Gateway to the Galapagos...

We flew Copa from San Jose, Costa Rica to Guayaquil, Ecuador to meet up with our Galapagos expedition in a few days time. Guayaquil is a big metropolitan city (pop 5M), the biggest in the country (16M) but not the capital (which is Quito). This is a hot steamy place, it's just 2deg south of the equator and at sea level. The population is 72% Mestizo (combined Amerindian and European) - little racial purity anymore. We speak Spanish here and use the US Dollar, and, we've noticed, no-one expects a tip!

The hotel we had originally booked was damaged in the April 2016 earthquake and closed for repairs, so they rebooked us into the nearby Hotel Palace, a faded star but perfectly OK, right downtown. We got a big comfortable room.

Our Hotel Palace at the intersection of Calles Chile and Luque..

For every new town, on this trip, we had pre-booked a local guide for a private tour, and Guayaquil was no exception. Our man was Fernando, and he arrived early in a VW mini-bus and driver, Miguel. We spent the entire day with Fernando and Miguel.

Fernando introduced us to Guayaquil to highlight how hard the city has been working to throw off its image as a crime-ridden zone populated by thieves, muggers and murderer preying on residents and visitors. There are still dangerous swathes of the city, but by our observation, the city is doing a good job without sterilising its character.

The first big surprise on this tour was a bit out of town, the Parque Histórico. This 8ha self-admitted "theme park" was developed by the Central Bank of Ecuador in 1997 on the banks of the hugely wide Guayas River (the city is 60km up the river from the Gulf of Guayaquil). Half of the park is devoted to a wildlife exhibit where endemic and native species are kept in conditions supposedly resembling what they experience in the wild. As with all zoos, this involves terrible compromise, and we didn't know what to expect, but our whole experience was very favourable.

Spectacular bromeliad flower at the Historical Park.

Unique parrot.

Bright yellow mangrove flower.

Chestnut macaw.

Female scarlet macaw.

Extra tall Ecuadorian mangroves.

We trooped along a walkway elevated over a tidal mangrove zone. Birds were free, although they had their wings clipped. Other creatures were mostly loosely confined in large enclosures skillfully designed for visitors to observe them uninvasively. This proved to be a nice modern zoo, with quality being more important than quantity, and it must be a great resource for visitors and residents of Guayaquil and Ecuador alike. We're sure, of course, that the inmates would rather be in the wild!

Cocoa beans.

when opened!

Also in the Historical Park, we saw old (relocated and restored) colonial mansions, city and country versions, belonging to chocolate plantation barons, the Lavender Family, and recreations of stilted houses used by landholders in the flat and wet rice paddies which still surround Guayaquil and occupy more than half the country. And we saw the Oro y Verde Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in the grounds of the Historical Park. A compliant manager showed us round - the rooms look very luxurious!

Colonial era buildings relocated to the Historical Park.

At the front door to the Lavender family's mansion.

Unique shutter configuration, designed for strong winds.

Rural farmer residence, as seen at the Historical Park.

House in the country.

Driving around on this tour, we saw that Guayaquil is blessed with great street art, large, evocative, often colorful, always eye-catching, some old some new. The one we liked best, but couldn't get a good pic of nor find one on the internet, was near the airport - a very new and gigantic sculpture of a native warrior, his woman, and a jaguar. But see our pics for some of the others.

Monkey statue by Juan Sanchez at the entrance to a road tunnel. Over 100,000 ceramic pieces comprise.

Large statue of Jesus Christ atop a 140 step pilgrim's climb and 12 stations of the cross.

Back in town, we spent a hour or two probing around Guayaquil's two iconic hills, Cerro Del Carmen and Cerro Santa Anna, close together but decidedly separate, both crowded with simple houses of colourful masonry, barely kept apart by narrow roads and even narrower and very steep pedestrian stairways. The top of the former is a forest of telecommunication towers (plus studios), and the other has a blue and white striped lighthouse or faro. Miguel had to work hard to manoeuvre his VW around this neighbourhood.

Terrifying array of broadcast towers on Cerro Del Carmen.

Guayaquil's iconic view. El Faro atop Santa Ana Hill as seen from Cerro Del Carmen.

To finish a long day, Fernando took us to the Parke Seminario, opposite which is the Catedral Metropolitana. The park yielded something we did not expect - literally hundreds of iguanas! All quite tame and prepared to climb your leg (best to have thick trousers on) if you proffer a banana. Unfortunately, there were also many more pigeons than iguanas, encouraged by people selling pigeon food. We resisted showing any iguanas with pigeons standing on them.

Small iguana seen in the Parque Seminario.

And a larger model.

Being petted by Fernando.

Close up!

Leadlight in the Metropolitan Cathedral.

The iguana in Seminary Park are "native" there. As surrounding development progressed but the park remained, its iguana population concentrated. By now, the iguana are absurdbly acclimatised to the presence of humans, not to mention the pigeons, and they tolerate all manner of abuse and food from adults and children. At night, the iguana sleep in the trees, grateful for the break, we reckon.

Fernando thinks the McDonalds on the Malecon has the best view in the world. He could be right!

Throughout our stay, the weather in Guayaquil was "opressive equatorial", very hot, 100% humidity with constantly threatening skies, which dulled the photographs but didn't yield much rain. These conditions pose difficulty for both ourselves and our cameras - the latter fog up as soon as they are removed from air conditioned hotel rooms.

Gardens of the Malecon.

View of Cerro Del Carmen, plus a celebration of Guayaqui's 200 years of freedom.

Without Fernando to mind us, on other days, we had to get around the city unchaperoned. Our advice was to stick to the streets around 9 de Octobre and Malecon Simon Bolivar, so we basically did! Walking around these areas, we certainly felt quite safe. We saw few visitors, and those that we did were Spanish speaking. This town does not appeal to tourists. All the "big" hotels are near the airport, not downtown where we stayed, so Guayaquil is basically seen as a gateway to the Galapagos, not a destination in itself. A pity, we had a pleasant time here, and the town has a lot more to offer than, say, San Jose.

Spectacular iguana in the Malecon's gardens.

Particularly beautiful bromeliad flower.

Malecon tree.

Inner city streets are clogged with cars, mostly (unmetered) taxis which find it necessary to give a brief toot as they approach any intersection. This racket, added to by loud continual spruiking from pedestrian sellers of "agua" and lotto tickets, makes for a very noisy urban environment. Security guards are everywhere. We felt safe enough in this approved neighbourhood, but followed advice to put our camera away, not wear valuables or carry much money.

Four trucks being barged up the Rio Guayas. In the background, the pedestrian bridge to Isla Santay, a large and pristine wilderness in the river.

An alert heron on the lookout in the Rio Guayas mudflats.

We walked the Malecon Simon Bolivar. Fernando had told us that this was the best Malecon around, and we now believe him. It is a really highly developed pedestrian precinct replete with fabulous tropical gardens, numerous children's playgrounds and attractions, many restaurants, cafes and bars. And of course, great views of the Rio Guayas alongside. A great credit to the city leaders behind it.

The go-to spot on the Malecon for tourist selfies.

Behind which is the memorial to South America's two liberators Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin.

Our first sight of Havana...

A lot of gears had to mesh before this trip to Cuba could come together. As Aussies, we have been able to enter Cuba as tourists for years, as long as we entered via some other country than the USA. But we wanted to take advantage of the comfort and organisation that Lindblad - National Geographic offered, so we had to comply with the particular requirements imposed by President Barack Obama's administration on American citizens.

Pina-colada kiosk offering enticements in the search for customers.

Until recently, Americans could not legally visit Cuba except under stringent conditions, but in 2015 Obama relaxed these conditions although they still have strict requirements. Basically, pure tourism is not allowed, but travel for educational and research purposes are permittable. Lindblad developed this itinerary to meet a people to people specification, under which we would be learning of Cuba's history and culture by meeting and interacting with locals.

Initially, there was a complication with our visa. While we could enter Cuba freely, only Americans could get visas to enter from the USA. The Cuban emabsssy in Canberra confirmed this. Lindblad were marketing this expedition to Australians, so we advised them of this Catch 22, and they and American Airways somehow negotiated a resolution with US and Cuban authorities. Now, travellers of all nationalities can get their visa (at Miami airport), with the one exception being people born in Cuba.

Powerful symbol of Havana, the lighthouse at the Castle of Tres Reyes del Morro.

This all went smoothly at Miami airport. We had been warned of lengthy delays on arrival at Havana on arrival after the 45 minute hop from Miami, but (to the surprise of Lindblad staff) this did not occur. Our passage through immigration and customs was speedy, professional and courteous, although it did take a while for our bags to come off the conveyor (and one passenger's bag got lost for a while). The 40 Lindblad expeditioners boarded two very new and quite luxurious tourist coaches, emblazoned with transtur livery. We were to learn that this state-owned company appears to be the dominant player in a bourgening tourist market in Cuba, and that a very large fleet of such Yutono buses in various sizes was part of a Chinese government assistance package.

We were part of the first season of Lindblad's expeditions to Cuba, and from the outset we could see how they go about fulfilling their people to people obligations. The first way they do so is by making extensive use of local guides, native Cubans. Our main guides were Lazaro, Edgar and Ariel. They spoke excellent English, and (we learned) they had fantastic knowledge of Cuba, its history, its culture, how it is governed, and all of its quirks. The local guides worked for state-owned HavanaTour, but it's obvious that Lindblad have gone to a lot of trouble to select the best available.

Edgar, our local guide, hamming it up in front of an old town water fountain.

First impressions as we drove into Havana from the airport? It's no surprise, but the place looks very poor. Roads are in poor conditions, buildings are various states of repair, with none looking very good at all. Traffic in Havana, a city of 2 million or a pretty small footprint, is remarkably light, despite the poor roads, a reflection of the poverty of the residents and their huge reliance on formal and informal means of public transport. All cars are ancient, but we knew that would be the case.

For such a densely populated city, Havana streets are busy with old cars, but remarkably free of congestion.

On approaches to the CBD, block after block of what were once glorious neoclassical European style buildings all seemed to be derelict, although many were evidently still occupied. We were told that this sad state of affairs followed the 1958-9 Revolution and was thought to be an unintended consequence of the 1960 Urban Reform Law which basically decreed "no eviction - no demolition". As part of the socialist revolution, residents of individual apartments suddenly became the property's owners, but apparently, nothing was done to create responsibility for building common areas, structurals, roofing etc - hence widespread great neglect is manifestly apparent.

The 1960 "no demolition" law leaves much 17thC architecture in deplorable condition.

But the "no eviction" law menas many are still occupied.

Our digs for 4 nights in Havana was the Hotel Nacional, a grand palace built in the glory days of 1930. The hotel is billed as 5 star, but it fell somewhat short of that stature in reality. But what it lacked in modern facilities and service standards, it easily made up for in style and grandeur and a spectacular location on the Malecón in the inner district of Vedado. To stay there is to move back 50+ years in time. A magnificent hotel which will surely undergo a massive internal refurbishment soon. The WiFi worked though!

Hotel Nacional de Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico from a lunchtime restaurant.

Afternoon mohitos at the Hotel Nacional, with spectacular view of the Castle and lighthouse at del Morro.

Proud display of the Cuban flag at the Nacional's main entrance, a classic taxi awaiting a passenger.

The hotel is proud of the long line of famous guests who have stayed there. Our welcome mohito was held in the Hall of Fame which features walls of photographs of important guests, including, for the Aussies, Errol Flynn.

At least 3 of those 4 Cuban-made grandfather clocks in the Nacional lobby are still working.

Havana is a very old city - it was first established in 1511 as one of 7 villages started by the Spanish, after Christopher Columbus "discovered" the island in 1492. Havana was to become the jewel in Spain's Central and South American empire.

Old Spanish Havana faces the new city across the entrance to the harbour.

The predominant architecture in the downtown areas of Havana is twofold. Spanish style fortifications dating up to the 1800's characterise the waterfront, very reminiscent of our recollection of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Fabulous buildings of baroque and neoclassical style abound in Havana Vieja, built around numerous sunny piazzas.

The moat at fort San Carlos de la Cabana.

Well preserved fort at Cojimar, Ernest Hemingway's favoured fishing village.

Drawbridge mechanism at fort San Carlos de la Cabana.

Lonely soul, desperate for shade, at Forteleza de San Carlos de la Cabana.

A guide described the architecture of Havana as like an onion. From the old core of fortifications, there's the layer of Spanish classicism, ringed by American inspired art deco and modern styles of the first half of the 20th Century, and then (post Revolution) the hideous geometrical concrete monstrosities of Soviet "breeze block" apartment blocks.

Undercover juliet balcony in Cathedral Square.

We look forward to seeing a lot more of Havana!