Too many iguanas for me

I TOOK THIS PICTURE WITH A ZOOM LENS. I WASN'T GETTING THAT CLOSE TO THOSE CRITTERS.

From everything we heard and read, we didn’t expect much from our port of call at Guayaquil in Ecuador. It is a large shipping port, and not a tourist destination. We were, however, pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed our tour of the city.

Our tour guide, Jorge, was 36 and very informative and entertaining. He took us to all the usual city attractions...cathedral, waterfront area, drive around the city, and a museum. We also went to Iguana Park. This is an area that was swampy mangrove until the city drained it. Instead of relocating all the local iguanas (or putting them in the soup pot) they created an environment that they evidently love. There are dozens of them in the small one-block park area. We were advised not to stand under any trees because they have been known to fall on unsuspecting people. Also....if you feel something wet, it probably isn’t rain! They are perfectly unafraid of people....they don’t even get out of the way if you walk right up to them. I wasn’t entirely comfortable there, but lots of locals let their small children run and play with them.

We went to a residential area that is currently in transition. Jorge told us it used to be as dangerous as the neighbourhood in Rio de Janeira...if you came out of it alive you would be without shoes, jewellery, wallets, etc. However, they are rehabilitating the area and although it looks like it could take a long time, there are definite signs of progress.

They had a comedian onboard the ship last night. We went to his show and it was hilarious. My face hurt from laughing so much. A quiet dinner and then home early. Steve wandered around a bit, but I was very happy to be in the room just chilling by 9:00 p.m.

Today is a sea day....Steve went to golf classes, I went to keyboard class, and we went to an informative and entertaining lecture about Lima, Peru. It’s a formal night tonight, so will get all gussied up yet again. Sigh....life is tough.

We dock in Salaverry, Peru tomorrow, and then on to Lima the next day. That is the disembarkation point for about half of the people onboard, so we will get about 400 new people coming aboard. We are moving to a cabin more midships, so we are very happy that is going to happen before we hit the heavy seas.

I THOUGHT THIS BOY IN THE BUBBLE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS HAVING FUN. THIS POOL IS PART OF THE RIVER WATERFRONT PARK THAT RUNS THROUGH QUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR.