10/6: Guayaquil, Ecuador: Museum Hopping & Roaming Iguanas!

After visiting Guayaquil’s White City, i.e. the largest cemetery in South America, we drove toward the city’s Presley Norton Museum. I loved the sculpture of this indigenous warrior on a street corner.

The Museo Presley Norton, billed as one of the city’s standout museums and located in a beautifully restored colonial mansion, was named after a pioneering Ecuadorian archaeologist. It had a collection of over 8,000 artifacts, only some of which were on display upstairs. 

Items from 1500-1000 BC from the Chorroa culture: 

Rather than tags beside each item as is common in other museums, there were kiosks in each area. The kiosk had photos of each item on display in that area; it was a simple matter of touching a certain photo and information would pop us about it. 

The museum was small so we didn’t need to spend more than a few minutes there. We walked down the main street, October 9th, toward the Parque del Centenario. The street was so named because it was the date in 1820 that Guayaquil became the first city in Ecuador to declare its independence from Spain.

On the way to the park, we popped into the Museo de la Casa de la Cultura.

On the first floor, was a modern art exhibit.

I can't remember the last time we were in a museum and, to access the upper floor, the stairway was totally open to the outside and not enclosed at all.

On the second floor, there was more modern art but no dazzling gold pieces that the museum was described as having in the guide book. The museum once had over 500 stunning gold pieces but a dramatic theft in 1987 reduced the collection to just 63 items. Even they were absent when we visited.

I liked this intricately carved wooden piece.

The Parque del Centenario looked very impressive but we saw no way to enter it. The park was so huge it spanned four square blocks making it one of the largest in Ecuador. We ended up having to walk around almost the entire park looking for an entrance. 

We knew we were on the coast when we saw some brightly painted buildings.

We realized that there was only one entrance so that security officials could keep tabs on everyone coming into and leaving the pretty park. 

In the middle of the park was a towering column called the Monument to the Heroes of Independence.

It was crowned by a Statue of Liberty with outstretched arms.

Images of the heroes surrounded the base.

The immense square was landscaped with flowers and trees. It was enjoyable just sitting on the park bench for a while. 

Of course, seeing the iguanas just a couple of feet away was an added bonus! Even the pigeons stayed clear of them, though.

We continued strolling down October 9th St. some more as our eventual goal was Malecon 2000, a long boardwalk bordering the river. This lady was selling these yummy looking pastries right on the street.

This gives you a sense of how major a street Guayaquil's October 9th was!

There was a major police presence on each corner along the street, making sure everyone was kept safe. We noticed once we were followed down a block by a couple of police officers, not because they suspected us of any wrongdoing but, we were convinced, wanting to ensure we were safe until we reached the next intersection. 

For some reading this, that may have been alarming but we took it as every effort was being made for our safety and thus were reassured. It was bizarre, though, that we were literally the only foreigners we noticed anywhere on the dozen or so blocks we walked on that street. In terms of safety, one thing we noticed right away was the number of people walking around with their cell phones out. That was absolutely unheard of, for instance, in Quito, the country’s capital.

How funny it was seeing a fire truck from New Paltz, New York of all places! I just had to wonder how it ever ended up in Guayaquil, Ecuador of all places.

Lots of people were relaxing in the Plaza San Francisco.

The Iglesia San Francisco took up a large part of the square.

It was closed so I just peered through the gate to try and get a peek inside.

Interesting sculptures in the church square:

This one was unusual as there was music playing from the speaker the man was holding!

At last we arrived at Malecon 2000, the city’s gleaming riverside development that linked downtown to Cerro Santa Ana and Las Penas, where we had been yesterday afternoon. The centerpiece of the Malecon was Plaza Civica, located at the end of October 9th St. As we entered the gates, we were faced by La Rotonda, an imposing monument to  the two most famous South America’s liberators, Jose de San Martin and Simon Bolivar. Against a background of tall marble columns topped by billowing South American flags, the two men shook hands. The impressive memorial commemorated the famous encounter between the liberators who met just once at this location on July 26th and 27th, 1822. The leaders of Gran Colombia met to establish what has become the countries of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.

The Rotonda was designed so that two people whispering into the two end pillars could hear each other. We didn’t test that out but I would have thought the din of the nearby traffic would make that unrealistic.

The city sign in the colors of its flag:

South of La Rotonda were sculptures dedicated to the four elements with fire and earth doubling up as timber and metal lookout towers crowned by sail-like awnings.

On the Malecon as elsewhere in Guayaquil, we marveled at the sculptures and monuments.

Walking south along the Malecon, we passed the very attractive Universidad de las Artes. The Palacio de la Gobernacion or government offices were also housed there.

Police officers possibly getting ready for a change in shift on the Malecon?

The obelisk marked the date of Guayaquil's independence from Spain.

A 70 ft. Moorish Clock Tower marked the southern end of Plaza Civica. As like the other museums in Guayaquil, there was no charge to climb the tower.

The octagonal base and entrance had lovely Moorish tile.

The clock near the top was imported from England in 1842 by Vincente Rocafuerte whose grave we saw earlier that day at La Ciudad Blanca.

There were lovely views of the city and the sea from the top of the tower looking north along the Malecon. You can just see the ferris wheel on the riverfront.

There was no wobble or give in the stairs but I still found it scary going down especially the first step which seemed so far. I would never want to go down those steps again even though the views form the top had been special.

Opposite the Clock Tower was the large neoclassical Palacio Municipal or City Hall, one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Its gray walls were set off by dazzling white balconies and stucco moldings.

Another of Guayaquil's adorable mascots:

Chris and John: You'd asked me a while back whether people in South America celebrated Halloween. Ever since then I've seen signs and posters advertising what I had always thought as a North American holiday and thought of you both each time!

More sights along the very attractive Malecon:

Leaving the Malecon, we walked toward the Catedral de Guayaquil also known as Cathedral of Saint Peter and located in downtown Guayaquil in front of a park made famous by its inhabitants!

The concrete cathedral, completed in 1948, replaced the earlier one that was destroyed by fire in 1547. The pointed arch had four bass-reliefs representing a bull, an angel, an eagle and a lion, all with wings, and also a book that represented the emblems of will, knowledge, silence and boldness.

I found it very dark inside.

The main altar was marble.

One of the side chapels:

One of the more unusual stained-glass windows we've seen anywhere:

After people had finished praying in the Santismo Chapel, they walked out backwards each time. I had never seen or heard of that happening so don’t know why it was done.

I really liked how indigenous people were represented in the chapel's beautiful stained-glass windows:

Just steps from the cathedral was Guayaquil’s central square, the Parque Seminario. It was more commonly known as Parque de las Iguanas because of the iguanas roaming freely all around the park. At the entrance to the park was another beautiful sculpture that Guayaquil should be so rightfully proud of. Guayaquil native Ana Villamil Icaza was a famous pianist, composer and teacher.

We had to watch where we walked because iguanas were everywhere, on the sidewalks, under the bushes, on the statues and in the trees!

What an opportunity to see them in a place where they are not behind bars without going to the Galapagos. We were still glad we would see even more of them in the Galapagos, mind you!

The only time we heard English spoken that day was by a small group of tourists in the park who were obviously part of a tour group. 

The iguanas certainly attracted far more attention than the equestrian monument to Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. 

There were more iguanas at the base of the statue who looked like statues themselves as they didn’t move for long periods of time. 

You could get up really close to them but it was against the law to feed or touch them. It was such a fun experience seeing them in such massive numbers. 

The iguanas had to be the easiest animals to take photos of since they moved at such a slow pace if at all! 

However, some of the iguanas scurried up one of the trees faster than you could say lickety split!

The park's small pond had lots of tortoises too. Did you notice the Cathedral in the background?

As I read somewhere, the park was Guayaquil's much tamer version of Jurassic Park!

Another turquoise building! 

The rear view of the magnificent City Hall and Government Palace: 

The shopping and restaurant arcade was so grand I thought we should be in London or Paris.

The pedestrian plaza one street over from the Malecon: 

According to Lonely Planet, the Museo Nahim Isais on the next corner was supposed to trace Guayaquil’s merchant roots to modern times. 

However, when we entered the free museum, there was a powerful anti-war sculpture in the foyer. 

There was an extremely powerful expressionist exhibit by a Chilean artist, Gabriela Carmona Slier. The exhibit was entitled 'Sorrow Series.'

Unfortunately, the photographs and the muted colors don't adequately communicate the power and raw emotion of the paintings.

We’d never seen a piece of art composed on one wall only to be cut out and placed on another wall. It totally added to the 3D dimension. The work must have been created very recently because we could smell the paint.

 

These had been some of the most moving exhibits we’d been lucky enough to view in a long, long time. So rarely, too, do we see exhibits by women artists which made it even more appealing.

Upstairs was a collection of religious photos called 'Vision of the Sacred.' We thought they were likely taken from existing sculptures, etc but with different lenses and colors to produce new images.

We were so lucky that all the museums had been free but how sad they were basically empty.

As we walked back through the University arcade, we spotted a sign that said a University of the Arts is a Right. Amen to that!

Back at the Malecon, we walked north this time beyond the Plaza Civica toward a series of botanic gardens, fountains, ponds and walkways. First though we walked by the Agora, a public open space normally associated with ancient Greece. In the background was one of the lookout towers.

As we walked by the free phone charging stations, I wondered why more cities don’t have them as we’ve only seen a few of them in our travels.

I loved how Guayaquil’s younger residents were thought about when the Malecon was designed. This seemed to be one of the largest playgrounds we’d ever seen – perhaps because it was so skinny, it appeared to go forever. The amusement park was a huge hit in the late afternoon.

I don’t think I would have liked to have been on the ferris wheel as it was going at quite a clip. 

The huge bridge of the Puente de la Unidad Nacional stretched across to the suburb of Duran where our bus from Cuenca had stopped en route to Guayaquil the previous day.

There were small but lovely gardens next to the major thoroughfare.

Like a mini Stonehenge!

What a fantastic city park or botanic gardens. Even flowering vines had been planted on the top of the roof entrance to the parking garage!

The promenade along the river was a delightful place to walk and to relax especially since no hawkers or street vendors were allowed on the Malecon.

It had been a long enough day for us so we called it quits and caught a taxi back  to the mall near our guesthouse since it was in a no-man’s land in terms of any amenities. We both remarked how the people of Guayaquil looked so obviously different from their counterparts in other areas of Ecuador in terms of both height and girth. Both Steven and I had felt tall compared to most of the people we saw in Quito, Otavalo and Cuenca. But the residents on the coast in Guayaquil were several inches taller on average.

The temperature had been close to 90 all day but it had been mercifully shady and hazy luckily.

Next post: Guayaquil's Parque Historico and a boat ride to Islay Santay.

Posted at long last on November 6th, 2017, from Puno, Peru.