Guayaquil: Parque Samanes and Malecon del Salado

I had arrived back in Guayaquil on a Thursday and planned to stay at the same place that I initially stayed at in the business district of Kenedy Norte.  I was happy to see Graciela's familiar and welcoming face again and I gave her tea made from leaves found in the Amazon that I had picked up from the mercado artesenal in Quito.  I was to stay here until the following Monday where I would then leave for the Galapagos Islands.

Parque Samanes
I met up with Kary in the morning and we visited a huge park in Guayaquil called Parque Samanes.  It's  a newly constructed park (2013) and huge is really an understatement.  It's over 2100 acres (8.5 square kilometers).  It has 57 sport fields to practice and play sports including tennis courts, soccer fields, basketball courts and volleyball courts.  It also has a large football stadium, gym, convention center, amphitheater, cycling paths, jogging paths, and camping areas.  There are plans to build more types of buildings and functionality diversifying its purpose for all to use and enjoy.

In the afternoon, Kary had to take off for awhile and run some errands so we planned to meet up later in the evening.  I decided to go to the mall and walk around.  I went to my usual cafe hangout in San Marino, El Español.

Malecon Salado
In the evening, I met up with Kary on bus number 85 and we made our way to Malecon Salado.  Malecon Salado is an extension of the Malecon 2000 in the south of Guayaquil.  It's located next to the the University of Guayaquil.

Malecon Salado is a much smaller area of sea wall compared to Malecon 2000.  Because this boardwalk is next to a University, there are lot of students eating and hanging out in the restaurants and cafes.

Walking along the boardwalk there are a lot of art sculptures and displays.  The area along this boardwalk isn't as bright as the main Malecon Salado as we saw a teenage girl run and trip and do a face plant on the ground!  Whoops - she was OK!

Along  one part of the boardwalk, there is a water fountain across the river lit up with brightly colored lights and programmed to display water patterns all in synchronization with music.  Kary and I ordered a beer and salchichas to watch the waterworks display (Salchichas is a typico snack in Ecuador which inclues sausages and fries).