Manta, Ecuador
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Today we set off on lour tour in a bus that sounded like it might not be able to make it. An interesting museum was a part which was most enjoyable, but not enough time was alloted. Many of the houses we passed were not finished, but people were living in them WE found out that the government doesn't tax a house that isn't finished; they leave posts which could add another story to the house and some looked like they have been there for yeas. Oh well, that is a way of beating the tax man. There is a great disparity between the rich and the poor. Some of the places which people call home are, by our standards, not fit to occupy. Construction consists , for the poorer people, of split bamboo and mud packed on both sides of the bamboo. This part of Ecuador is close to the equator; hence Ecuador is Spanish for equator. Our trip into Monticristi was interesting as it is the place where Panama Hats are made. Some of the hats are very expensive. The price is according to how much labor went into the making. We did purchase a couple hats one for Francene and one for Phil. Since it was Sunday, the traffic wasn't too bad and the horn blowing wasn't as noticeable as in other Latin American countries. By the way,Ecuador has adopted the U.S. dollar as their currency; surely made it easier to determine how much things are worth. We did visit a home, as described above, and little kids were there with their hands out wanting a dollar. Ecuador is the smallest Spanish speaking country in South America.
Our next port will be Panama day after tomorow.
