Guayaquil, Ecuador- Day 1

Today I left the jungle town of Iquitos for the hustling, bustling city of Guayaquil, Ecuador.  I can´t say I was too sad to say good-bye to Iquitos- I´d spent plenty of time stuck there, and was ready to move on to the next leg of my journey.
My flight to Lima (where I had a layover) was spectacular.  We flew right over the Andes mountains, and I was like a kid in a candy store.  I snapped picture after picture after picture, and just when I thought it couldn´t get any more spectacular, it did.  Some mountain tops stretched so high that they were covered in snow- I couldn´t help but wish that I could just drop out of the plane on a snowboard and shred the nar.  (Joke.)

I rush rush rushed to my next flight after collecting my travel bag and then re-checking it in (this was an international flight, so that was necessary) and found out that it was delayed by 2 hours.  Everyone in the gate area stood up and got in line as if they were going to board.  I was totally confused.  I overheard an airline worker telling another person that they were offering meal vouchers for the two restaurants in the area.  My ears, of course, perked up.  "What?!  Free food?!"  I took my place in line and got my meal voucher, despite the fact that I had just polished off leftover veggie pizza from the night before.  (Side note: I am back to eating real food after subsisting on crackers and granola bars for the past several days since my illness.)
Because the restaurant for which they gave us a voucher was very busy, they asked that I sit at a table with three other people.  No problem!  Always happy to actually talk to a human being and maybe even make a friend.  I ate with a newly married Italian couple on their honeymoon and a Peruvian woman who´s on her way to New York City right now.  Dan, I gave her your digits, as she´ll be in Chicago on Sunday- expect a call!
The flight to Guayaquil was awesome- TV screen on the back of every seat (again!).  Watched a couple TV shows (not enough time for a movie, unfortunately) and had a small cup of wine...from a BOTTLE.  I was impressed.  LAN has proven to be a classy airline.
Arrived in Guayaquil a couple hours late, but my ride was still there waiting for me.  He (thankfully) had gotten the message that my flight was delayed and so there was no problem.  Stopped off at the travel agency, paid for my upcoming Galapagos Islands tour in cash...gulp...and proceeded to the hotel.  It´s nice!  Nicer than some places I´ve stayed, anyway.  Okay, so the pillow is covered in plastic and the bed is a bit hard.  It looks like a miniature version of Parque Guell in Barcelona.  Beautiful tiles everywhere, narrow, winding staircases.
Having precious few minutes to spare before it got dark, I set out for some food.  I walked along the main avenue, and after much deliberation, decided to branch out and eat at Pizza Hut.  Another veggie pizza.  But, it´s safe, it´s big enough that I´ll have leftovers for tomorrow, and it was conveniently located.
Tomorrow, I´ll hit the town and walk along the river.  Apparently there´s some cool stuff there.  For now, I should get back to my hotel.  It´s getting dark, and that plastic pillow protector needs somebody to keep it warm tonight.