Tuesday November 10th…
A day off! We began our day with a walk along the revitalized Guayaquil waterfront, known as Malacon 2000. Many beautiful sights, monuments, gardens etc. The Rio Guayas (Guayas River) is interesting in that the current flows one way with approaching high tide and flows the opposite way with approaching low tide.
Later in the morning we were supposed to meet with the Mayor of Guayaquil, but he was out-of-town so we met with the vice-mayor. The Rotary District Governor for Ecuador (one DG for the whole country) was also there. Many speeches, some in just Spanish and some in both Spanish and English. The highlight was Miss Guayaquil who posed for pictures with many of the Rotarians.
Ecuador has major power issues right now because they rely mainly on hydroelectric power. The rainy season has yet to start so there appears to be rolling brown outs. Traffic lights are often out in different parts of the city which backs up traffic. It was a little annoying in city hall as the lights kept pulsing brighter and dimmer.
We had lunch at the Yacht Club on the Rio Guayas which lasted until past 2:30. Many of the Guayaquil South Rotarians joined us. We were then off to Cerro Santa Ana, a large hill with a lighthouse and chapel on top and 490 steps to climb up. We all made it up eventually to the top of the lighthouse for a fantastic view. Then we went to the handcraft market for some serious haggling and shopping.
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