I decided to go into Guayaquil the next day to do some shopping at the artisan’s market and to see the Malecon so I went down the gangway to the dock to catch the 9:00 AM shuttle. Some other groups were there, waiting for various reasons. The mosquito Barcoding Initiative (MBI) researchers were going on a mosquito-hunting expedition and some volunteers from TSS were going along. One researcher and one volunteer are show in the photo below. The researcher is holding some implements on long sticks. I’m not sure what their purpose, maybe dipping into water to snag some larvae.
MBI folks 7653
Other groups were Academic Field Programs (AFPs), groups of students led by one faculty member and one Intercultural Residential Counselor going out into town to hear lectures at host universities or visit local businesses or whatever has to do with the program they are studying aboard. A few other scattered people were there for other purposes.
I kept looking for the white van with the “Oceanic II Shuttle” sign on the windshield that had been our shuttle all week but none was in evidence. Finally I asked one of the AFP organizers, who had a cell phone, where the shuttle was. After making a phone call he pointed to one of the two huge tour buses parked nearby and said, “That is your shuttle.” Two other people and I boarded the bus. We waited until 9;15 but no one else came aboard so finally the driver took off. The three of us, one TSS instructor and one ESL specialist and me, laughed that finally they had a vehicle that could accommodate the usual numbers who took the shuttle but on a day when most TSSers were not onboard or were doing AFPs from the ship. So we drove into town.
The other two bus riders 7654
On the way, we passed a park with interesting, colorful things in it as well as beautiful landscaping and some colorfully decorated freeway underpasses so I took pictures of them.
Park 7656
Underpass 7658
I didn’t take any photos of what I did that day but will summarize it by saying I mailed a birthday present package to my youngest grandchild from a post office kiosk in the Malecon, went to the central bank and changed a $100 bill into smaller bills that I could spend. Fifty and one-hundred dollar bills are not accepted by businesses in Ecuador because of the counterfeiting problem. I had to show a copy of my passport and my TSS id, whose details were recorded in the bank’s computer, in order to make the exchange. Then I went to the main post office to buy post card stamps (the kiosk at the Malecon was out of them) and mail postcards. After that, I walked back to the Malecon and down its length to the street on which the market is located, about six blocks up.
I spent an inordinate amount of time at the market and bought all kinds of items made in Ecuador. I got some great things to give as gifts but won’t say here what they are! Most of the time, except when I went to the bank and the post office, I was with the two colleagues who rode the bus with me. Thanks to one or another of us, we got some really great bargains at the market. We ate lunch at a wonderful café I had seen the previous day. Our 3 course meal cost about five dollars each and was fantastic. Then we headed for Centenario Plaza to catch the shuttle back to the ship. Several other TSSers were there, too, waiting for the shuttle but it never came. Finally one of the ship’s crew snagged a taxi and we all piled in. It was a tight fit but the cost was only five dollars for all of us, all the way back to the ship. Another cultural adventure!
TUESDAY 16 October 2007
Museum Day!! It was our last day in port and we had to be on the ship by 3:00 pm. I decided to go to museums on Tuesday. First I went to the Municipal Museum. Most of the signs were in Spanish so I wasn’t sure what I was looking at but non-flash photography was allowed, so I took quite a few pictures. The first exhibition was on native/historical aspects of Guayaquil. First were native animals, depicted in lovely drawings that showed them in their native habitats.
A native wildcat 7664
A native raccoon-like animal 7665
An opossum-like animal 7666
A monkey 7667
A native flower 7668
My favorite exhibition was Huaillaquil, on the archaeology of the region.
Entrance to exhibit 7670
Tiny pottery head (about1-1/2-inch square) 7674
Animal whistle 7676
Potbellied whistle 7677
Another tiny pottery head 7678
Pottery turtle 7682
Pottery emblem 7684
Another Pottery emblem 7685
Portion of figure 7686
Whistle and two pots, with animal-like decorations 7687
The metal masks reminded me of the Agamemnon and other gold masks I saw at the museum in Athens, Greece.
Metal mask 7690
Another Metal Mask 7691
Metal nose ring (very popular item among the ancient peoples) 7692
Necklaces 7701
Figure pot 7696
Tiny figure on pot 7698
Tiny decorations 7700
Western religious figure and indigenous figure in front of drawing of European conquistadores 7702
Close-up of Western religious figure 7703
Painting of conquistadore 7706
Close-up of historic book 7708
Explanation (in Spanish) of the book, something like, “First edition of Gabriel Pino Roca’s book about the colonial city” (anyone who knows Spanish, just ignore the “translation”) 7709
Close-up of the Seal of Guayaquil 7711
Lose-up of Manuscript book 7712
Model of village built by European conquistadores 7713
Model of indigenous people’s village 7716
Entrance to display built around the walls of a pit reached by stairs 7761
After viewing that museum I went to two other museums that did not allow photography so I have no photos of them. One was the Nahim Isaias Museum where I had a personal tour guide who spoke English. She was a young woman who had graduated from the university with a degree in Tourism. She was very informative about the colonial religious works of art in the museum. I learned a lot about the symbolism of the artwork from her well-prepared presentation. The third museum was the Casa de Cultura, the one I had tried to visit on the first day but was closed because of the national holiday. It had some wonderful and creative archaeological displays. In particular, I enjoyed the one that was a cave with openings at frequent intervals. The openings were glass-covered and behind the glass were models of life as it had been lived by the indigenous peoples of the area.
Then I headed to Plaza de Centenario to catch the shuttle back to the ship.
WEDNESDAY 17 October 2007
On my last day in Guayaquil, I went into town to do last-minute shopping and to try to find another Internet Café and try to download photos to this blog. I looked around for most of the day and finally found one on a side street. It looked kind of grubby in there but not scary so I have it a shot. It was much cheaper than the place I’d used before and I was actually able to download some photos to a couple of blogs before it again failed to work. I gave up. Since there were some Cabinas (telephone booths) in the place, I tried making a call to my youngest grandson, whose third birthday was going to be in a couple of days, to wish him happy birthday. The call went through, to my surprise. I talked to him for a little bit and to my daughter-in-law. Both my son and granddaughter were in school at the time. I was well-rewarded for making the call when she told me the Big News. They are going to have a baby in late May!!! WOO HOO! Aother grandchild is on the way.
Then I headed back to Plaza de Centenario to catch the shuttle. Other TSSers were also waiting for the shuttle and one offered to take my picture by a statue near the entrance. Then I took some photos of nearby buildings and continued taking pictures, through the bus window, as we traveled back to the port one last time.
Statue and Buveh 7762
Statue without me 7773
Across the street and to the right; notice ubiquitous yellow taxi 7763
Blue building across street at end of block 7766
Church directly across the street and back one street 7769
National flag and Vincente’s picture on balcony of building, in honor of the national holiday 7770
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Detail of balcony 7772
Views on the way back to the ship, taken from inside the bus
View of building 7792
View 7791
View 3 7799
Decorated underpass columns 7810
More 7819
Sign for library (Biblioteca) 7815
Statue near entrance to military base 7824
Guard station at entrance 7825
Entrance gate to port 7830
Decorated wall on building near port entrance 7831
Closer to main port entrance 7832
Adios, Guayaquil!
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