Hotel Vista al Mar Manta

... Danny was the name of one of us - brought us to a great motorcycle shop and the mecanics there jumped in and got the tire off in about 5 minutes and we brought it back to the tire repair guys who had it fixed in ten minutes and then back to the bike place. All this in less than a half hour. It turns out these guys are undercover police officers and were armed - we couldnt have found any better help and protection in the town ...

... air as people unpacked their belongings and cheerfully set up. After a long breakfast we walked around looking at all the new types of things for sale. When you walk up to a stall most people will simply say "a la orden." It was also interesting to see kids manning a few stalls as their parents stepped away. They were just as adept at answering questions and perhaps even a little more eager to try and get your business. After finding a ...

... hair, and Sam a pan flute. I got tired of hearing Ryan complain about how he needs to blend in more, so we got him a poncho for $10 and a leather hat (Indiana Jones type) for $25. He definitely blends in now.<br><br>San Antonio de Ibarra is famous for it´s handcarved wood crafts. It was hard not to buy everything in site. I told Ryan that I would have a hard time not collecting knick knacks if we lived here.<br><br ...

... wet! We then went off to the Amazon for 2 days. On the first day we got to go to an animal refuge which had some cute monkeys including the tiniest monkey in the world called a pocket monkey (you seriously could fit it in your pocket!) and other cool animals like ocolets and jaguarmundi's and of course toucans. The following day we got to build our own raft out of balsa wood and float down this raging river (even through rapids!!) it was so much fun and we all got so wet (though that was ...

... part sideshow. The communion had begun, despite all the excitement outside, but almost as many people remained outside to observe the drama with the gringos. Among the many curious, however, there were a number of very helpful and supportive souls, and our familiar friends all gathered to help out by calling the police and trying to help my mother with her injured foot. While we waited for the police, I ran to the corner store to get some ice, but, finding ...

... Bolivien zum Teil die gleichen Ponchos oder Taschen kaufen, wie in Ecuador. Wir sind auch nicht wegen des Marktes nach Otavalo gefahren, sondern weil wir doch endlich noch einen Ausflug zu einer der schönen Kraterlagunen machen wollten, die es an vielen Orten in der Andenregion gibt. Also haben wir uns am Morgen mit dem Bus aufgemacht nach Cotacachi, einem Städtchen unterhalb des gleichnamigen Vulkans. Dort haben wir einen ...

... sugar and condiments. We also heard that two of our dining companions had been confined to their cabins for 24 hours. Having been to Manta approx 10 months previously we knew that there was not a lot to see at this port, we therefore had not planned to do an organized tour, but instead we had a leisurely breakfast and then disembarked the ship to pick up the local shuttle which would take us to a ...

... we were there eating some tourist police came by. They wanted to see our passports. Charlie had his, I had a photocopy of mine but the others did not. They examined them, took them to their car, asked us some questions, examined the some more. It seemed like they really wanted to know what dates we had arrived here. We were a bit nervous but after lots of examinations and note taking, they gave them back to us and told us we had to always carry them or else carry a ...

... with strictly unbiblical hymns. They'd be breathing unadulterated air, and listening to the smelly girl with the dreadlocks play the same song over and over on the guitar. They'll talk politics, and of course the pressing issues of climate change, nodding rhythmically in agreement. They'll switch their mobile phones off and talk about their push bikes, intermittently throwing abuse at the Canadian who confessed to owning a hummer. They'll sit cross legged on the ground ...

... I think I never been to the city from which I have seen as little as from Manta, but thats mainly because I gone from my house to school to the beach and usually to the bar where all the kitesurfers gather at nights...quite even schedule every day...been lucky if managed to squeeze in a bit of tie for doing my homework or answering some emails. I been actually quite impressed by the guys in kiteschool here ...