SANTIAGO DE GUAYAQUIL: back to the Pacific Ocean

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Santiago de Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest and most populous (4 million inhabitants) city, and most important port at the same time. It is located is the western bank of the Guayas river, about 60km north of the Gulf of Guayaquil in the Pacific Ocean.
Guayaquil is not much of a touristic destination. It is however an important place for travelers going to the Galápagos islands, and that was the main reason for me to visit it.

One highlight of the bus drive from Baños was the live TV transmission of the Italy - Costa Rica game. But the TV signal was too weak in most places as we crossed the cordillera, so that it was more like following the game on radio.

Guayaquil was founded in 1538 by the Spanish Francisco de Orellana in a place where a native village already existed. It played an important role as harbor during the colony and was target of several pirate attacks, including one in 1709 were the city was looted and ransom was demanded, however the invaders departed suddenly without collecting the ransom escaping a yellow fever epidemy.

On July 26, 1822, José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar held a historical conference in Guayaquil to plan for the independence of Spanish in South America. A big monument in Guayaquil commemorates this event.

Guayaquil is not much of a touristic destination. It is however an important place for travelers going to the Galápagos islands, and that was also the main reason for me to visit Guayaquil.

I spent two nights in Guayaquil and stayed at the Hostal Madrid, central and clean. They were very friendly and helped me storing part of my staff that I didn't want to take with me to Galápagos.