Manta, Man!

This morning we sailed into Manta, Ecuador whee we were greeted by many Frigate birds.

Manta was a nice change since it looked like a more modern city and, once we were shuttled off of the pier, we could walk right into town.  Our initial plan was to take a boat ride but, as you can see, that cruise was scuttled!

Seriously, our plan was to walk a bit and to possibly take a taxi to Monticristi, a town near Manta known for its panama hats.  When we talked to the local tourist woman on board, she said that there was not much to Monticristi other than shopping so we canned that part of the plan and just walked along the Malecon, the esplanade along the waterfront.  It was a good walk though, despite our initial feeling that the weather was more pleasant, it was still hot and humid!

Our walk back took us past some interesting sculptures and an area where they are constructing a new Megaparque.  It should be quite nice.

We crossed over the road to a nice little park and then walked back to the port area.  It was tempting to buy a fish to have cooked up on board!

Fortunately, they are going to have what they call Fish al Fresco in the Terrace restaurant tonight where they grill fresh local fish.  Always good and they will also have Pisco Sours!  Watch out!

We did stop at the mall since the tourist woman recommended that we should check out the grocery store which Linda likes to do in foreign countries.  Yep, it was a large grocery store (and  more).

This afternoon we rested up in preparation for a grueling day at sea tomorrow.  We will also have the excitement of crossing the equator at about 10:30 pm tonight.  We'll be ready for the bump!

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry