Tuesday Sept 23

humidity has been been tough in the afternoon, but the hotel and our apartment has a/c so we´re surviving. a few rain drops yesterday as we were wondering around town. we wanted to go to la playa and were going to walk down the beach - about a 20 minute walk - but the hotel staff did a once over on us and said that if we had any watches, jewerly or a bag that we´d get held up by banditos. so we opted for a dollar cab to the beach. we saw the whole stretch in about 10 minutes but we did some walking back and forth on the sand, which dad pretty much hated because the sand gets everywhere and is hard on his back.

we thought we´d try and have a cocktail on the beach and watch the passersby. i let dad do the translation as i sat back and watched the drama for about 15 minutes of describing how to make a sprite and vodka. still no drinks after all that, so we kept meandering down the walk to find a little bar that could make us a simple drink.

i kept dragging dad across streets in fear of his life to rogue taxi cabs and suicidal bus drivers. after a little bickering and some getting lost because of lack of street signs we saw a good deal of the city but couldn´t find the resturant we were looking for.

there are a lot of security guards around here, complete with kevlar vests and guns tucked into pockets. its an auspicious sight. we thought we might have been in a rough neighbourhood when we saw a guard with a shotgun on top of a gas station roof, but after seeing a guard for los banos, i think its pretty regular.

i met the manager of the resturant we stopped in and could finally get a drink (well, sort of), he had just bought a new puppy and was quite the player. after about an hour of flirting and some of the worst spanish and english translations ever, i think we agreed to have breakfast together. or maybe he said he was working the breakfast shift. either way, i didn´t make it downtown that early.

we tried to do laundry this morning only to find out that Manta has a water shortage. this finally explained why when we were taking a shower the water would just stop on us. we kept looking for a coin slot to put our quarters back into, but just then the water would turn on again. so we´ll try and do laundry in Latacunga. if i can stand the smell from pop that is.

Sunday Sept 22

buying milk at the grocery store proved to be a challenge. they only sold it in one liter pouches, nothing smaller. we did find a little 100g box of what looked like light creme. the fat content was 12% so i took it be more like heavy whipping cream.

when we took our stolen coffee and my little box of leche to the balcony to enjoy our morning, pouring it turned out to be the consitency of a soft cream cheese. or maybe a stiff yogurt. its kinda delicous though once all the coagulation has settled in and stirred for about 7 minutes.

we decided to go to a local town called Montecristi today. we were advised to take a taxi and that it would only be 20$ round trip. we opted for the bus being the cheapskates we are. plus, we wanted a more genuine experience.

i think my lungs will be forever scared from my genuine experience, but, it was only 25 cents each way. or it should have been. on the way back the guy was telling me that it was 40 cents to get back. you know when you´re getting more familiar and comfortable in a language when you´re willing to argue and demand to know why it costs more coming back over 15 cents.

monticristi is a sad sad little town. we went there becasue this is the hat making capital of the famous misnomer "panama hat". they are really beautiful and if you walk out, the prices dramatically drop. very reasonable.

i brought a little snack for us to eat, so we sat in the sad little town square and watched some families and after about 10 minutes decided we were done.

dad wrangled the local bar downstairs into giving us some of the margarita salt for a buck and i was able to make a pretty good dinner with leftovers from the day before. rice and beans are with every meal as dad says this is how he wants to eat everyday.

Saturday Sept 21st

just another day knocking around in Manta. dad keeps letting me know that if we spoke spanish it would be so much better. i´m remembering more and more, but i´m butchering the language for sure. we had an adventure in the SuperMAXI, which dad laughs because its what a prison is in the states. either way, the place could have been named Ralphs or Vons, it was exactly the same with the same brands and prices. after a 60$ shopping spree, we took another taxi home. i love a dollar taxi by the way.

i only remembered that i didn´t buy any salt pepper or spices after i start cooking so i coaxed dad into going down and using more hand puppets to ask the hotel staff for some extra contraband condiments. after some finagling of what "to go" means, he was sucessful.

dinner was delicious. we have figured out how to snake free coffee and the staff knows us by name. dads favorite is a girl named Paola who is a little easy on the eyes.

Friday Sept 20th

so dad and i noticed that everyone here is gorgeous. i might have to move soon.

we´re going to chill out here for a day and then go exploring. we are the only americans in the whole hotel, and my spanish, which is non existent, is only made worse by their lack of english. a lot of hand gestures are being used. i was told that my pronunciation is excellent, too bad my vocabulary sucks.

we are headed to the market (SuperMAXI!)later today so we can load up on fruits and
veggies since we have an apartment with a full kitchen but only stocked with what would be akin to camping supplies, we´ll see what we can cook up.

Thursday Sept 19th

12 hours of plane travel to Quito, Ecuador by way of Costa Rica. The actual flights were tame and short, it was the security points and layovers that take so long. after landing in Quito we took our first Ecuadorian taxi to the Quito Hotel for a drink and a little relaxing before our next flight 5 hours later. Since it started raining buckets, traffic camed to a complete stop and we opted to get out in the middle of town when we spied a Marriot hotel. Apparently the Marriot is the most expensive hotel in all of Ecuador, which we found out after looking at american prices on the cocktail list. after 25 bucks and unusually strong drinks, we braved it back to the airport. but this time we lied and told the front counter we were guests checking out and we needed the bus to take us back. after some sloppy writing and some scribbles to what our room number might have been, we were off again.

the manta national airport is a little like a bus terminal. you can buy flights on the spot and only need 10 min advanced check in. its my new favorite way to fly. this was just a half hour flight to Manta, but we still got an empanada a cookie and a beverage. love it.

we checked into the Howard Johnson and found out we weren´t staying in the hotel itself but some apartments they purchased in back. still good views and next to an overpriced minimart with a terrific amout of security.

the place is huge. 2 families could stay in that apartment and be ok. the place is spartan. i mean, nothing extra including a much needed back on the sofa. but heck, its got cable tv and a kitchen.

we had dinner at the hotel overlooking the ocean. wow. and prices to match! food is good and we´re exhausted so thats it for one night.