More of Guayaquil

If you want to head downtown from where I live, there's two easy ways to make the trip: you can walk four blocks and hop on the Metrovia, or you can walk four blocks in the opposite direction and catch a city bus. Either way, it's 25 cents flat fare.

This is the Metrovia stop. The Metrovia is one of those buses with the accordion middles. At every stop there is a turnstile and an armed guard. It's all very official.

A good place to get off in the Centro - downtown - is at the Correos stop.

Correos = mail.

My mailbox is on the outside of the building, which comes in handy if I happen to check my mail on a Sunday. Most people's PO boxes are located in The Vault:

The Vault contains many, many more rows such as the one pictured above.

Each row contains many, many mailboxes.

The many, many mailboxes are in numerical order, but only kindof.

Good luck finding your mailbox for the first time.

From Correos, it's just a few blocks to la Bahía. La Bahía is a labyrinth, truly, and of epic proportions. It sprawls in a shapeless mass over city blocks, jumping across highways and main roads, cramming stall after stall one beside the other, stuffed full of all kinds of wares. Clothing, shoes, electronics, kitchenware, sports gear, bedding, DVDs...etc.

The boundary of la Bahía is well defined from the outside, but once you take the plunge, it's easy to completely lose your sense of direction. Every available space is taken up with Things, and everywhere you turn your head are more Things. Things, things, things. The outside gets swallowed up by Things and disappears. And all the Things look the same. Even craning your neck upward is no help, as the roof seals you in and prevents the possibility of getting a bearing from surrounding highrises.

Any serious foray into la Bahía must be undertaken with the understanding that it will (a) take much longer than expected due to getting lost, and (b) will most likely end much further from where it began. And possibly (c), that it will require much sustenance beforehand, or else a stop for food at some point among the wandering. It's all about stamina and endurance. And not caring that you have no idea which direction you're walking. And being able to haggle prices and start walking away from what you want in order to get it.

Usually, after a trip to la Bahía, I find that a nap is in order. And now we will take another break, because just thinking about a trip there is exhausting me...Sweet dreams, everyone.