The trip from Vancouver took 15 hours in total and included 2 layovers: 1.5 hour stopover in San Fransisco and a 2 hour stopover in Panama City, Panama. When I was in the Panama City airport, my ears immediately starting dialing in to hear SPANISH! ¿Que Bueno verdad? Panama to Guayaquil was a relatively short trip which lasted about 2 hours while the flight from San Fransisco to Panama proved to be the largest part of the trip lasting about 7 hours. The total flight time was roughly 11 hours to get from Vancouver (Canada) to Guayaquil.
I was surprised to have an unusually long (20 minute) session with the immigration officer before having my passport stamped and allowing me into the country. The officer asked many questions and when I asked what the problem was, she would not tell me even after having to leave to an office in the back to ask for assistance. A little odd but hey I am in Ecuador now. I was lucky to have my friend meet me in the airport and she arranged a private taxi to take me to the place I was going to stay for the next week or so.
Traveller Tip: Taxis in Ecuador are notoriously dangerous especially in Guayaquil (not so much in Quito, Cuenca, Banos and other places). Taxis have been known to rob passengers and I've even heard of stories where they would kidnap people or hold you or your belongings for ransom while driving around ATM machines while you take out money to give them. This treatment is not exclusive to extranjeros (foreigners) as it also happens to local Ecuadorians, although the majority of incidents involve extranjeros because they don't know any better. Uber does not exist in Ecuador as it is in a state of debate whether it should be allowed (same as in Vancouver), however there are services like EasyTaxi here that provide services very similar to Uber including having the name of the driver and license plate of your taxi before being picked up. Another interesting thing here is everyone seems to be on WhatsApp. So with EasyTaxi, you can chat with their operators to schedule rides. Anyways, the general rule is never grab a taxi from the street in Ecuador (Guayaquil mostly). Instead, use one of the services provided or get a phone number of a verified taxi driver from friends (most of the friends I have here reuse the same taxi drivers).
In 2000, Ecuador decided to change their currency to US dollars because of their failing economy. Unfortunately for me the current exchange rate on the Canadian dollar is around 0.74 (1USD = 1.35CDN). :/
The skies over Guayaquil was covered with clouds and I soon found out it is very common here. So when I see blue skies here, it's a cause for celebration. Other places like Cuenca, Banos and Quito are not like this.
Getting to my apartment was a bit difficult for the driver even with an address. House numbers are not clearly marked so an address gets you only to the vicinity of the area you hope to get to. I will be staying with a family in their house, but I get my own private room with my own bathroom and kitchen! It is a very nice house in a relatively safe neighbourhood and the owners are very welcoming and kind. They are medical doctors here, so I guess if I get hurt they can patch me up pretty quickly huh. I hope it never comes to that though! My room was very private and had a large window with a view of the city streets, a huge air condition unit and my own bathroom and kitchen. I'm guessing it was about 400 sq. ft., smaller than my condo in Vancouver but very comfortable. I also had access to the rooftop which had amazing views of the surrounding buildings in the area.
My arrival was on Friday, January 30 at around lunch time. I stayed in the business district of Kennedy Norte which is about a 20 minute bus ride from central downtown and close to the airport, the World Trade Center and the Canadian Consulate. There are also 3 main malls close by (Policentro, San Marino and Mall del Sol) where I can go shopping.
After settling in, I decided to go to Mall del Sol to stretch my legs and get a feel for Ecuadorian life. The malls are pretty modern compared to Canada and has similar stores and in addition to their local brands makes shopping fun. I planned to not stand out if I could help it but I wore my day back to carry whatever I would buy. The mall was decorated in Christmas decor and there were many people shopping on this Friday night. I picked up some body lotion and some toothpaste from the pharmacy and checked out GoPro gear and and some clothes. Prices were very comparable to Vancouver and maybe slightly less in price. A t-shirt for example would cost 10-20$USD. The lotion was about 4$USD. I noticed shampoo was very expensive and averaged 4-10$USD. In the mall, I was bumped into by a young guy in his 20's who I saw met up with his friend shortly after. My spidey senses started tingling - it was just odd, so I kept my radar on red alert. I started to notice the same 2 guys coming into the same stores as me. What's the coincidence in a really big mall? I decided to make my way home and avoid any potential problems.
In the evening, I went to Mi Comisariato which is a large grocery store behind San Marino. I will be in Guayaquil for a week until I set off for the city of Cuenca so I wanted to stock up on some food so I can cook each day. Eggs, water, sausages (salchichas), milk, yogurt, lettuce, corn and beer were some of the things I picked up. Graciela, my home-stay mom had given me coffee and some fruits already.
I was pretty exhausted from traveling, so I went to bed early. Fortunately for me I was very tired and could easily fall asleep as fireworks and celebrations echoed outside. New Years is coming!
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