May 7, 2010
The bustling port of Guayaquil; Ecuador’s largest city and most important seaport, located alongside the majestic Guayas River and a complex maze of mangrove-framed channels of the Pacific Ocean, entering deep inland, was the venue last weekend for the arrival of eleven School Ships from a similar number of South American and European countries, participating at the unique “Bicentennial International Regatta, Sails for Latin America 2010”, one of the many events organized to commemorate, this year, the Bicentennial of the Independence of several South and Central American countries.
Large crowds congregated at Guayaquil’s magnificent “Malecón 2000” Waterfront, one of South America and the Pacific rim’s most impressive waterfront constructions, this one along the shores of the historic Guayas River, to admire the unusual parade of the spectacular “Tall Ships”, with their complete sets of sails in full display, a view that brought cheers from the thousands of local and visiting viewers of the show. The city’s main authorities welcomed the delegations, within an atmosphere of warm hospitality.
Leading the parade was Ecuador’s flagship, the “Guayas”, a beautiful three-mast Schooner, which is, since 1999, the country’s official School Ship, a floating Embassy of Ecuador’s culture and spirit, which has travelled the Seven Seas and gone around the world several times, while it serves the purpose of providing practical training and professional formation to the cadets who will become the future Naval officers of Ecuador. Following were the equally beautiful School Ships, all of them splendid sailing vessels, from the Navies of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, México, Spain, Portugal and Holland. The ships had left the Peruvian port of Callao a few days ago. The Regatta will continue from Guayaquil to the historic city of Cartagena, Colombia, after five days in Ecuador, a stop of the Regatta, denominated as “Full Sails Guayaquil”.
The Tall Ships’ Grand Tour began in Brazil on February 2nd and will terminate on the Mexican port of Veracruz on June 28th, a more than four month long voyage, visiting emblematic Ports of several Latin American countries, on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Caribbean Sea….., having traversed both the famous “Cape Horn” on the extreme South of the continent, as well as the Panama Canal. This historic voyage is inspired on a spirit of unity and fraternity between the participating nations, their peoples and their Navies… A gesture of camaraderie, where each vessel, in addition to its own national crew and cadets, includes a group of guest cadets from the other participating countries. In this way, a true integration and exchange of experiences and cultural treats is featured during the awe-inspiring voyage…
The visit of these vessels to Guayaquil was a real feast and was used as a unique opportunity for the city residents, as well as for national and international tourists, to visit the splendid ships, anchored or moored along the lengthy port city’s docklands. It was also a precious occasion for the promotion of tourism for Ecuador, as the hundreds of men and women, travelling as crew members on each one of the visiting vessels, had the chance to visit the main tourist attractions of the beautiful city of Guayaquil and other parts of Ecuador during their stay. The Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador hosted a special Gastronomic Festival and an “Ecuadorian Night”, for the visitors and general public,, who enjoyed the delicious and varied local and national cuisine, along with a festive atmosphere of music, hospitality and fireworks, celebrating this Voyage of Inter Continental Union. Tourism promotional materials were also given to the distinguished visitors, featuring as a highlight, Ecuador’s emblematic straw hats, as well as embroidered shirts with symbols of the country’s Four geographic Worlds…
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