britmate007
1/31/2018 18:05 EST
wondered what people s thoughts were on Guayaquil. I ll be in Cuenca but spending a few nights in Guayaquil and leaving for Quito from there.I ve seen so much on Youtube and all of it concentrates on the malecon but I d feel terribly frustrated staying in a safe touristy environment. I d sooner not go and stay instead in Cuenca than feel sequestered in Guayaquil. Obviously I ll listen to sincere comments and if it s really true I ll pass on Guayaquil But I m sure Guayaquil can offer more than a touristy malecon.... any thoughts? Should I simply spend the time in Cuenca and be done with it>?
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withoutego
2/1/2018 02:41 EST
I think the analogy is like buying a ticket in a lottery with a one in 100 million chance of winning vs another lottery where you are ten times more likely to win...that is one in 10 million.
Statistically you are not going to win either. But people tend to focus on the ten to one vs the ten million to one.
for a given set of behaviors in GYE vs Cuenca the odds against you experiencing a crime might be ten to one. The odds against it in either city might be 10,000 to one or greater.
The factor of ten seems a lot by itself. But awareness and behavior will have a much greater effect, say 100 or 1000 times more.
I recall a case in Cuenca years ago. A gringo was doing an impersonation of Vegas Elvis, glued on harry chest, open shirt, gold chain, gold cross. On one of the main drags, Larga, he and the gold parted ways one morning. A snatch and grab. His behavior might have driven him into "odds on" territory.
A heavily armed young Schwarzenegger displaying no gold might have safe odds of a million to one.
The take away message here is carry a calculator, not a knife or gun.
sin
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2forecuador
2/1/2018 07:20 EST
We moved to Guayaquil 8 months ago and have had no problems. I love the Malecon. The flowers and nature are awesome. You don't want to miss it. The museum there is also worth visiting. The Las Penas and Cerro Santa Ana are worth visiting. Parque Bolivar and it's Iguanas are fun too. I really like Parque Histórico outside Guayaquil too. It's definitely worth visiting. If you have time rent a bike at Santa Island. Beautiful manglar, flowers, birds and crocodiles or you can just walk the boardwalk though you see much more biking. Awesome green parrots flying around. For upscale eating and shopping visit Plaza Lagos in Samborondon. I think it is definitly worth visiting.
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user001
2/2/2018 16:38 EST
Guayaquil used to be a lot more dangerous than it is now, but the mindset of fear is very much still prevalent. But you still have to be careful. Don't just go for stroll, unless you know exactly where you are going. It doesn't take many blocks from the safe city centre to be somewhere you shouldn't be. Do not walk around at night (even if the area was safe during the day, a lot of the armed guards are only there during the day).
Guayaquil isn't a nice city, it is big, busy, dirty, polluted, humid and right now very hot. Also for the next 2 months you have the risk of servere torrential downpours with the localised flooding that will bring.
2 generations back, Guayaquil was just a village / small town (according to my grandmother in law) and you could still swim in the rivers that dot the city, With the port can jobs / economic growth and city rapidly expanded out with no planning. It is not an ex colonial centre like Cuenca / Quito that had a certain charm. I suppose there is 1-2 cuadras in the city centre, a street back from the Malecon could be said to have a certain colonial charm, but I think these are new builds as opposed to having any history (could be wrong). But for a city of 3 million, it is little one block. The rest of the city is very much a working city
>>I m sure Guayaquil can offer more than a touristy malecon.... any thoughts? I am not sure, what you wanting, if you don't want "touristy". There is really nothing there in the city at all, which is why most weekends Guayaquilienos leave the city. No parks (except small neighbourhood areas you find tucked away, with a few trees and perhaps some outside keepfit equipment, but nothing like the big open spaces of the other big cities).
Things todo in Guayaquil. 1) Walk the malecon 2) Iguana park (one block back from about the middle of the malecon) 3) The church (cathedral) on one side of Iguana park 4) Climb the hill at the end of the malecon with the colourful houses 5) Leave :)
Actually, there are lots of shopping malls, if that is your thing, which seems to be the main entertainment for the majority of the middle classes and up.
Basically, unless you have to go (i.e. f you are flying out and got to spend a day there, you can make the best of it).
source: am married to a Guayaquilena, lived there for 6 months and go back regularly to visit family (unless I can get out of it ;-)
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britmate007
2/2/2018 17:47 EST
Thank you so much for the response. I wasn't expecting a Cuenca or Quito but am still looking forward to a night there. What a shame it still is a bit dodgy. But thank you I have an early flight so they afternoon early evening is basically all I LL be able to do anyway z
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Silverwater
2/20/2018 16:49 EST
I have lived in Guayaquil for 16 years. I love it. Lots to do. Most museums are free. Great shopping. Great Artisans market. It is a city of several million people. Of course there are dodgy areas. But most of the naysayers in my experience have never spent much time here..
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