Guayaquil, Ecuador

By Matthew Maples

On the 6th we dropped our hook at the mouth of the river Guayas, in Ecuador at a muster point near the other military vessels. For a night, we would all hang on the hook before entering Guayaquil together - a gathering of tall ships, no doubt a rarely seen muster these days. No less than an hour after our anchor hit bottom, our deck sported a charcoal grill, celebratory drinks, and dance music from the deckhouse speakers. Marius Le Roux and "Spike" Greenwood grilled cuts of Argentinian steak alongside a beheaded yellow-fin tuna. It was one of Europa's famous "Braai's!" The smell of fresh salad and perfectly roasted potatoes mingled with seared South American beef and fresh caught fish. A small and salivating crowd gathered to watch dinner cook. From time to time Marius, our Braai-master, would blow air onto the coals with his hollow reed pipe to further incense the flames; a veritable feast with more than could possibly be eaten! This was a feast for a reason though - a satisfying conclusion to a voyage, and time for the ship's company to mingle together outside of their watches. Music and drinks with their accompanying smile and laughter continued well after the food disappeared into the galley. No doubt, everyone felt that a big "thank you" was due to the galley and our Braai cooks for the party fare.

Before the next light, the anchor was brought back on board and the ship was motoring up the river Guayas to Guayaquil. As we made our way up the wide, brown river, the enthusiasm of the Ecuadoreans became ever more pronounced. Our Ecuadorean Coast Guard escort was joined by a small swarm of river boats and dugout canoes with engines. One proudly sported the flag of a local soccer team as we made our way up the river Guayas, waving our hands in greeting to the people lining the banks, buildings and docked ships we passed by for miles on end. As we neared our berth, the crowds grew, foghorns blew, small boats crowded our sides like mosquitos and a trio of antique airplanes "buzzed" our tops. As we came onto the dock, a military band saluted us with music, accompanied by the rapt attention of young military school cadets - one of whom Marius hit in the shoulder with a "muscle propelled" heaving line!

The past few days have seen long lines of people eager to see our ship. Just as in Callau, they often request a "photograph" with us.
Although the majority of the crew of the Europa can not speak Spanish, we all try our best to accommodate the wishes of our visitors. The Ecuadorean people have proven to be very polite; once, while in the town, Spike left behind a bottle of yogurt at a corner grocery. The store owner then ran after us when we were a few blocks away to catch up to us to give us the forgotten yogurt! The only thing that took some getting used to was the heat here - very humid with barely a breeze. I've repeatedly wanted to burn my clothes after the work day! We blame a wall of cargo containers on the quay next to us for blocking the breeze. However, a hot day is not so bad when you can end the day with a warm night.

The Europa was docked at a place called Valley Port - a fair distance from Guayaquil's city center of the Malecon where I heard that we were initially supposed to be. The quay was under-sized for us though; we had to use our anchor in place of a bow line and the Sagres (Portugal) parked herself almost right on top of us. From our quarterdeck we can see the massive white bow rise up to meet our mizzen, and the unblinking golden figurehead of Prince Henry the Navigator looms over our heads., Most of us like our waylaid berth however - the city center is literally moving with hustle and bustle, whereas the rustic town by us was a refreshingly quiet place to relax after the work day. Even the cab drivers take off their lead shoes this far from Guayacquil's downtown. As the sun goes down every day an informal parade of colourful fibreglass and dugout boats buzz up and down the river, serving as water taxi's here. Some of these boats are very long and narrow, and the cheap seats must be up forward because a perpetual spray of water is always dowsing those up forward!

One very cool aspect of tall ship festivals is the help and favours that vessels will provide to one another. Here in Valley Port we share the dock with the larger naval sail training ships of Portugal and Columbia; The Sagres and Gloria respectively. We have been treated handsomely by Captain Pedro and crew of the Sagres - they have given us a spare shiv we needed for a block and the opportunity for Europa's crew to go aloft into the rigging of Sagres; a rare and gracious opportunity that we accepted on the morning of May 10.  From our perch on her royal yards we could look down on the comparatively petite Europa, as well as enjoy one of the best views of the city and river around. It takes a lot of energy to scale her 45.5 meter (app. 140 feet) tall masts. With her sail set she will look as if she has two six-story skyscrapers growing out of her deck! I remember in 2007 when I spent a day on Germany's Gorch Fock II during a parade of sail in Halifax; I watched the dozens of cadets climb aloft and I wished I could join them! Well, my wish was granted in a round-about way by the Sagres - as she is a sister ship to the Gorch Fock. We returned the favour by allowing crew from the Sagres to climb into our rigging as well.

As I write this the sun rises on our last day in Guayaquil. Our ship's company have no doubt spent a few memorable days in the hospitality of this good country. I know that I have and I have heard little else but compliments from the rest of our crew. In a few hours we will haul in our docklines and anchor and (hopefully) with a gracious breeze, we will set sail for Panama, leaving friends in Ecuador and taking the memories of this unique South American experience with us.