A Taste of Ecuador

Saturday the 14th, a week after boarding, we dock at Manta, Ecuador.  It is a very commercial port and home to exceptional fishing waters bring in fresh fish seven days a week!  Starkist  and Bumblebee have large processing plants here which provide many jobs to the locals.  We took a third party tour here that I booked through the Cruise Critic site.  I believe there may have been four vans of us!  Our guide had excellent English skills and was easy to understand.  He took good care of us and really shared honest and truthful information regarding his county and the local merchants. I was totally overwhelmed with our first stop which was the fish market!  There are fish markets and then fish markets!  This one starts everyday day at 4 am with the fishermen coming in and bringing their catch to certain vendors.  It was a very clean well run open air market.  To think that every day they could bring in so many varied species of sea food boggled the mind.  The vendors were all inspected by a city inspector who was a woman.  She ran a tight ship.  Because refrigeration for many people is an issue they must shop each day for gray fish and vegetables.  Then the fishermen also sell to restaurants.  Fins and tails get frozen and shipped to China. And then they do have a facility that turns fish remains into a food source for animals.  They grind up and dry the fish meal and then package it.  Nothing goes unused.  The facility is thoroughly cleaned every day and closes at noon.  

Many Ex Pats live here ( around 5000) because it is inexpensive and the dollar Is their currency. There are lovely gated communities where they reside and our guide arranged for one of them to come talk to us on our bus.  He paid $250,000 for a four bathroom three bedroom home with all the amenities of a 55 community like pools, gyms, tennis, gathering halls, classes, etc.  they pay $95 a month for their HOA and water is $9 a month!  

 The area and country have had more or less a democratic society and hope to continue that.  They were holding presidential elections this weekend and we were told we might not be able to go to Guayaquil if rioting and looting broke out from the election so we were on guard and police presence was high. 

At the market you could purchase fresh tuna for $3.50  a pound!!  Many vendors were preparing fish for serviche too.  You could get huge fresh shrimp for $2.50 to $4 per pound. 

The port excursion lady told us that in Manta there was a park called Iguana Park where our shuttle would drop us off and that they were everywhere, hanging from limbs, scrambling on the ground and were close enough to touch.  But when we got there we found out from our guide that several years ago they moved them from the city back to the rain forest.  Apparently there had been street accidents as they crossed the street and someone had been killed.  We were pretty disappointed. 

Our guide told us the Ironman is coming to Manta!  That really surprised me because it didn’t seem like a likely location or that security would be all that in place or that there would be enough facilities.  

Some of the fish caught here, of which there are more than I could even list or remember include Halibut, Cordalo which is like a red snapper, Grouoer, Corvina and lots of Tuna.  In order for Tuna to be fresh it must be immediately cut through the stomach and the contents removed. Then it is packed with ice because the Tuna is more warm blooded and it has to be cooled quickly.  

It was obvious in the fish market which Tunas had been cooled. They were a lighter red, not so dark. 

Boats here are made by hand and several families go together because it might be 1,000,000 dollars to have a boat constructed but you can pay for it very quickly with the large catches the fishermen bring in. The boats have a wooden frame that is then covered with fiberglass Al done by hand. It looked hazardous to your health for sure.  A large boat like the one being built might only take 6-7 months to finish. 

Small boats fill up big boats with 80- 100 tons of fish because they can use less fuel to go out further from the big boat then return and dump their catch. 

In Ecuador there are lots of volcanos and islands.  We traveled to Pacoche Park where we met our guide Carlos.  The area covers 32,000 hectares and is home to over 300 species of birds, monkeys and other critters. The people that live in this region use plants for medicinal purposes.  Everything is important.  We had a spit of rain but more importantly it cooled and was a perfect temperature. After the park we were taken to the Blue Dolphin for lunch.  They served us rice, friend plantain and Corvina.  It was located on the Olaya Bonita Beach.  Ridley turtles are here and lay their eggs.  It is a very protected area.  

And then off to Montecristi where they make the famous Panama hats.  Roosevelt is known for making these hats famous.  In 1945 he wanted to abolish slavery in Panama with their leader.  They were friends and Roosevelt showed up on site wearing a hat on his horse.  The press called it the Panama Hat and soon all workers had the hat one hat made by hand can take 2-3 months to make.  

A typical salary in Ecuador per month is around $450.  

I’m going to add a link to an article that came out today which tells a very different story from what our tour guide shared with us regarding Manta.  

https://apple.news/AVlWrnKQmTrG3Cz2uNkRYRA

Boat making!!

Here men are selling limes, cilantro and reeds

The carts all have wooden wheels!!  Look at the huge tuna!

Here are small sharks they lay out on tarps.  They chop off the fins and heads and tails.  All that either goes to China or to fish meal.  The truck in the background is full of these sharks 

They were happy to get their photo taken and proud of their catch!  Of course you see the scale for weighing.  


These are clams they are sorting then cracking and scooping the meat to sell either for seviche or other meals. 

Live crabs in the reed baskets! 

Buildings are made with bamboo because of earthquakes 



Yellow fin tuna. 

A huge halibut   They only have one eye!!

Here is his eye!


Octopus!!

Huge shrimp

Very colorful crabs that are alive for sale 

Pelicans and other shore birds at the market waiting to eat

Boat building

Beautiful depictions from the museum

How the old and new indigenous faces resemble each other 


Famous paintings of typical homes 

These shops are all made out of containers!!



Our native guide for the park

What they did as kids with the bird of paradise plant

These are the reeds for the Panama Hats

Local beer

Our lunch! 


Beautiful huge statue of the lady making the famous Panama Hat all made from tiles 

Famous Catholic Church that withstood the earthquake all but the top as you can see it is supported still 

Father of the revolution and independence all made of tiles in Montecriste named after him

Beautiful giant woods doors of the church 

Inside the church 

The only remaining Al fresco not destroyed by the earthquake 

The first presidents home which still operates as a government office.  They want to keep its original style and color

See the giant hat???

Dan acting like someone important!!! Ha ha.  My Sherpa 

And we are “ home”