"After finding an adequate hotel I set off to change some money. As in Chile, I found myself calling at the different money changers to see which gave the best rate. I had read that Guayaquil was the best place in Ecuador to change money, so I thought, if I could get a good deal, it would be worth changing enough for most of my trip. The effort of shopping around proved to be worthwhile. 
 
The most interesting sight in Guayaquil was probably the large cemetery. Though it did seem the mass of beautiful white marble ornaments and statues, rising from a garden of well kept flowers and greenery, was in complete contrast with the poverty of the surrounding area. What with the enormous modern cemetery nearby, I got the feeling that people here spent more on the dead than they did on the living.
 
For the first part of my route in Ecuador, down to Loja, I decided to take a flight as I had heard that internal flights were cheap, and it seemed preferable to what looked a tiring road journey. When I came to book a flight for the following morning I was quoted a price of £6 - it seemed almost too good to be true.
 
With my booking made I was able to spend the rest of the day seeing the city. In an attempt to keep cool I took a trip on the ferry across to Duran, about 3 miles away. I got a good view of the city from the distance, but Duran was a very rundown place and seemed unsafe, so after a quick walk round I was glad to catch the next ferry back." - MH