Guayaquil is a bit of a sketchy city

Nice to have the included breakfast at our hotel in Manta. We went out after breakfast and bought a few snacks for the bus ride to Guayaquil, then took an Uber taxi from the hotel to the Manta bus terminal.

The ride was about 7 kms (4.5 miles) and cost $3.13 USD ($4.25 CAD). 

Long distance buses are also cheap. We finally found the booth selling tickets to Guyaquil. I already knew that buses run at least every hour, so I knew we wouldn't have to wait long and didn't book anything in advance. We paid $7.25 USD ($9.85 CAD) each for the 195 km (121 mile) four hour ride.

Our hotel in Manta.

We've never had much success taking photos out of a bus window, so this is the best we could do...

We took a short video for you...

Plantains for sale.

Scenery along the way.

The bus made a lot of stops. There must be a bus that does this route direct. We'll have to do some more research for the return trip.

Made it to the very busy Guayaquil bus terminal, which is located right beside the Guayaquil airport. It's actually quite fancy, and is more like a big shopping mall than a bus terminal. Interesting. Made our way outside and across the road where we summoned an Uber. Had to wait about ten minutes for it to show up. Then it was $4.50 USD ($6.15 CAD) for the twenty minute ride to the center of the city.

Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador and almost three million people. It's also frequently mentioned as being a dangerous city, and it is recommended not to stray too far from the central tourist area, and not to go out at night. We noticed that many businesses (including our hotel) have an armed security guard at the entrance.

I even read one report from a local who said "Do not stray off the main roads or you will be robbed".

We had a $250 included credit to use up with our visa card, so had splurged on two nights at the five star Oro Verde Hotel in the center of the city. 

Nice enough room.

The facilities.

View from our room.

We went out to find some dinner. Again, lots of burger and pizza joints. We already miss the food in Mexico! We ended up at a Chinese food place and although it had mixed reviews, we actually found it to be quite good... and we couldn't finish it all!

we shared a huge rice and shrimp dish.

And a big chicken and veggie dish.

The total came to $13.70 USD ($18.60 CAD) including two non alcoholic drinks. Not bad.

Our hotel has a nice pool and gym area.

The water felt warm. Might take advantage of that this afternoon.

Overcast day today with a high chance of rain this afternoon. We'll go out and do the touristy things this morning.

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