Manta, Ecuador - Day 1

Wednesday March 14

It's our first visit to Manta. We had no plan for day 1 since it was added when we couldn't go to Guayaquil. We got our original day tomorrow and today was extra.

 sail in

 fishing vessel unloaded fish for hours - Tuna

We decided to grab a cab to Pacoche Wildlife Refuge. It was a bit over 30 minutes away and he dropped us at the gate. We wandered in and a young lady (she spoke a little English) greeted us and pointed us to the trail. We could hear tons of birds and managed to capture a few photos of some. (even a couple of new species for us) Only a few decent photos.....

 where we negotiated with a cab driver

 arrival at the Pacoche Wildlife Refuge

 hiking trail

 Amazilia Hummingbird

 bridge 

Green-breasted Mango

White-edged Oriole

 Yellow Tyrannulet

Sooty-crowned Flycatcher

 Sooty-crowned Flycatcher

 Ecuadorian Thrush

 dead mouse

trail

 Grey-breasted Martin

 

 Howler Monkeys moving fast

 Green-breasted Mango

 Streaked Flycatcher

Common Tody-Flycatcher

 Amazilia Hummingbird

 ?

 Streak-headed Woodcreeper

 Yellow-tailed Oriole

It was lunch time and we were craving a cold drink, but there was a ship's tour there (Holland America was also in port) and they were conducting a cooking class and the young lady said we couldn't get food or drink. So, we went out to the street and a cab came by and I flagged it down. We had him drop us at a mall close to the ship and I went in search of some cough drops at the farmicia. We also grabbed a couple of empanadas for lunch. We ran into Matt & Heather there as well and they said they tried the empanadas since we recommended them. They told us later they were a hit.

We went in search of some dessert before heading back to the ship. It was a short walk from the mall to get back to the port. I did a bit of souvenir shopping before grabbing the shuttle back to the ship.

 Red Velvet Cupcake

Fudge Cake

 the fishing vessel - from our balcony (still unloading tons of fish)

We ate upstairs and went to the show and then early to bed as I still feel awful. The show was David Pengelly who sand and performed with his ukulele and was quite humorous. It was a very entertaining and enjoyable show.

****Interesting note that somehow Princess moved all of their tours to day 1 in Manta and none on Day 2 -  the day we were supposed to be there. They only offered a beach day tour for day 2. Not sure how they managed to make the change especially with another cruise ship in port. It seemed a bit like they had planned that all along. Hmmmmm......…

Manta, Ecuador day 1 https://photos.app.goo.gl/El0ayOB58qvnlprL2