Sunday, January 21, 2007

Guayaquil

January 19, 2007

Today we left Tinalandia and headed South West to Guayaquil. This city is the largest in Ecuador with 3 million people calling it home. We had a relatively quiet ride and arrived in Guayaquil around noon. After lunch we had a few hours of down time so James and Bob visited the “Iguana Park”, which is a small city park that is home to hundreds of huge iguanas. These animals are so tame that they walk right up to tourists begging for food. We then took a trip to the Guayaquil Botanical Garden and the Malecon Garden. We met with the director of the Guayaquil Botanical Garden, James Perez. He told us that the 10 acre garden has 6 horticulturists and runs solely on memberships and donations. Of the 25,000 visitors it gets each year, 80% are students. We were delighted by the tropical fruit trees of mango, guanabana, banana, and mate, as well as the impressive palm and orchid collections. This member of the Ecuadorian Botanic Garden Network is another garden that has partnered with Missouri Botanical Garden in the fight for plant conservation. James also told us about education programs and special events, such as the annual Mango Fair, held at the garden each year.

After leaving the garden, Cecelia von Buchwald, Guayaquil’s head Landscape Architect/City Planner, took us through the Malecon Garden, which she developed 6 years ago. This 10 block garden was a city project that revitalized Guayaquil’s waterfront. We were blown away by this garden! Cecelia’s curvilinear designs use 280 tropical plant species, many of which are native to Ecuador, to hide such things as a parking garage and a power plant under a mass of color and shape. Our favorite part was the classical music that was piped into the garden via unobtrusive speakers. We walked the length of the waterfront garden back to our hotel only to find that dinner would be at an Italian Restaurant. We were all wondering what Italian food would be like in Ecuador, and we were rightfully cautious. Lets just say that it was an experience we will never forget!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I Yi Yi! I can not believe the trip is really over. I already miss you guys, the camaraderie, the singing, the laughter and of course Uno. Bob make me proud. Once again, to all of you Thank You. It was truly one of the greatest travel experiences in my life. It was my pleasure to be your chaperone for this trip and would do it again in a heartbeat. Have a great time in the Galapagos and please keep on Blogging.

Take care and see you all soon,
Bob

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday James! Hope your having fun.

~Nicole