Ecuador & Peru
Sea Day & Crossing the Equator
Our sea day didn’t go quite to plan because the weather wasn’t great for an afternoon at the pool, but we did have a fun morning. We will be crossing the equator around 3:00am tomorrow, so in preparation we were invited to a ceremony this morning. It was overcast, cloudy, and very windy on the pool deck where the ceremony was to take place. To ensure everyone’s comfort the captain had the ship turned around out of the wind for the duration.
It is customary to ask Neptune’s permission to cross the equator and while there are a number of ways to accomplish this ours wasn’t too bad. The captain asked permission for us to cross and was required to kiss a fish and be dunked in the pool (ours is currently filled with sea water). All of the residents then had to file through and kiss the fish, have a cup of sea water dumped on them, and be presented with a lei. It was all in good fun and the staff did a fantastic job making sure everyone had a good time. Before sailing across the equator for the first time you are know as a pollywog and once the ceremony is performed you are known as a shellback. We are now officially shellbacks!
Manta, Ecuador
Unfortunately, Ecuador isn’t a particularly safe place at this time, so we were cautioned to spend our time on land wisely. The port provided a shuttle to the main gate and just down the block was a large shopping mall, so on our first day in Manta we ventured to the mall. It was a great mall with lots of stores and a large supermarket. Being the week before Christmas it was of course packed and a little overwhelming, but we had a good day.
We felt very comfortable on the first day and did not feel that it was any less safe than other places we have visited recently; at least during the day. So, on day two we wandered a little further. About a 20-minute walk down the coast was a large park that they are currently working on, and it has a massive Christmas tree on display. A large portion of the park is complete, and we saw several families enjoying the day.
Afterwards we walked along the beach on the other side of the port before heading back to the ship. We do find it a little disappointing when we visit places that make you feel like you have to take a paid excursion in order to safely explore. Some of the locals indicated that it wasn’t as bad as the governments are making it out to be; although, they did caution not to wander after dark.
I would like to say that everyone we interacted with was incredibly friendly and we felt very welcome. Out of everywhere we have travelled so far Ecuador has been the friendliest.
Sea Day
We had another sea day on the way to our next port and again it was a little cooler and quite windy. So, we enjoyed a quite day reading and doing laps. In the evening the residents put on a show including a reader’s theater production, a choir performance, and a taste of Tom and Jerry’s Christmas drinks. Fellow residents have a tradition where they drink warm cognac and rum topped with meringue and they wanted to share it with their neighbors. It was an experience…lol.
Puerto Bolivar, Ecuador
Well, we have officially reached a port where we did not feel comfortable leaving the ship. The local authorities told several of our fellow residents that it was not safe to walk in the area surrounding the port and that they strongly recommended people take a taxi into the nearby city of Machala. Several residents did this and said that they felt perfectly safe in the city, and it was an interesting place to visit. The few people who decided to walk around nearby anyway ended up being escorted by police officers, so we decided to take a pass. We aren’t keen on taking taxis unless we absolutely have to and while Mike was game to walk anyway, I didn't like the idea of requiring an escort.
Instead, we are spending the day preparing for the Christmas festivities on board and catching up on the blog. This morning, we had our toenails painted red and green in order to participate in the reindeer games scheduled for Christmas morning. In the afternoon, Mike did his laps while I worked on the blog.
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Our first day in Guayaquil was Christmas Day, so we stayed on the ship and celebrate with our new ship family. We started the day off with a Pajama Breakfast followed by Reindeer Games on the pool deck. Santa visited before lunch, and we sang Christmas carols with the staff. The staff prepared a feast for lunch with turkey and all the fixings, and it was extremely good. We spent the afternoon relaxing and in the evening after dinner we played Christmas themed Jeopardy; our team won! While it wasn’t a traditional Christmas for us, we had a blast and enjoyed spending time with the friends we’ve made so far on the cruise.
For the next two days in Guayaquil the Port Agent arranged tours for us. The dock is quite far from the city sights, and we would have had to take a taxi regardless, so we opted for the tours. Boxing Day was a full day tour that hit many of the city highlights.
We started our day off at the Palacio de Cristal which was in a lovely square on the waterfront. The Palacio is often used for community events. There were monuments dedicated to Ecuador’s independence including the Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Monument. We also got a visit from the Tourist Police who have puppets to help promote awareness. This is also where we found out that we had a police escort for the day. There were three officers on motorcycles following our bus from the port which we thought might just be traffic related. However, once we reached the square they abandoned the bus to follow us through the square and on to the promenade. In the end they spent the entire day with us and to be fair they did come in handy for traffic control as the bus maneuvered through the tight streets.
From the Crystal Palace we drove through the city to an incredible fresh market. Along the way we saw some brilliant statues made of mosaic tiles. I’ve never been a big fan of markets, too many people and smells, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. We went early in the day which apparently makes a difference as most locals shop in the afternoon, so it wasn’t crowded. It was incredibly clean, and the produce looked and smelled amazing. Unfortunately, because it was early on the itinerary for the day we couldn’t really buy much, but I did find a cute pair of cotton overalls for ten dollars.
Conveniently located near the cemetery, the flower market was our next stop. The flower arrangements were beautiful, but we weren’t terribly interested in this stop until we found the cats. We spent most of the time petting cats and feeding them treats.
Our next stop was Parque Seminario which sits in front of the Catedral Catolica Metropolitana de Guayaquil. The square is mostly known for its iguana population. It was neat to see them up close, but they were also relieving themselves from the treetops. You had to be very careful where you walked in the park.
From the park we walked to the waterfront Malecon which is a boardwalk full of shops and activities. Along the way were able to see more of the architecture of the area. We also picked up some shaved ice which was a nice refreshing pick-me-up.
Next up was the Mercado Artesanal where you can find all kinds of handmade and not so handmade treasures. They had some beautiful trinkets and souvenirs for sale, but this wasn’t our favourite stop, and the shop keepers were quite eager to make a sale.
The newer rejuvenated end of the Malecon is known as Puerto Santa Ana. They dropped us off at one end and allowed us to walk back to the Las Penas stairs. We found cats to pet along the way! Mike was disappointed because we didn’t have time to climb the 444 stairs up to the light house and Naval Museum, so we’ll have to come back at some point. He did manage to make it up to the first landing while we were taking some group photos.
On the way back to the ship the bus took us down a street where they were selling effigies for New Years. In Ecuador they make paper mâché effigies filled with wood shavings and dust. At midnight on the 31st they light the effigies on fire in the streets. It was pretty incredible to see all the different designs and artistry that went into making them.
The next day we did a half day tour with the same company. They took us to the Guayaquil Historical Park which has a small zoo and a collection of historical buildings. We got to see several critters and we really enjoyed a more natural environment after a full day in the city. After the park they took us to ride on the mountain cable car that connects Guayaquil to the suburb of Duran. The cable car runs across the Guayas River and offers great views of the city. It was a great morning, and we really enjoyed our guides which were the same ones as the day before.
