I had found the phone number on the Church’s website, so I showed it to the proprietor of the Cabinas tienda and he told me it would cost 10 cents a minute and which portion of the number to use (I didn’t need the country code or the city code) and ushered me into a glass cabina. When I picked up the phone, I saw on a digital readout box on the wall how much time I’d used and what the cost was at any given point in the call.
When someone at the temple answered, I said, “Buenos dias” and then “Do you speak English?” Fortunately the answer, given with a Spanish accent, was “Yes.” The helpful man told me when the sessions were and that I could either take a taxi, “don’t pay more than $5” or either of two buses to get there. They were on their holiday schedule so the first session was at 11:00 and the next one at 2:00. It was then 10:00. The 2:00 would make it a challenge to get the shuttle back to the port so I took a taxi, for $5 which I arranged before I got into the cab, showed him the location on the map in the book I’d bought the day before, and we took off. He wasn’t exactly sure where it was since he’d never been there before but knew the general area. It didn’t take too long and we were on a winding sort of road that was going gradually upward when there before us, on a hill was the beautiful white temple! It was a gorgeous sight to behold. He drove me right up to the gate and the gatekeeper let me in. A short, winding driveway lead uphill to the main entrance. I asked if it was okay to take photos and he said yes, so I spent several minutes taking pictures from various angles as I walked toward the entrance. Here is what I saw:
First View 7324
Side view with landscaping 7325
Front entrance 7327
Area beside entrance 7329
Close-up of stained glass window 7330
Entrance and fountain 7333
Close-up of inscription over entrance (“Holiness to the Lord; The House of the Lord”) 7347
Close-up of front door 7335
After taking the photos, I put my camera away and went inside the temple. Like all temples, it was beautiful, clean and quiet. It was also large; much larger than my “home” temple in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. It is a two-story temple and was built between August 1996 and July 1999 and has been in use since its dedication on 31 July 1999. Everyone there was very nice and helpful, workers and patrons alike. I was provided with a recorded English translation of the session, and everything went smoothly and was as wonderful as it always is, no matter where I’ve attended (4 in Utah; California; Hawaii; Washington DC; Atlanta; St. Paul, MN; Winter Quarters, NE; Seoul, Korea).
After the session, I asked about the location of the church nearest to the port because I wanted to attend church on Sunday. A very helpful man whose English was quite good, explained to me where it was and how to get there. Someone else drew a clear map for me to show the taxi driver when the time came. I thanked everyone profusely and then asked how I could call for a taxi and they said the guard at the gate would call one for me, which he very kindly did. However, after I left the temple I did not immediately go to the gate; I walked around to the front of the temple to take more photos. For some reason, the pictures turned out in black and white. I’m not sure how that happened, but the temple still looks magnificent.
Fence design 7354
Nice angle view 7356
Close-up of window 7351
View along side of temple 7357
Full front view 7349
Visiting Parque Historico (Historical Park)
When the taxi came, I asked him to take me to Parque Historico, we agreed on the price of $5 and we took off. The driver drove like a madman, down the winding streets from the temple, along regular roads and at one point, where there were five lanes of traffic going in our direction and we were approaching a place where three roads converge and we were in the far left lane, he charged across all the lanes of traffic to get to the right lane to make a right turn. When I recovered my breath, he started turning around to converse in very serious, concerned tones about something. Eventually, because he had almost no English and I had little Spanish, I figured out that he was concerned that I wasn’t aware that I needed to pay him for the ride. When I finally said, “Cinqo Dollars” and held up five fingers of one hand, he smiled, agreed, and relaxed. The ride from there was still fast but at least he wasn’t agitated, fearing he would have to fight me for the fare.
The Historical Park was very nicely built and truly lovely. It consists of several sections, a wildlife area consisting of reptiles, birds and mammals in natural settings with a boardwalk for human guests, a colonial area recreating how Guayaquil looked during that time, and another area showed the indigenous culture. I took some photos there.
Two green parrots in a tree – can you find them? 7365
How the trees grow 7369
I thought this was one turtle 7377
But it turned out to be two 7378
Siesta time for tapirs 7381
Ducks 7374
I had to take a picture of the fencing used, along with planted vines, to separate the various animals from each other. Take a good luck at the next photo and see if you can tell which is fence and which is vine.
Fence and vine 7379
Beautiful parrot 7382
When I stopped to take a picture of the beautiful parrot, I heard Spanish voices behind me saying, “Hola, hola!” (Hello, hello) and then other voices – above me - responding, “Hola! Hola!” Surprised, I turned around and saw a family of three looking up and talking to two parrots who were on a vine directly over my head.
“Hola” parrots overhead 7383
Pretty yellow flowers 7386
Snozing tapir under and arbor 7390
At one point along the boardwalk, two park employees were at a table that displayed works woven out of native fibres, including Panama hats, which are made in Ecuador, and the lovely Nativity, photographed here. I adored it and if I’d seen any for sale anywhere, I’d probably have bought one, but this is the only place I saw one and it wasn’t for sale.
Nativity and hat made from native fibers 7389
Crocodiles (crocodriles) 7393
While I was photographing the crocodiles, I heard music playing and voices singing beyond the trees bordering the wildlife area. I realized it was the colonial area and that there was a dance performance going on, so I just rushed past all the rest of the wildlife until I came to the colonial area. There was a large crowd of people surrounding the pavilion where the dancing was taking place. I dodged and darted about, trying to take photos and wasn’t very successful. Also, the performance was nearly over by the time I arrived, but here are the best of the photos. Remember, the dancers were in MOTION! Even the blurry ones give the impression of the dance moves.
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I saw Nikki and her friend Camilla from Quito there; they had come there from TSS and were going to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the Urdeso area before returning to the shop overnight. The next day they were going to Quito for a couple of days.
An old timey trolley car (for my train-loving grandson) 7405
The hospital 7407
By then it was about 2:30 and I was very hungry so I went to a food vendor and bought something to eat. Then I proceeded to the plantation part of the park and took several photos of the area.
An arbor of branches and vines leads to the plantation area 7410
Plantation/garden area; note hut in back 7411
Sectioned garden with descriptive explanations 7412
Display of use of herbs 7414
Various herbs used 7415
Another display 7417
Native plants 7419
Use of herbs 7420
Types of foods commonly used and, apparently, kept close at hand for use.
Rabbits 7422
Quails (?) 7423
Fish (for my aquarium-loving son-in-law) 7425
Shelter 7426
Native plant (cana lily?) 7428
Pink flower close-up 7430
As I walked around, workers began stringing streamers from poles along the brick-covered walkway. Obviously something special was going to take place later in the day but the park would close at 4:00 or 4:30 and I needed to leave before then to take a taxi to Centenario Plaza by 6:00, when the last shuttle would leave..
Streamers for event 7431
Heavily laden coconut palm tree 7432
Beautiful landscaping 7435
When the dancing performance had ended earlier, another event at a different location was announced. Nikki and her friend went to attend it. They invited me to join them but said it would be in Spanish so I decided not to go. I had the impression it would be along the lines of vaudeville so when I went past the venue a little later, I took a quick photo from the side. It did sound and look like slapstick comedy.
Ecuadorian slapstick comedy? 7434
Views seen on the way back to TSS
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The LDS Church nearest the port, on the right behind the white van (the only photo I managed to take of it) 3706
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I could always tell we were getting near the port when I saw the containers stacked behind a fence on the left side of the road (the right side when we were heading into town).
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Then came a roundabout. There usually were crowds of people, street vendors selling food, apparently. At the end of the roundabout nearest the gate to the port was a sheltered area where people were usually sitting and eating. Across the street from the sheltered area was a bus stop where people waited under the shade of a tree.
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