the Laughing Boomer

 Galapagos Island

Cuenca to Guayaquil

In the end we decided to drive to Guayaquil. It was somewhat cheaper, and far less hassle because we didn’t need to take taxis to the airport, check in, etc. The drive started off well, through town and a national park, and through some lush mountain passes. Cuenca is around 2250 metres above sea level, so it’s a fairly steep decline to the sea. At first we were above the clouds but then descended into dense thickness; at about the same time the road became unpaved dirt with many potholes. We could barely see ten feet ahead, and yet, given the sharp turns as we wended our way down the mountain, our driver kept on at a crazy pace.

I started to get a headache and feel nauseated.   With the rough road and the non-existent springs on this old van, I felt pretty sick. We finally had the driver to stop at the first possible area.  We got out of the car, and after about ten minutes my headache and nausea were gone.  Then it struck me – I was getting poisoned by car fumes. I am very allergic to diesel and other fumes, so it made perfect sense.  At any rate we opened the windows for the balance of the trip and I was fine.

The terrain changed as we reached lower levels and there were banana plantations as far as we could see. We saw a Bonita Brand and passed a Dole banana truck.  Every time I eat an Ecuadorian banana now I’ll think of these fields. The road soon merged into small town traffic and then into the major travel jams of Guayaquil.  It’s a town of around two million people.  There are no historic buildings left as they were razed by a fire around 1897.

Our hotel bumped our reservation to a dingy hotel. That hotel was in a construction zone on a major traffic strip. Besides walking up planks to get to the hotel with unlit hallways, the brown indoor-outdoor carpet and tiny window s didn’t inspire us. We walked about four blocks on the major highway and through the construction zone trying to find a decent restaurant amongst a variety of strip malls and casinos.  We had little choice, basically a dozen or so restaurants selling roast chicken or fried fish and rice.  Four hours before we were an elegant inner courtyard of Cuenca, where we had a lovely meal in beautiful surroundings. Now we were sitting at a dirty plastic table with diesel trucks and buses rushing by – this was our introduction to Guayaquil. While in Cuenca the people seemed to have great dignity – here people seemed rough and ready. Everyone we met told us they hated this town. The guide books warned that it was a dangerous city, and after being there for 24 hours, we more or less concurred it was not a place we wanted to be.

We decided to move on as soon as possible and so were at the airport by nine the next morning. After scurrying back and forth in stand-by lines, getting our Tourist Card for the Galapagos, buying the ticket at another counter and getting out $1,000 in cash in relay teams as no one takes credit, we finally were set. We sat down for a coffee and started talking to another tourist on the same flight.  Then we heard our names called, including our new companion’s name, and for the second time, we were running to the plane, getting on board just as it was ready to take off.  Our Galapagos adventure had begun.

Banana Fields

Mountains near Cuenca