Patterns in Guayaquil

Join me in exploring the patterns found within the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador! I am sharing photos of the view of an urban metropolis, and then taking you all the way close up to a humble tree. 

Location: 
Guayaquil, Ecuador

Photos

Guayaquil, home to about 2.7 million people, may appear chaotic from afar. However, there are many patterns hidden within these city streets.
I climbed the 444 steps to reach an iconic tower in Guayaquil. Many houses line the steps- they are all uniform in size but the colors vary beautifully (see the first picture for a view from the top!).
The largest city in Ecuador is organized around its surrounding rivers and estuaries. La Perla is the largest Ferris Wheel in South America and took 18 months to build.
Guayaquil is home to beautiful architecture. Churches are important to the history and culture of Guayaquil, and their construction requires detailed geometry. In each of the towers of Catedral San Pedro, there is a clock that indicates the tides.
Some Ecuadorian art, such as this painting, uses magic to explain patterns in the natural world. Some patterns are hard to make sense of, so different forms of art can help show what cannot be explained by math by using specific colors and images!
Other art directly uses natural resources. This shell necklace uses patterns of shape and color uniformity, as well as size variation, to create beautiful jewelry.
Patterns are not only found in what humans create. These mangrove propagules (structures that give rise to new mangroves) are different sizes depending on what species they come from. Propagule color can also indicate its health.
Mangrove trees are different sizes and shapes according to the amount of sunlight they get, how the tide impacts them, and what other species live near them.

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