Guayaquil, Ecuador cover page. |
Map of Ecuador with the star indicating Guayaquil. |
View of Centennial Park, which commemorates Guayaquil’s independence on October 9, 1820. |
Statue in Centennial Park that honors the heroes of Guayaquil’s independence. |
Close-up of the statue. |
View of Park Seminario, also known as Simon Bolivar Park and Iguana Park. It is the oldest park in Guayaquil (1895). |
Statue of Simon Bolivar who was a patriot, statesman and liberator of five South American Republics including Ecuador. |
Close-up of the Simon Bolivar statue. |
A gazebo in Centennial Park. |
People hanging out in the park. |
The reason why Centennial Park is also called Iguana Park is because tame iguanas live and roam freely there. |
A couple of handsome iguanas who live in the park. |
The iguanas were there before the park, because prior to it being a park, it was a mangrove. |
The iguanas never left and are a popular tourist attraction in Guayaquil. |
This green iguana was climbing up a park bench. |
Children in the park were delighted by all of the iguanas. |
This little boy was hanging onto the tail of one of his new friends! |
A squirrel was perched in a tree in Centennial Park. |
The park also has a pond filled with fish and snapping turtles such as this one. |
Metropolitan Cathedral was originally built in wood in 1547, but was destroyed by fire and has been rebuilt several times. |
The current neo-Gothic Metropolitan Cathedral was completed in 1948. It has impressive stained glass windows and a marble altar. |
Composite photo of the Gothic interior. |
Some of the beautiful stained glass windows of Metropolitan Cathedral. |
The spectacular front stained glass window in a Rosetta pattern. |
Another interior nave in Metropolitan Cathedral. |
An unusual Christ design inside the cathedral. |
View of the clock on the upper façade of Metropolitan Cathedral. |
View of San José Church in Plaza de la Integración in Guayaquil. |
A man walking in Plaza de la Integración. |
One of two mosaic murals on the Union Club building in Plaza de la Integración. |
The second mosaic mural on the Union Club building. |
The Union Club was founded in 1869, although the building is from the 1940's. |
The Brussels Market (or South Market) was a market until 1998. |
It has been renamed the Crystal Palace and is used for temporary events. |
In 1931, they filled part of the river. It is now part of Malecón 2000, an urban renewal project with the pier and boardwalk. |
View of the pier with the Crystal Palace in the background. |
These fishermen were fishing in the Guayas River right off of the pier. |
This fisherman was casting his net. I wouldn't want to eat his catch since the Guayas River is very polluted! |
This policeman was on duty on the pier. |
View of a statue of Omedo in Olmedo Square (the first mayor of Guayaquil in 1830). |
On October 9th, 1820, Olmedo declared the independence of the city of Guayaquil from Spain with the help of other patriots. |
An interesting vantage point of the Olmedo statue. |
Along the promenade of the pier, there are many shops and restaurants. |
One of many vendors along the promenade. |
The Moorish Clock Tower was inaugurated in 1842 following the worst yellow fever outbreak ever in Guayaquil. |
It was purchased from England. Due to structural problems, the tower had to be destroyed and was rebuilt in 1930. |
Another view of the Moorish Clock Tower from Administration Square. |
Administration Square with a building built in the 1950's, which is part of City Hall. |
It was built by the French Hotel firm Crillon in a 19th century style. |
This is another part of City Hall that was built in 1924 in an Italian style. |
Note the arched glass roof of this Italian-style part of City Hall. |
Kids playing by a fountain in Administration Square. |
Monument to Antonio José de Sucre in front of the Crillon City Hall building. Ecuador's currency is named after him. |
He was a military leader who was responsible for Ecuador's independence from Spain. |
Sucre was in charge of the campaign to liberate Quito and won a decisive victory at the Battle of Pichincha in 1822. |
View of the Monument of the Conspirators, which is located close to Administration Square. |
A closer view of the Monument of the Conspirators. |
Statue of Olmedo who became the first Mayor of Guayaquil in 1830. |
Behind Olmedo's back is the key to the city. |
View of Olmedo standing next to the conspirators. |
As the story goes, the conspirators invited all of the Spanish officials to a party. |
While the Spanish officials were partying, the people of Guayaquil took over the police stations. |
Close-up of some of the conspirators who tricked the Spanish. |
These are more conspirators. |
Here I am with the conspirators. I promise not to tell! |
View of the Sucre monument from the Monument of Conspirators. |
View of the Naval Yacht Club looking in the opposite direction towards the pier. |
An observation tower on the boardwalk. |
Strollers along the pier, which is part of the Malecón 2000 urban renewal project. |
A naval instruction sailing ship docked along the pier. |
Another view of the boardwalk. Parts of it are supposed to resemble a ship. |
Along boardwalk are statues of Presidents of Ecuador who came from Guayaquil. |
Close-up of one of the Presidents. There are a lot of them since the government constantly changes! |
View of the main monument of Malecón, which was dedicated in 1936. |
It commemorates the meeting of Simon Bolivar and San Martin to declare independence from Spain. |
Bolivar was from Columbia and St. Martin was from Argentina. They met in Guayaquil, on July 26 and July 27, 1822. |
Since Simon Bolivar (on the left) was so short, the sculptor made him much taller so he would equal St. Martin's stature! |
A view from another angle looking towards the main monument of Malecón. The flags are of all the South American countries. |
This beautiful urn stands next to the Bolivar/San Martin monument. |
View of Santana Hill which, overlooks the Guayas River. |
Santana Hill is one of the oldest parts of Guayaquil where the city was first established. |
View of a Malecón Simon Bolivar street scene in Guayaquil. |
Steps that lead up Santana Hill. Formerly, it was a slum, but it is now being renovated |
The old wooden houses are now being painted in bright cheerful colors giving the neighborhood its charm. |
Nearby is El Carmen Hill, which is still a slum (which looks the way that Santana Hill once did). |
Entrance to el Cementerio General de Guayaquil. |
Another cemetery view. The graves are above ground because Guayaquil was built on a mangrove. |
Sculpture of a fisherman in Guayaquil. Too bad the Guayas River is so polluted! |