Inbetween Galapagos & Panama
So I arrived in Guyaquill fine, although very sad after saying goodbye to my Samba companions, and thought I would give the city another go as I was still in such a good mood after Galapagos, I thought nothing could be as bad as I remembered it!
After walking 2 blocks I was already annoyed at all the stares, shouts and kisses so ducked into the 1st internet cafe I saw. 3 Hours later I had only managed to upload around 50 photos and had a numb bum from sitting on the uncomfy chair for so long. Realising I was actually pretty hungry I decided to walk down to the Malecon 2000 for some 5* cuisine (In Guyaquill Macdonalds is classed as 5*cuisine as it is the only thing that looks even remotely edible) I didnt even make it that far. Luckily for me I spotted a Macdonalds even closer so quickly sought sanctuary in there.
Afterwards I walked a different was back to my hotel in an unsuccessful search of a better internet cafe, by the time I arrived back I was actually quite thankful that my returned ear infection had rendered me almost completely deaf in my right ear because if I had heard just one more comment of belissima or guapa it would have been highly likely that I would flip – probably resulting in me spending the night somewhere much worse than my hotel.
I was absolutely shattered and very hot and sweaty by this point so decided to call it a day and get a good nights sleep – only 7.30pm as well (we would have just finished dinner this time yesterday). I woke up at 9pm (which I soon remembered was actually 10pm as Ecuador is an hour ahead of Galapagos and I had forgotten to change my watch) even hotter and sweatier than when I went to bed, really wishing I had paid the $2 extra for air con instead of the almost useless ceiling fan which only succeeded to annoy me by the constant squeaking. The guy next doors TV was blaring out and by the sound of the noises he was making he certainly wouldnt have had any problems with a foggy snorkel – nice!!!
I was quite glad that there was only cold water and felt a little better after a cold shower, I filled my ears full of ear drops and cotton wool – partly to help the infection and partly to drown out the guy next door, and went back to sleep. The shower and ear drop process was repeated 3 times throughout the night and I still woke up at 6am. Not wanting to reenter the city of stares, I busied myself with any un-interesting task to pass the morning until by 9.30 I was starving so decided to try a recommended eatery; el toro asado. On arrival after many more stares and shouts, it looked dodgy as hell and was closed anyway – back to Macdonalds it was. The closest one was also closed (why is it nowhere but England do Macdonalds open early and have a breakfast menu – not that I ever go there of course!!!) so onwards I went along the Malecon 2000 to the 2nd Macdonalds which was also closed, but looked like it was about to open so decided to sit and wait as I hadn’t seen anywhere else that looked like I could eat without getting food poisoning (how I wished I had Freddie {Samba chef} with me to russel up some fine salad sculptures!).
As I sat down this odd looking bloke said “hey, how you doin” I was suprised and pleased at the same time – the first English speaker I had met in Guyaquill. He was a short older guy, with a pinstripe suit and his hair all slicked back. He had worked for the American Embassy in Guyaquill for 4 years now – I didnt care, I was just happy to have even this strange old man to talk to. It did make more sense when he told me his parents were from Italy, and I realised thats what he looked like – someone out of one of the Italian Mafia films!!!
So a Big Mac later, another hour wasted in the Internet cafe and it was back to the hotel and a taxi to the airport – thank god, my last few hours in this god forsaken town!! The dumb ass taxi driver obviously thought I liked walking in the heat with my 22k backpack (its gone down a kilo sinse last time – yey) and dropped me off at arrivals instead of departures – muppet!
The flight left early (thats a first – and luckily I was there in time!!) and I was not sad to leave Guyaquill behind. The usual ham and cheese sarnie on the plane, although I was very pleased that it was also accompanied by some Lays (almost as good as Walkers) crisps. Arrived in Panama, it was very hot and humid, the taxi to the hostel I found on the internet earlier today took about half an hour and Panama City looked a lot bigger than I expected. Also a lot more westernised, with Hard Rock cafe´s, nice looking restaurants, Subway, Macdonalds (dont think I will be having another for a while), pretty churches etc etc. Im looking forward to having some adventures here!
Tags: Ecuador, Guyaquill, Panama, Travel, Travel, Travel
Aymi
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