Cathy and I are delighted to be back in Ecuador. Good for Holland America to choose to stop here, as quite a few cruises are skipping the country due to a recent bout of gang activities, curfews and political / social unrest. We have no issues during our visit to Manta, Ecuador.
Several years ago, we island-hopped through the Galapagos Islands. You can find those stories here . This time, we spend a short time in Manta, Ecuador. Manta is the largest port in Ecuador and its major industry is tuna fishing and processing. We visit a boat builder, a fish market, a Panama hat weaver with genuine hats that range in price from $100 to thousands, and a button factory that uses the local fruit Tagua that when finished, looks just like ivory.
The boat builder
The fish market
The Panama Hat maker and a large statue in tribute to hat makers
The Tagua button factory
Some street vendors
And King Neptune giving us permission to cross the Equator.
Our next blog will be about Panama City and the Panama Canal.
NOTE:
Cathy and I are cruising for 17 days on Holland America’s Oosterdam with a few days at the start in Santiago, Chile and a week at the end visiting friends in North Palm Beach and Jupiter in Florida.
A few years ago, we took a Celebrity cruise from Buenos Aries to Santiago and this trip continues our circuit of South America.