Manta, Ecuador

South America Map

            Sunday, 9 Feb 2020 – The ship was scheduled to dock at Manta at 8:00 AM.  Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west, with a population of 17.1 million.  It uses the US Dollar as its currency.  The capital city is Quito, which is also its largest city.

Northwestern South America Map

            Manta is a major commercial and holiday resort center and the second major port of Ecuador, behind Guayaquil.  One famous episode in Manta history occurred when a Boeing 707 carrying cargo crashed into the town’s wooden church in 1996.  Manta’s main industries are fishing, and tuna canning and processing.  Original and official “Panama” hats, known throughout the world, are favorite souvenirs among visitors of Manta.  Prices range from $30 to $25,000!
            Since we had never been in Ecuador, we had booked a 2.5-hour afternoon tour, “Ecuadorian Tea & Local Dance Performance.”  Although we enjoyed breakfast in the Terrace Café, we did not have time for swimming or lunch.  We met our tour group ashore at 12:50 PM.  Our tour guide was Danielle, who narrated our ride to the Montecristi Golf Club.  We passed an area where wooden fishing ships were being built, with prices ranging from $30,000 to $100,000, depending on size. 

Dance Performance

Upon arrival at the golf club, we were escorted to a room with long tables, situated in a u-shape, with lots of space in the center.  We were first served samples of local food and drinks, including a sort of corn pudding wrapped in a corn husk, a corn muffin, watermelon, another melon, and a corn pastry.  For drinks, we had a choice of lemonade, tea, coffee, and strawberry juice.  Jesse tried strawberry juice for the first time, which was good, but not very sweet.  Then an Ecuadorian dance troupe, consisting of  four young couples, probably in their late teens or early 20’s, dressed in brightly colored costumes, performed a variety of modern and traditional dances that reflected the multicultural character of the country.  These dances were about iguanas, shell fishing with nets, making panama hats, villains, Inca rulers, and pretty maidens.  At the conclusion, we were invited to join the dancers, which was a lot of fun!  Danielle continued her narration during our ride back to the pier.  We were back onboard the ship by 4:15 PM.

            In the Horizons we danced from 5:15 to 5:45 PM, and then we went to the library for another Catholic service, where Sally read the responsorial again.  At dinner, we sat at an outside table in the Terrace Café with Kathy & Larry.  We talked for quite a while, and learned that they have only been married for 15 years.  After dinner, we watched the “Oscars” on our stateroom TV.  The only nominated movies that we had seen were “Ad Astra” that we watched on our flight to San Francisco, and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” that we watched at Jesse’s brother Jon’s house before leaving on the cruise.