Hey! Watch out for that Iguana!!

So Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador, certainly the commercial capital of the country. The city has wide sidewalks all with porticos and columns. It reminds me of Bologna, the architecture, the wide open streets. It has rained both nights so far, the covered sidewalks a welcome refuge from the downpours.

The main cathedral has a huge garden in front covered with huge iguanas. They´re longer than a human leg, some 5 feet long even, and varieties of colors. They bask in the sun and then take to the trees to cool off. At the scent of an animal, a possible predator, a dog for example, they take off running. The braver iguanas, or recent mothers, blow up the flap of skin under their chins, kind of like frogs, to signal that they´re ready for a fight. It´s really quite scary to see a huge lizard running straight for you. They have long sharp nails to scale trees in seconds, and as they climb, their nails scratch into the trees, almost like nails on a chalkboard. And they coexist with these animals that look like they are a cross between squirrel and mouse. Everyone here says that this animal is quite friendly, but I´m not so sure...

I bought a purse today. Uh, oh. Looks like the real Anne is starting to rear her ugly head. I thought I could last several months living out of a backpack with the same 5 pairs of pants, shirts, undies...heaven, help me. I just love shopping! I blame it all on my father. I got everything from him, everything except eye color, skin tone, and, of course, the girl parts. Now, don´t get me wrong. My Dad ROCKS, and, man, do we enjoy doing a little shopping damage from time to time!

So we made a dream come true for Geraldine last night. She had had a crush on this guy named Danny, since she & France visited Baños, give or take a month of adoration. He lives in Guayaquil, so we rang him and set up a little surprise for her. We all danced the night away. While it was wonderful for her to see him, I wonder if it wasn´t destructive at the same time. I´m sure France was pleased. She´s been listening to Geraldine talk about Danny for over a month. But sometimes I wonder if it´s better to have the dream of that person, to let the memory live in that perfect little world, rather than to have to witness some flaw or imperfection. I guess maybe I´m biased. To me Danny smelled of sour, as though they had sat in the washing machine way too long. But hey...different strokes, right? In Guayaquil, the even cocktail ritual was the 3 Cs: chips, chocolate and cerveza! Here´s Geraline with one of the three...