It was finally time to arrive in Ecuador for the first time for us. We got up early to be able to watch the sail in up the bay to the container terminal where we were to dock. We arrived just after 7 which was about an hour earlier than had been projected in the program. I watched the docking process from the Crow's Nest and from the Promenade on deck 6. I found my wife and we were able to disembark the ship before the formal announcement was made.
The ship provided a shuttle service to the Parque Iguanas in the heart of Guayaquil about 25 minutes north. We were alerted that this was potentially a bit more dangerous port. We made the second bus and when we were dropped at the park, it truly was filled with iguanas. Across the street was the main cathedral which was quite pretty with lots of stained glass. Interestingly for the first time there were TV monitors throughout the sanctuary which made it easy for the parishioners to view the service,
We left the park area and headed for the walkway (Malecon) along the river, It's a well done walkway with lots of things to see and do. We even rode the Ferris wheel at the south end of the park. From there we hiked up the 444 steps to the top of the adjoining hill, At the top of the hill, there was a blue and white lighthouse and a very pretty chapel. Just below the top there was a little naval museum with a number of cannons, We met up with some fellow cruisers and decided to find some ceviche and liquid refreshments, So down the 444 steps we went and turned left into the old town and found a restaurant serving ceviche. While the service was really slow, the shrimp ceviche was quite good.
We then strolled back towards the shuttle bus pickup point at the iguana park. While heading there, we eventually (with lots of conflicting directions from locals) found a small grocery store to replenish our Coke Zero supply. The currency in Ecuador is the US dollar and a liter of soda was 80 cents (very cheap)
Back at the ship we did a little shipside shopping with the few local vendors that were there. Onboard the ship we watched the finishing of the refueling operation from a ship docked against us. We now have enough fuel to make it to Tahiti. By the way, the fuel economy of a cruise ship at normal cruising speed is 56 feet per gallon. After that we watched the putting away of the gangway and the eventual release from the dock. All the while we enjoyed conversation with a fellow guest about cruising. The ship pushed away, rotated 180 degrees counter-clockwise, and sailed in the darkness down the river into the bay.
The evening entertainment was a mentalist, Alan Chamo, who was quite good, I went to the story time where Maria Fadiman shared a scarey story about getting lost in the jungle in the dark and falling off a trail.
Tomorrow we have a sea day on our way to Peru. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment