Ecuador’s largest and most important Industrial and Financial center. With a population reaching some 3 million inhabitants or 23% of the total national population of Ecuador. Quito, the capital with close to some 2 million inhabitants is located some 200 miles to the northeast, high in the Andes (9.350 feet high).

Guayaquil, was once an small independent state that gained its independence from Spain in the early parts of the 19th century, that was soon absorved into the much larger GranColombia (Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador) that eventually broke apart in 1830 with Ecuador and Venezuela becoming independent states.

In the past 13 years the city has have gone through a period of well-planned development, a development so accepted and appreciated by the general population, that its last two majors where re-elected with an overall approval rate of more than 80 percent of the of the population, both being from the same political party a rare event in Ecuadorean politics as in most civilized nations nowadays. It is rapidly becoming the new gateway to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.