6 January, 2018
We left the Galapagos and landed in Guayaquil, the city on the coast created for exports. We started a walking tour and visited Iguana Park, right across from our hotel. It was filled with people, and lots of guards, as Diego told us about the “sweet dreams trick” that cause men to go missing and have their items stolen. Well-dressed pretty women would have men smell their perfume, only to be knocked unconscious. He also told us how sloths used to be found in the park with the iguanas, but they were all stolen and probably sold on the black market.
After the park, we visited the Metropolitan Cathedral that had stained glass of every single saint in the Catholic religion. Diego pointed out the architecture of the city to be Caribbean like, but also with a lot of French influence. We stopped by the river and listened to what Diego had to say about the city. Guayaquil contains a lot of very rich and very poor people with no middle class. Although children are required to attend school, the poor children are often forced to stop school and work to support their families by selling things, such as water bottles, on the side of the streets. As we continued walking on the strip by the water there were so many people selling bottled water, yet we were told to only buy it from vending machines since people will take bottles from the recycling cans and fill them with tap water.
We then walked through a small town and up 444 steps to the lighthouse. The steps cut right through the entertainment part of the city, with bars, restaurants, and shops all lining the main stairs with music and lights coming from them all. At the last step we climbed a lighthouse and took in the beautiful views of Guayaquil. Although this was considered one of the more dangerous cities that we visited, I felt safe among the group and enjoyed walking through it. On the way back we stopped for dinner (I admit I got wendy’s), and discussed activities for the next day.
We left the Galapagos and landed in Guayaquil, the city on the coast created for exports. We started a walking tour and visited Iguana Park, right across from our hotel. It was filled with people, and lots of guards, as Diego told us about the “sweet dreams trick” that cause men to go missing and have their items stolen. Well-dressed pretty women would have men smell their perfume, only to be knocked unconscious. He also told us how sloths used to be found in the park with the iguanas, but they were all stolen and probably sold on the black market.
After the park, we visited the Metropolitan Cathedral that had stained glass of every single saint in the Catholic religion. Diego pointed out the architecture of the city to be Caribbean like, but also with a lot of French influence. We stopped by the river and listened to what Diego had to say about the city. Guayaquil contains a lot of very rich and very poor people with no middle class. Although children are required to attend school, the poor children are often forced to stop school and work to support their families by selling things, such as water bottles, on the side of the streets. As we continued walking on the strip by the water there were so many people selling bottled water, yet we were told to only buy it from vending machines since people will take bottles from the recycling cans and fill them with tap water.
We then walked through a small town and up 444 steps to the lighthouse. The steps cut right through the entertainment part of the city, with bars, restaurants, and shops all lining the main stairs with music and lights coming from them all. At the last step we climbed a lighthouse and took in the beautiful views of Guayaquil. Although this was considered one of the more dangerous cities that we visited, I felt safe among the group and enjoyed walking through it. On the way back we stopped for dinner (I admit I got wendy’s), and discussed activities for the next day.
7 January, 2018
Day 7 consisted of a long drive to Cajas National Park with some stops in between. As we drove out of Guayaquil it was easy to see the distinction between the poor parts of the city and the wealthier parts on the other side of the river. We passed lots of street vendors on the side of the road selling all kinds of fresh fruits. Our first stop was at a Cocoa farm located in a small town. We toured the farm and looked at the fruits of the National Cacao and the Hybrid CCM51. We witnessed the process of creating 100% cacao: taking the beans out of the fruit, drying them out, toasting, peeling, and grinding. We even tasted the raw, white and slimy cacoa from the shell. It was so good and sweet I almost preferred its fruity taste to the taste of regular chocolate. Even though it was so warm, we drank fresh hot cocoa and loaded the bus to get on our way.
Our next stop was at the Churute Mangroves Ecological Reserve, where we picked up a guide and saw a mother and baby three-toed sloth hanging from the tree over the road. We then took a long motorized canoe along the Guayas River where we saw lots of birds including the pink spoonbill. We learned that the reserve was created to protect the mangroves from destruction caused by shrimp farming, one of Ecuador’s main exports. Over 1,400 families make a living in the mangroves as crabbers or shrimp farmers. After our short ride on the boat we took a walk to try and spot some howler monkeys (we didn’t see any and got eaten alive by mosquitoes).
After leaving the reserve, we drove towards the Andes. Although a lot of the class took this as a time to nap, I stayed awake and watched us ascend into the clouds. It was like we were entering into a different world as we drove along the twisted mountain roads. We stopped at Tres Crosses, the highest point named after the men who would walk from Guayaquil to Cuenca carrying three heavy crosses to represent heaven, mainland, and the underground. It was breathtaking, literally and figuratively. Our bodies were still acclimating to the altitude-we travelled from sea level to nearly 15,000 ft. in one day. Even just the short walk up to the lookout caused me to fall short of breath.
We took a hike through Cajas and learned about what makes this pàramo ecosystem so special. The park contains more that 700 interconnected lakes which provide Cuenca with clean drinking water. The vegetation consists of alpine grasses, mosses, and communities of poly lepice trees that can be 2000 years old. Although I couldn’t get the names of them all, Diego pointed out lots of medicinal plants along the trail used by the indigenous people. Although small mountains of rock surrounded us the ground was squishy and wet, and we had to cross some soggy wetlands by jumping on what Diego called "cushion plants" Towards the end of the hike the sun even began to set, making a beautiful backdrop for the landscape. I loved this place so much I decided I wanted to write my research paper on it! That night we stayed in the city of Cuenca, in one of the nicest hotels I've ever been in, Hotel Victoria.
Day 7 consisted of a long drive to Cajas National Park with some stops in between. As we drove out of Guayaquil it was easy to see the distinction between the poor parts of the city and the wealthier parts on the other side of the river. We passed lots of street vendors on the side of the road selling all kinds of fresh fruits. Our first stop was at a Cocoa farm located in a small town. We toured the farm and looked at the fruits of the National Cacao and the Hybrid CCM51. We witnessed the process of creating 100% cacao: taking the beans out of the fruit, drying them out, toasting, peeling, and grinding. We even tasted the raw, white and slimy cacoa from the shell. It was so good and sweet I almost preferred its fruity taste to the taste of regular chocolate. Even though it was so warm, we drank fresh hot cocoa and loaded the bus to get on our way.
Our next stop was at the Churute Mangroves Ecological Reserve, where we picked up a guide and saw a mother and baby three-toed sloth hanging from the tree over the road. We then took a long motorized canoe along the Guayas River where we saw lots of birds including the pink spoonbill. We learned that the reserve was created to protect the mangroves from destruction caused by shrimp farming, one of Ecuador’s main exports. Over 1,400 families make a living in the mangroves as crabbers or shrimp farmers. After our short ride on the boat we took a walk to try and spot some howler monkeys (we didn’t see any and got eaten alive by mosquitoes).
After leaving the reserve, we drove towards the Andes. Although a lot of the class took this as a time to nap, I stayed awake and watched us ascend into the clouds. It was like we were entering into a different world as we drove along the twisted mountain roads. We stopped at Tres Crosses, the highest point named after the men who would walk from Guayaquil to Cuenca carrying three heavy crosses to represent heaven, mainland, and the underground. It was breathtaking, literally and figuratively. Our bodies were still acclimating to the altitude-we travelled from sea level to nearly 15,000 ft. in one day. Even just the short walk up to the lookout caused me to fall short of breath.
We took a hike through Cajas and learned about what makes this pàramo ecosystem so special. The park contains more that 700 interconnected lakes which provide Cuenca with clean drinking water. The vegetation consists of alpine grasses, mosses, and communities of poly lepice trees that can be 2000 years old. Although I couldn’t get the names of them all, Diego pointed out lots of medicinal plants along the trail used by the indigenous people. Although small mountains of rock surrounded us the ground was squishy and wet, and we had to cross some soggy wetlands by jumping on what Diego called "cushion plants" Towards the end of the hike the sun even began to set, making a beautiful backdrop for the landscape. I loved this place so much I decided I wanted to write my research paper on it! That night we stayed in the city of Cuenca, in one of the nicest hotels I've ever been in, Hotel Victoria.