Howdy Ya’ll – I am going
to backtrack and bit and tell you about the past few days. On Saturday we were in Manta, Ecuador. It was
a fun port because everything was accessible by walking or taking “cheap”
taxis. We shuttled to the souvenir market,
taxied to the supermarket and walked along the strand/beach area all in the
same day.
The market was a typical “tourist
trap” which I thoroughly enjoy. The
people were friendly, spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish and
haggling for the price was part of the procedure. Each table in the market was covered with a
tarp and displayed similar merchandise – however to me it is like a treasure
hunt – there just might be that 1 item I have never seen before, or it is the
right size/color. I bought a few gifites
and a box for my small box collection as well as a small piece of art for my
travel wall.
Here is a piece of trivia
for you: do you know why they are called
Panama hats? They are NOT made in
Panama, but in Ecuador – but they picked up the name Panama hat because all the
men wore them when they built the Panama canal.
After the market we went
to the grocery store and found inexpensive flowers ($3 for a dozen roses!) and
some soda. Our tax back to the ship cost
$2 & we dropped stuff in our room and went back out. Walking in the port area is not allowed in a commercial
port so we had to take a small van to the exit – we then walked about 5 blocks
to the strand/beach entrance. It was
mostly just restaurants so we decided to eat.
Ecuador it seems is a haven for ex-pats and they meet weekly at this
strand. So we had lunch with a retired couple
and her mother who had just permanently moved to Manta. Mama loved it as beer was .80 a liter! We had some tasty coconut shrimp and taxied
back to the ship for $2. All in all we
spent $7 for taxis – we later found out that gas was only $1.25/gallon so no
wonder rides were cheap. Oh and Ecuador
uses American dollars for their currency so we were able to spread some Georges
around. In fact one guy on the strand
asked for ones and boy did he ever ask the right folks! Lol!
We arrived back to the
ship in time for team trivia but no win – however my pub quiz team won that
evening so that was great. There are
actually 3 trivias per day: team trivia; food fight trivia; and pub quiz. I have been on the winning team for each of
the trivias more than once.
Someone on board has been
sharing way too much and I have managed to pick up bronchitis/cough – oh joy! I feel fine but sound awful and some of my
tablemates did not even want me to be at dinner… We
went and ate with friends…
I will sign off for now
and attempt another post before we leave Costa Rica – which is where we are
currently. If I miss it, we have 2 more
ports in the next 2 days but we are on tour in both those ports (which leaves
us pooped at the end of the day) so you may not hear anything from us until 30
Nov…
Bien Venidos
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| B in market with Flat Duval/Stanley |
Sounds awesome ... someday .... but on a practical note ... your cough ...
ReplyDeleteSome people have used Vicks Vapo rub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But one usage is getting a lot of attention lately because studies show that it works 100% of the time. Although scientists discovered this remedy, they are not sure how or why it works, but it does. And it works everytime. To stop night time coughing, you put Vicks Vapo rub generously on the bottom of both feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistant, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and will stay suppressed for up to 8 hours of relief. Studies show that it is more effective in children than some of the strongest prescription cough medicines on the market today. In addition, it has a soothing and comforting effect that brings on a sound and peaceful sleep.