Accidental stop over
Trip Start
Jul 16, 2008
1
26
84
Trip End
Ongoing
Manta,
Ecuador
Monday, October 27, 2008
By the time we arrived in Manta it was already almost 6 and dark out so we decided it would be best to stay the night. We took a taxi to a hostel we had picked out from our guidebook that was right on the water, near a bunch of restaurants but he took us elsewhere, to an expensive hotel. We said we weren`t going to stay there so he brought us to a cheaper hostel in a sketchy looking area. It was only $5 a person so we decided to stay. However, when we asked where we could eat we were told it wasn`t safe to walk outside the hostel! (It was only about 7 pm!) We decided that since there were 4 of us and we had my pepper spray that we would be safe. We ended up finding somewhere to eat a typical ´menu´ (rice, beans, fish, soup) and then stumbled upon a fair. It was sooo much fun. We had all kinds of tasty treats for dessert...lots of cookies, fried foods, fruits, egg cream...probably should have skipped dinner and just eaten there! There were some rides (we didn`t go on any...didn`t seem that safe) and stands selling everything you could imagine. There were some random auctions going on. They seemed like garage sales where they were just selling everything, like a random pair of jeans or a tupperware, but it was a big auction. It was definitely fun!
In the morning we walked around to look for breakfast. Not really a tourist area so we just found a place where you could get chicken and rice, which we weren`t really feeling. However, the lady there seemed to realize it wasn`t what we were looking for and said she could make us omelets for $1.25. She sent her son to the store to buy some eggs. He came running back and she got to cooking. We had omelets with some patacones (fried plantains). We asked if they had some ketchup and mayo to go with it and she said yes and then I noticed her son running out to the store again...she told us yes but really just sent him out to buy it! They were very nice. However, while 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 photocopy that included our arrival stamp (mine did not). But, didn`t seem like too big of a deal.
We checked out of our hotel, got a taxi, and headed back to the bus terminal. We did a better job bargaining with the taxi driver this time and did not get ripped off! We took a bus to Bahia, stopped for some lunch and then had a short ferry ride across a bay, to San Vincente. We were looking for the bus to Canoa when a taxi driver approached us and said he would take us for $5. We thought it was a long ride and figured $5 was a good deal. Turns out it was only 15 minutes and the bus would have only been $0.35 but we had been traveling for 2 days by then so I think it was a worthwhile splurge!
Arrived in Canoa to find the hostel we had heard was great was all full. But, the one next door was slightly cheaper and seemed very nice. So, we are staying at Olmito, right on the ocean. I can hear the waves crashing from my bed! So wonderful!
