We arrived in Guayaquil after a torturous journey with American Airlines. After all the problems we had encountered ever since checking in at San Jose airport we were pleased to finally arrive in Ecuador to start the South American leg of our journey. We had chosen to fly in to Guayaquil rather than Quito as from there we could catch a direct flight to the Galapagos a few days later. We arrived late in the evening so headed straight to our hostel and to bed. The following morning we were up at a reasonable time to take advantage of the breakfast supplied by our hostel. Without knowing much about Guayaquil we decided out best bet was to consult our Lonely Planet on things to do in the city. Without an exactly emphatic write up on the tourist things to do our only real option was to explore the Malecón 2000. The Malecón 2000 is a waterfront promenade that stretches 3km and attracts the breeze from the Rio Guayas. The redevelopment project, at the turn of the millennium, has lead to this area being the pride and joy of the city. As with a lot of South American cities there are dangerous areas particularly after dark, the Malecón 2000 however is extremely safe at all hours due to a sizeable police presence. To get to the Malecón 2000 we decided to use the local transport rather than the easier option of a taxi. The bus ride itself was of a lot of interest as we snaked through different neighbourhoods around the city and then in to the centre from where we had to walk a few blocks to the waterfront. The promenade itself is full of bars, restaurants and even a small wildlife park. It was at one of these restaurants halfway down the promenade that Sue and I stopped for lunch.After lunch we finished off the length of the walk until we hit the narrow cobbled streets at one end. These streets form a maze up one side of a hill full of attractive homes and restaurants of different colours. We walked for a few minutes and decided that after 3km and a bit that we had done enough walking to warrant getting a taxi back to our hostel. In the hostel we had a few bits and pieces to sort out before going to Galapagos. We spent the remainder of the afternoon printing out tour vouchers, getting sea sickness pills and making sure we had enough cash for a few days on the Islands. That evening Sue and I decided to walk to a local restaurant recommended by our hostel owner. The promise was that we would find the best Falafel and Souvlaki in town; unfortunately they were out of Falafel. We then decided to hop a taxi to another restaurant across town which promised much the same. This restaurant was also suffering from a distinct lack of Falafel. We returned to our hostel starving hungry and took the shameful step of ordering a pizza to be delivered. After polishing off the pizza in record time we sent ourselves to bed, primarily in punishment but also to get some sleep before our early start the next day when we would be flying to the Galapagos. I'll up date you on that soon.

John