Manta in Ecuador is predominantly a fishing port, though cruise ships obviously support quite a section of the population, judging by the way they descended on us as we alighted from the bus provided to get us safely from ship to shore. The bus guide described what a bargain the Panama hats in the market were - we reckoned he got a back-hander from the stallholders!
We'd arrived in port at a more civilised time than the 05:00 at some destinations, so were able to enjoy the entry and docking procedures. And there in the adjacent berth was our old friend the Artania. Being newer and faster than Black Watch, She'd arrived nearly a day earlier than us after leaving the Panama Canal.
Looking across the port, many fishing trawlers and game fishing boats were in evidence:
Getting off the boat, we were serenaded by a local band - in an unusual place, the roof (roofs to be exact) of some buses.
They were waiting to take Jim, Christine and others on a tour of Montecristo and other locations, including a Panama Hat factory. It sounded a fun tour, and generated interest and amusement among locals and tourists alike.
As we set off into Manta, it was well after the time that the fish market stalls had packed up for the day, due to the equatorial heat, but the whole place still smelt very fishy though. The Subway chain had made inroads though, no doubt with MacDonalds etc.
The electricity supplies appeared to be a bit, dodgy ....
Many such poles had dozens of bare wires descending to ground level, though I wondered if they were telephone/internet rather than live mains.
After a rather dodgy walk through the less well off parts of town to find an uninspiring shopping mall and an interesting supermarket. At least I was able to find a sensible pack size of the cotton wool buds I'd been looking for since Barbados.
The walk back to the bus/ship was interesting, the pavement being blocked at one point:
Quite what an anchor that size was doing a mile away from the sea, we never figured out.
That was Manta. Nice enough and a lovely sunset to boot:
The night fishing trawlers were in evidence as we prepared to sail:
And Artania escaped just ahead of us, looking very pretty as the setting sun reflected off her white sides as she too sailed south.
Looking across the port, many fishing trawlers and game fishing boats were in evidence:
Getting off the boat, we were serenaded by a local band - in an unusual place, the roof (roofs to be exact) of some buses.
They were waiting to take Jim, Christine and others on a tour of Montecristo and other locations, including a Panama Hat factory. It sounded a fun tour, and generated interest and amusement among locals and tourists alike.
As we set off into Manta, it was well after the time that the fish market stalls had packed up for the day, due to the equatorial heat, but the whole place still smelt very fishy though. The Subway chain had made inroads though, no doubt with MacDonalds etc.
The electricity supplies appeared to be a bit, dodgy ....
Many such poles had dozens of bare wires descending to ground level, though I wondered if they were telephone/internet rather than live mains.
After a rather dodgy walk through the less well off parts of town to find an uninspiring shopping mall and an interesting supermarket. At least I was able to find a sensible pack size of the cotton wool buds I'd been looking for since Barbados.
The walk back to the bus/ship was interesting, the pavement being blocked at one point:
Quite what an anchor that size was doing a mile away from the sea, we never figured out.
That was Manta. Nice enough and a lovely sunset to boot:
The night fishing trawlers were in evidence as we prepared to sail:
And Artania escaped just ahead of us, looking very pretty as the setting sun reflected off her white sides as she too sailed south.
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