The 444 stairs! (Teresa)

We successfully finished our process of visa registration, picking up our visas and passports at the municpal building this morning at 11am.  Even with Jennifer along, it is still quite a process to deal with red tape in a 2nd language!  We are grateful for a relatively smooth process and for much learning :)

After that excitement, we took a taxi downtown (El Malecon) to celebrate by walking up 444 steps, up the hill called Cerro Santa Ana.  The steps were numbered, so we didn´t have to count as we wound our way past cute little shops and small houses in colorful stucco, and tropical gardens (also brightly colored!), up to the top where we found a replica of an old lighthouse and a small chapel.  Quite a view from that height....it was neat to get a better sense of the layout and size of Guayaquil.  The enormous river Guyas cuts the city into several parts, with lots of bridges (for both autos and for pedestrians/bikes).  The river makes this city a major port for transportation of people and goods.

After we had our fill of the view, and of the strong equatorial sun, we headed back down the 444 steps, in the shade most of the time.  Great exercise and a good time, and boy were we hungry!