I was married on September 2,2005 in Guayaquil with a beautiful Ecuadorian named Mercedes. I have been there 3 times last year, each time for 5 or 6 weeks for a total of about 4 months. I love it down there and want to spend about 1/2 of the time there returning with my wife. To explore Ecuador by bus is very easy and inexpensive. A 6 hour bus trip will cost about $6 (or about $1 for each hour for longer or shorter trips). Ecuador uses US money. One thing I will warn you about is very, very few people speak english down there. Families will walk along the Malecon (waterfront) until midnite and the weather is warm to hot most of the time. Guayaquil has 3 million population and the traffic is crazy but buses and taxis pass by every couple minutes or so. A 45 minute taxi ride into downtown will cost about $3. I know you will enjoy Guayaquil.