Manta Street (and Beach) Scenes

It is so easy to walk all over little (and big) towns in Ecuador. Be mindful of your steps though - sidewalks can have (doggie) bombs, and plenty of holes, as well as rebar/wires sticking up and hanging down! So with the standard warning, let's have a tour:

Playa Murceilago Hotel - nice hotel, walking distance to the beach, in a very nice area. Close to restaurants, shopping and main streets. This is where we stayed in Manta:

We had so much fun walking, walking everywhere from the Supermaxi, to the beach, walking down side streets to see the vendors out early in the morning with large crowds eating ceviche....for breakfast. I opted for a warm cinnamon roll without icing and Ken had a huge croissant, along with our cold beverages, to start our big hike through the city. After stopping for breakfast, we headed towards the beach:

Delicious lunch at Mediterraneo, on Flavio Reyes, just a few blocks from our hotel:

We walked down lots and lots of stairs to get to the beach. What you see here is barely scratching the surface! There was another set up higher, and one to the left. Whew. 

After the long long walk on the beach, we are starting up another set of stairs, this time closer to the Malecon (Murceilago) where there are plenty of vendors, and restaurants.... 

We explored many streets hoping we were headed in the direction of our hotel (we were); we even stopped by the Fybecca to grab a couple of cold drinks. It was hot outside, but not unbearable. Living in the South, we are used to it. Now I see a reason for me tolerating the outrageous humidity in Alabama! Yes, it was/is to prepare me for the move to Ecuador!

Ken posing in front of what we called the Gringolandofshopping:

Manta was a fun city to explore by foot. We walked quite a bit, and we better get used to it if we are going to live in Ecaudor!

Hasta luego, chao chao, and all the good stuff,

Tami

Sea-Foodie Heaven-Part I

Seafood galore on the coast. Fresh, too. Out of all the meals we had, not one dish had 'old' seafood. Nothing 'fishy' going on here except the freshness of it.

We had fabulous and/or just plain yummy meals in Manta, in Bahia, Puerto Lopez, Jama, Salinas and Guayaquil. For this post, I am selecting just a few of my all time favorites, meals I would eat over and over again.

MY favorite meal was ceviche camerone at El Muelle Uno in Bahia. Top dog, could PIG OUT all day on this stuff:

They serve the delicious plantains with these awesome(!) sauces:

The green one was a pesto mayo type sauce, great for dipping the perfectly crispy plantains. The aji had tomato, onion and some peppers - very spicy/picante, and my favorite. The other sauce was a slightly sweet sauce, a cross between a BBQ and a sweet & sour sauce. It would be good on meats. Or for those that are not into spicy.

Our (Ken and I are in total agreement on this one) favorite almeurzo/lunch, hands-down was in Puerto Lopez at a little place called Dona Elsie. It is run by a Colombian family, and we ended up eating there twice, it was that good!

 For $3 each we got: a pitcher of fresh juice - I watched the son make it in the blender, and each day it was different. Soup with dorado and yuca, and our secundo was a tun (tuna) in coconut, mildly spiced, yet very flavorful. The sides were typical of an almeurzo - rice and a salad.

Fresh hot soup, I put homemade aji sauce in it, yum yum yum:

Fresh squeezed juice:

And, our secundo:

Who says Ecuadorian food is bland? Some of it, yes, just like in the US (mushy veggies, yuck). We found the food to be very flavorful, and if you like heat, like me (love spicy anything and everything), most places have plenty of hot sauce, all the places we went to except one had homemade aji and it was fun trying out different versions.

If you are a seafood lover, you will be in heaven on the coast. Everything is very fresh, caught that morning fresh, and the families are proud of what they serve. When we complimented a dish, usually the cook/chef heard it, looked up and smiled. We were treated very well with gracious service, the bills were accurate, and many places did not charge us the tax (service charge yes, but not tax) - we were paying with cash, small bills please, and they appreciated that.

Go to Ecuador with an open mind and empty stomach. The foods, just like the people, are beautiful.


Tune in next time for......Part II
Our favorite dinner was at Rocko's in Salinas - hands down the best grilled meats, pappas stuffed with carne, and the corn........


Hasta luego, chao chao, and all the good stuff,
Tami

Celebration Time...Come on!

Bet you have that song in your head now, right? When I first started this blog, I mentioned that I wanted to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. But I also wrote that according to many who live in Ecuador, I could very well wake up to a parade or some kind of celebration.

Our very first night in Salinas, we were at Score Sports Bar, chatting up Will and Wendy and Deana and enjoying our first meal in Ecuador. Since we were traveling with my son Alec, 17 yrs, and this being his very first trip overseas, we decided to go easy on him and let him get his fill of hamburger and fries. The kid survived the driving from Guayaquil to Salinas in our 'egg car', so some reward was in order.

Chowing down

 Horns honking are nothing new. Many drivers around the world use their horns to announce all sorts of things: get out of my freaking way, I'm here, I'm there, hey how ya doing, need a ride?, I really want to give you a ride, etc. Ecuador is no different.  But the horn honking we were now hearing was a tad, um, persistent. And loud. And then we saw the trucks loaded with people in the back,and cars with streamers and balloons hanging everywhere, and more trucks filled to the brim with kids whooping it up. And then the buses with everyone, and I mean everyone, hanging out the windows and screaming. And we did what anyone else in our situation would...we waved. Oh mercy, that got 'em started. They loved it! Their whooping and hollering got even louder. (how was THAT possible?)


And then - I still get giggles when I think about this - a truck came by, with a full band in the back. And they were playing. Sounded pretty good. So a few more minutes of buses, cars, trucks filled with kids in the back and more whooping and hollering....oh, the celebration? Local college celebrating 35 years - at least that is what we could decipher from the posters and signs on the vehicles.


This is a Saturday night after all, so why not celebrate something? We head back to our condo, which is a few miles away from the Salinas Malecon, closer to Muey and LaLibertad, and settle in for the evening.


BAM, BAM, BAM! I wake up to crazy fireworks. Seriously wild, crazy fireworks. Maybe a few shots fired as well. The kids must still be having a grand ol' time! It is at that moment I am glad we are staying just outside of party central.  Eventually I go back to my slumber, all the recent traveling has worn me out...


Hasta Luego,
Tami