Fotos from South America - Guayaquil

Stories from Guayaquil, Ecuador

Guayaquil is just two and a half hours from my home in Salinas, and while that doesn’t seem like a long trip, consider that there’s no bathroom on this bus—and the driver doesn’t stop—no matter how many people ask him to. I’ve done this trip countless times now, and despite not drinking for hours beforehand, I’m always painfully in need of a bathroom by the time the bus arrives.

This situation is an example of one of the most difficult cultural challenges of living here in Ecuador—the total lack of any kind of customer service. While this can sometimes be charming and quaint, in this case it's definitely not.

Occasionally there’s traffic, which can cause the trip to take more than three hours.

I really do like Guayaquil, so I endure the bus ride as often as I can. In March of 2025, I took two trips to Guayaquil, staying on different sides of the city each time. Guayaquil is the biggest city in Ecuador with a population of about three million. It’s a gritty, urban, industrial city—packed full of interesting old buildings, streets, and cars. In terms of street photography, it’s as good as it gets.

Unfortunately, it’s also statistically an extremely dangerous city, with a murder rate of about 45 homicides per 100,000 people (right now it’s worse, but we don’t have up-to-date figures). That’s comparable to other cities like Detroit with 48, St. Louis also 48, and depending on which recent year you look at, the wildly popular Cancun, Mexico fluctuates between 44 and as high as 60 deaths per 100,000.

But nobody ever says, “Don’t go to Cancun, it’s too dangerous,” because we all understand you can visit the tourist areas of Cancun and be perfectly safe. Guayaquil is no different.

You can go to Guayaquil and stay in a modern, upscale, tourist area that feels like any other safe US city. However, the reputation of danger—and the sense of fear attached to even the slightest mention of Guayaquil—is so prevalent it seems like many people are too afraid and simply won’t go there. At first, I was also genuinely worried about it.

This is perpetuated by media, of course, but also by the expat Facebook groups. Really, all I need to say about that is “Facebook” and you should know exactly what I’m talking about. Members of these groups whip themselves up into a frenzy of fear and pearl-clutching to the point where they’re afraid to even catch a taxi in a safe city like Cuenca or Quito. It’s hard not to get caught up in all this fear if you’re reading these posts. You have to take a step back and remind yourself that everyone has a different tolerance for risk, and a different perception of what is dangerous.

My first visit to Guayaquil changed everything for me. On that trip, I stayed in an Airbnb in a touristy part of town on what they call the Malecón (Boardwalk)—but I quickly tired of that and ventured deep into the old city with my cameras, exactly to the parts of town my local friends all said I should absolutely avoid.

I saw the real Guayaquil. It’s old-school, hardhanded, and rough in these areas, and I’m always the only obvious foreigner. You’re probably thinking, “That doesn’t sound great…” but people are genuinely surprised when they see me, and that surprise quickly turns into curiosity—and a friendly welcome. I know it’s a cliché to say that, but here in Guayaquil I think the locals are friendlier—more so than any other city in Ecuador. If you watch some of my YouTube videos about Guayaquil, you’ll see it. But if you come to Guayaquil and only visit the tourist areas; you won’t.

The Malecón and the riverfront are beautiful. Music from the many restaurants, cafés, and bars mixes with the smell of grilled meat. Meanwhile, the streets of downtown Guayaquil are harsh, covered in rubbish, reek of urine, and littered with abandoned buildings.

However, downtown is also where you’ll see distinguished old men dressed in gorgeous classic suits, walking with purpose and greeting other members of their community with a handshake and a hug. You’ll see other men playing dominoes or cards on top of trash cans, and teenagers playing fútbol in the streets. You’ll see women walking the streets selling roses by the stem, and children playing games you’ve only ever seen in old movies.

When I was there this past March, I had some women come over to me as I was taking a photo of a building and they said, “Welcome to our country,” and then quickly walked off smiling, leaving me to take the photo. Later that day, I was photographing an old urban cathedral and a woman offered to let me come up to the third floor of her building to get a better shot of it. I included the photo of this cathedral below—and it is indeed a much better view than I would have gotten from street. I always think about these different acts of kindness, and I love being made to feel so welcome. I should point out these situations always happen far from the tourist areas. In fact, they only happen deep in the hot and dusty heart of old-school Guayaquil.

Below are some photos from my most recent trips to Guayaquil. Some of these (but not all) are available for sale on my website.

The Iglesia Nuestra Senora del Carmen. This is the photo of it taken from the third floor of a building I was invited into by a friendly local

Old Cars in Guayaquil

Most of the buildings in Guayaquil appear to have been built in the 1960's and 70's with a few newer exceptions.