Mum's last day in Guayaquil

Guayaquil

19.02.2014

This morning we took advantage of the Grand Hotel's delicious buffet breakfast again. First of all we had some hot stuff and then we went back for cold. I had scrambled eggs, a chicken and vegetable mixture and a couple of mini corviches (mashed yuca mixed with cheese and fried - a bit like a cheesy potato cake but slightly more gooey inside; I've had the big version before with onion mixed in too and they are delicious), followed by lots of fresh pineapple chunks, some papaya, some poached cinnamon pears, a custard bun and a little glazed bun with raisins that looked and tasted like a sausage-shaped hot cross bun. There were other rolls and things too but I was too full to have more! To go with the food we both had coffee and some fruit juice and I also had a small glass of peach drinking yoghurt.

After breakfast I really wanted to get a picture of Mum with an iguana, so we went for a walk round the corner to Iguana Square. I got several photos and we discovered a lot of turtles as well, some bigger ones and some very small and cute ones.

Then we walked through the cathedral and out of the side. I was really glad I could get pictures of the iguanas and the cathedral while Mum was here because when she walked around both on the morning after her arrival, I wasn't there so she didn't have a camera to get any pictures.

At about 09.50 I got the bus into work for a teachers' admin meeting, only to find out on arrival that it had been postponed until next week. I checked my email and then got the bus back again.

When I arrived back, we finished packing, checked out and went into the café/restaurant for a coffee. Though actually, although we went in for a coffee we ended up having a 'Chocolate Tradicional' instead! Ecuador is know for its cacao production. It had a little bit of cinnamon in it and was the best hot chocolate I have ever had in my entire life.

After our amazing chocolate experience we strolled down to the Malecón and along it until we reached the turnoff for the side street where the lunch restaurant 'La Barca Azul' is. We took our time walking there because we weren't under any time pressure. We passed an indoor market which isn't usually there, and stopped at the riverside;

The sun came out on the way so it got extremely hot. Once at the restaurant I ordered us both Seco de Chivo (traditional goat stew) and a bottle of peach juice.

After we'd finished our stew we caught a bus to the language school. Mum met some of my teaching colleagues and admin staff and I showed her round the whole building. It felt really surreal to have her there, though in a good way of course.

Then we caught another bus to my flat. The journey took much longer than usual for some reason. I loaded all the photos from her trip so far onto my laptop and we looked through them together. She also had a sit down on the sofa in the living area, in front of the air conditioning, with a bottle of water I'd put in the freezer section for a bit to make colder.

We didn't have all that long there before we had to get the bus back to my workplace. We did however stop at the fruit shop round the corner first, where I bought a pound of grapes and some light green plums for Mum. Back at the language school Mum washed and ate the fruit, before changing and watching some of the BBC World Service that is usually on the flatscreen TV in reception. Then the taxi arrived to take us to the airport.

At the airport Mum printed off her boarding pass from one of the self-service machines and we looked round the shops for a while. I decided that when I leave Ecuador this summer, I will buy a 'Republica del Cacao' t-shirt from Guayaquil Airport as a leaving present to myself. Mum bought a Panama-like hat for herself and cloth that can be used as a scarf or put on a table. Then we sat in a café and Mum had some black tea with milk - it tasted better than the tea she had the other day - and I had a big glass of coconut and blackberry juice.