Manta tours March 6, 2013

WEDNESDAY MARCH 6, 2013 – MANTA ECUADOR

This would be our last port stop in the southern hemisphere as later tonight we will cross the Equator and start the last leg of the journey.

We arrived early in the morning – we were docked by 6 AM and I am once again doing a private excursion booked by Redhead Anne who still isn't feeling well – she still hasn't got her voice back.

For once everything went right on this tour – please do not take that as a slight of the organizers – almost all of the problems encountered on these types of tours have been outside the control of the organizers.

Even Princess is not immune to this type of problem for as Manta serves as the gateway to Quito – had to cancel ship excursions there as they could not get a guarantee that the airline – it's nine hours by bus – would get everybody back on time.

At dockside we were met with a sign with Anne's name – there are seventeen of us – we will travel in two small vans.

Our first stop was the cultural museum just outside of the terminal area – a five storey building that displays the various aspects of Ecuadorian life from ancient history to modern times.

We then head for Montecristi – it's big claim to fame is the birthplace of the Panama hat – we stopped at a small shop where they are made – they produce about 100 a day – there's are for an upscale market – they wanted $150 - $250 US for the ones that they made.

Generally the higher the price the better the quality, materials and craftsmanship.

From here we headed to a attraction called the Mausoleo – there is a burning flame which is lit from time to time to honor the passing of certain people – in our case it was lit because of the passing of Hugo Chavez who was on friendly terms with the President of Ecuador – the two countries are building a large oil refinery outside of Manta which will employ up to 3000 people.

There is also a viewpoint called Mirador where despite somewhat cloudy and indeed showery skies you could still get a good view of the surrounding countryside.

A couple of the group brought Panama hats for $20.00 – bartering is part of the system here

After leaving the viewpoint we head back towards Manta and head to a village called Pacoche which is located in the hills outside of town in among the rain forest.

We stop here for a walk in the forest or jungle if you prefer – the hope is that we will see monkeys and other creatures that inhabit this area – it was about an one hour trip along a downward sloping muddy and slick trail – a bottom part of which was down a network of steps and across a bamboo constructed bridge to creek side – other than seeing a couple of lizards and hearing the distant call of the monkeys none were seen.

Oh well – it was exercise – it is also very warm – the sun is hot here and the UV index is extreme – also apply some bug juice – while there were some I didn't feel their wrath.

Then it's back to the van – by now the other van is long gone – we head to town for lunch – after an appy which was good – don't know what it was – the main course was either shrimp or chicken – I chose chicken with potatoes and peas and corn mixture – pop or juice or water was included as well as a dessert.

Since we still had a little time before our scheduled return to the port we stopped at a shopping center to pick up whatever we needed – I got a couple of local beer, pop and Pringles.

After returning to the ship and dropping off my gear and good camera I headed back out to the port – a short ten minutes has you on the beach – I stopped here for a short while and then proceeded up towards the supermarket – I still wanted more pop but they only have Diet Coke in 2 litre containers but since I know I can fit them in the fridge I get a couple more.

Ecuador – a good number of years ago adopted the US$$$ as there official currency so there was no need to worry about exchange etc.

Being hot an thirsty I stopped in at a KFC and after waiting 5 minutes and getting no service – just wanted a pop – left and returned to the ship.

In summary it turned out to be an okay day – saw some of the scenery and got re-stocked with some of my favorite junk foods.

Cheers!