Las Peñas, Iguanas and a Temple

The morning after we arrived in Guayaquil we started walking along the Malecon and getting passed by joggers out for early runs. Not knowing where else to go, we followed them (but not running) and that took us to the old colonial neighborhood of Las Peñas, the site of the original Spanish settlement on the side of Santa Ana hill.

With nice patios and clever sculptures, such as this. (By the way, am I the only one old enough to know what these boys are doing? )

We lost track of the joggers and weren't sure where to go, but as is common here, there were a lot of security guards around and they simply looked at us and pointed up.  With that and the numbered stairs, we realized we weren't really just wandering through a hillside neighborhood, but actually going some place. 

You end up at the top of Santa Ana hill at a nice park with the old lighthouse, an old church, some military monuments and another sculpture. But it was evident from watching the joggers that for it to "count" as having gone to the top (and we are a goal driven people) you had to continue on to the top of the light house,

Where you get great views such as these.

A view of Las Peñas from below.

After the adventure through Las Penas and up and down Santa Ana Hill, we went to the famous historical park of Quayaquil, which turned to be closed that day. So we went to check out the city center and found Semenario Park, or better known as the Park of the Iguanas.  

The park and the iguanas have both been there since colonial times. The park is near the river and, with fruit and branches in the trees for food, the iguanas are attracted to the park. Since it is a perfect habitat and no one eats them, the iguanas have stayed around and now mingle with the crowds.

Although they have plenty of competition from some others.

 

Like many parks in South America, it features a Simon Bolivar monument.

However, the citizens of Guayaquil also have a monument to a piano teacher- Ana Villamil Iscaza, music educator and the composer of what is now known as Himno al 9 de Octubre, a tribute to their independence day and official hymn of the city of Guayaquil.

We ended the day with a visit to the temple in Guayaquil (right now, the only one in Ecuador), where by coincidence we had a nice visit with the temple president, Jay R. Fuhriman, an old family friend from Nampa, Idaho. 

I guess I haven't been retired from the construction materials businesses long enough,  but I couldn't resist taking this picture, a barge load of sand headed down river.