! 

Neither of us had ever used our AA Advantage miles, but each of our balances accumulated over a lifetime of flying was just enough to get round trip business class tickets.  I am not sure it was the best of all deals, but I could at least rationalize a lifetime of miles for a once in a lifetime trip.

We're off!  We left home at O-dark hundred (i.e. a little after 5 am) on Wednesday, May 10.  After a bit of looking for a parking spot we were unloaded and on our way to the terminal by 5:40 am in preparation for our 8:47 am flight. 

Pic in the DFW parking garage at 5:42 am so I didn't forget where the car was

Everything went smoothly and we were soon at the gate...with plenty of time to spare.  

You can tell I have long since gotten bored if I am taking pictures of the flight board at the gate.  52 more minutes until we board!

The flight to Miami was uneventful, although I must say I think Alaska Airlines business class service is better than American's. We arrived in Miami at about 1 pm for our 6:39 flight..  The longer than ideal layover was due to American moving us to the morning DFW to MIA flight from our originally scheduled early afternoon flight some months ago.  At least with a business class ticket to Ecuador we could hang out in the American Airlines Admirals Club.  Hours there were boring, but at least it was quiet and comfortable with free snacks.

On to Guayaquil.  I tend to forget how much further east South America is than North America.  We went almost due south, going from Miami to Guayaquil, passing over Cuba and Panama along the way.

 

GPS track of flight from Miami to Guayaquil

I was hoping to get pictures of Cuba as we passed over, but thunderstorms meant heavy clouds below us.  By the time we passed over Panama it was dark, but I am pretty sure I could see lights from ships in the Panama Canal.

Touch down in Guayaquil.  We touched down in Guayaquil a little after 10 pm local time for a total flying time of about 4.5 hours. It was raining, but the ground crew waving the plane in didn't seem to care with no hats or no raincoats, etc.

The airport was a nice and seemed relatively new, but it was pretty much deserted when we arrived.  We did not know what to expect with passport control and customs in Ecuador, but that turned out to be a non-issue.  The only question they asked us was how long we were staying.  We then moved through the doors to find the friendly lady with the UnCruise sign. who shepherded us to the hotel shuttle bus, gave us a quick introduction while on the 10-15 minute ride to the hotel, then helped us get checked in.

The hotel was very nice.  Our room overlooked both the Guayas River and the fancy tall corkscrew skyscraper with changing colored lights next door. 

Day -1: Exploring Guayaquil (kind of).  

Safety concerns in Guayaquil.  When we originally began thinking about what to do in Guayaquil months ago we thought about taking one of the half day or full day trips into the countryside to a cacao farm.  It was about this time that we began to hear much more about the increased violence in the area, apparently a war between various drug cartels. (Click here or here)  We heard the following from many sources:

• Don't be on the street with expensive jewelry or electronics. (For us, we interpreted that to mean no cameras or no gps.).  
• If you use your phone, be very discreet, preferably not out in the open.  If you decide to take pictures, do it quickly then put the phone away immediately.  At all times keep two hands on your phone.
  
• Carry only a copy of your passport; leave the original in the hotel safe.  
• Above all, never never hail a taxi on your own on the street because you risk being kidnapped and held for ransom.   If you need a taxi, ask the staff at any of the area hotels to call one for you.
  

Effective April 2 through at least May 31, the government declared a state of emergency in Guayaquil due to the increase in criminal activity and imposed a 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.  The U.S. State Department issued a Level 3 "Reconsider Travel" for north Guayaquil (where we were), but a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" for south Guayaquil.  On top of all of that an earthquake hit the Gulf of Guayaquil on March 18 and I realized earthquakes were a common occurrence there.  What were we getting ourselves into?

Despite all of these problems in Ecuador proper, and especially Guayaquil, Galapagos is considered very safe.  With that in mind, we never considered canceling our trip.  We just decided to limit our exploration in Guayaquil to the touristy area near the hotel.

Early morning Puerto Santa Ana.  We were up early the following morning and in the hotel restaurant ready for breakfast when they opened.  After breakfast we walked out the back of the hotel, which from the lobby actually seemed more like the front with the multi-story glass wall looking out onto a boardwalk and the Gauyas River beyond.  Although not particularly picturesque (possibly due to the flooding in the country the past few months?), the river is very wide.  It is about one mile wide here in the narrow section, but more than two miles wide just a bit north where the Daule River from the west and the Babahoyo River from the east come together to form the Guayas.

Picture from our seventh floor hotel window of the Guayas River. The bridge in the distance is over the Daule River just barely above where it joins with the Babahoyo River.  Immediately  below is part of the boardwalk.  The blue strip next to the water is a fountain and light sculpture feature.  The green is the top of the "grackle tree", the nighttime resting spot for hundreds of noisy grackles.

Wyndham Hotel, Puerto Santa Ana, Guayaquil (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wyndham_Hotel_Guayaquil.JPG)

 

The Wyndham Hotel on the left and the corkscrew Point Tower along the boardwalk, Puerto Santa Ana, Guayaquil (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Santa_Ana_(Guayaquil)#/media/Archivo:Puerto_Santa_Ana,_Guayaquil,_Ecuador.jpg)

The area  was pretty empty early in the morning, with a few people walking their dogs or jogging.  The vast majority of people we saw were uniformed officers, either police or security guards.  

The most unexpected thing here were all of the stray cats. They were under the bushes, in the trees, or roaming among the outside tables of the many restaurants along the boardwalk.  We could see in one location that someone had put out food for them.  They were lounging around and obviously very much at home and they were definitely well fed.

We walked south until we started down a cobblestone street of mostly art galleries.  At that point we turned around and walked back to the hotel to meet up with Paul and Gwen, who were eating breakfast.  They had arrived the day before via Panama City.

On to the Malecon  I had read a lot about the Malecon 2000, the boardwalk along the river.   I thought we were on the north end of the Malecon, but discovered the Malecon was actually a bit further south beyond the cobblestone street.. We had been in a new development called Puerto Santa Ana, which includes the hotel, and had not made it quite far enough south to the Malecon.

We headed out again with Paul and Gwen.  They were on their way to the Anthropology and Contemporary Art Museum at the north end of the Malecon, while we continued on to see more of the Malecon that they had seen the day before.

There were museums, a garden containing many plants that I think of as house plants, a small amusement park, and a large Ferris wheel.

Malecon gardens (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/SageoEG_-_Malec%C3%B3n_y_sus_jard%C3%ADnes_001.jpg)

The Turkey in front of the letter Q on the Malecon with the river in the background and the La Perla ferris wheel. The hill to the left is Santa Ana Hill, an historical part of the city and now a popular tourist attraction.  For reference, our hotel is adjacent to the hill but on the other side from this viewpoint.  On top of the hill is a lighthouse (visible in the picture), a museum, and a small chapel built in 1548.  The top of the hill is reached by climbing 444 steps which are lined by an array of colorful boutique shops, restaurants, and bars with numerous plazas, fountains, and parks along the way.  The stairway and adjacent stores to the top are heavily patrolled and considered safe for tourists.  Given the humidity, the 444 steps, andthe fact that we missed seeing the entrance, we never really considered making the climb.

Our first of many iguanas we saw on this trip with the river in the background. This is a green iguana, different than the ones we would see later in Galapagos.

This is part of the monument commemorating the meeting between Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin on July 26, 1822 in Guayaquil.  Simon Bolivar was the liberator of Venezuela and Columbia as well as involved in the liberation of Panama, Ecuador, and Bolivia.  Jose de San Martin was liberator of Argentina Chile and Peru.  Their meeting in Guayaquil is considered a turning point in the South American independence process. 

Although admittedly a protected bubble within the city, we felt safe on both the Malecon and in Puerto Santa Ana.  There were lots of police and security guards everywhere.  Even though it bordered some of the main downtown streets, access to the Malecon was controlled.  It was enclosed by a tall fence with police at the few entrances,  There were lots of restaurants on the boardwalk in Puerto Santa Ana.  We ate at numerous different restaurants there in addition to the hotel restaurant and enjoyed all of them.  Puerto Santa Ana, and the Wyndham in particular, turned out to be a great place to stay and get the chance to explore a bit despite the security concerns.