On the Road to Quayaquil

Monday Morning, January 2 found us at the Terminal Terrestre hunting a bus to Guayaquil.  We purchased our ticket just inside the terminal, saving ourselves .20 and  having to fight through the turnstile.  We also got assigned seats so if the bus filled up we would not get kicked off.  For $17 we had a seat that would let us enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery in Ecuador.  The route takes us through the upper part of Parque Cajas one of the many national parks in Ecuador.    Along the road are  beautiful trout streams and fields of the fattest dairy cattle ever.  The bus climbs to the top of the mountain and llamas graze peacefully as they have done for centuries.  Pristine volcanic lakes glimmer in the sunlight and every shade of green imaginable dots the mountainside relieved by huge boulders.  WE see few people.  Occasionally a farm house or two dot the country side.  The route begins to descend the mountains and the landscape changes from rocks, lakes and trees to scattered banana plants.  Locals stand beside the road trying to sell their fresh bananas.  Suddenly as far as we can see there are banana plants with the full stalks of bananas wrapped in green plastic wrap to protect them from birds and other damage.  On the opposite side of the road there are papaya plantations.  The road is littered with dirty little towns that provide places for the plantation workers to live.  Here it is evident that we are visiting a third world country.  The towns consist of shacks that hardly seem livable, a number of cafes which are all full of people eating lunch and a sad little church or school.  Children and adults swim in the swift moving river alongside the towns.    Nothing much changes until we reach Duran,  a small town on the outskirts of Guayaquil.  Vendors appear with water bottles, rags to clean windshields and in some cases they break dance or juggle for a few pennies.  I admire their optimism. About half the passengers leave the bus at Duran and the rest continue the journey.  In about 30 minutes we reach Guayaquil bus station which is a mad house.  We grasp our belongings and finally make our way through the terminal and find a taxi.  A price is negotiated and we are soon at the Palace Hotel.  Guayaquil is very different from Quito and Cuenca.  It is not a colonial city and the buildings are modern and unimaginative.   When we check in the handsome young clerk proudly points to the Iguana Park and tells us to watch out for iguana poop when we go. It is good advice.   The hotel is lovely, a nice change for us and Troy is already looking for plane tickets to return to Cuenca on Thursday.  The thought of that bus station is almost too much.

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