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Saturday, June 10, 2017: After a wonderful flight on Avianca Airlines, our jet landed in Manta - Tuna Capital of Ecuador. Manta is a city of approximately 200,000 people, and is the major cruise port of Ecuador, as well as a commercial port.
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A short ride from the airport, and we arrived at La Victoria Guest House - a wonderful B&B in a beautiful, and architecturally interesting home! La Victoria is the multi-level white house in this photo.
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So, feeling the effects of hunger setting in, we took a walk and discovered a nearby restaurant - appropriately named the "Tuna Bar" - what else in the tuna capital?
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Being parched upon our arrival, it was definitely time for a cerveza.
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And then the food arrived! A HUGE plate of langostinos a la plancha for Doug, and pescado apanado for Gina. Absolutely delicious!
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The Manta Fish Market sits on this beach, in front of a row of restaurant cabanas.... serving, what else?, the fresh catch of the day.
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Manta's Fish Market - check out the huge chunks of freshly caught tuna in this photo. The best part is, it costs approximately $3 to $4 a pound!
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Guess you could say we had the "penthouse suite" at La Victoria! We were on the top level with a balcony facing the street. Loved the high vaulted ceiling, and all the light from the sliding glass doors and window.
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The kitchen and breakfast area at the B&B.
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The stairs from the first floor reception area to the next level lounge area, with big screen TV.
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On Sunday, our hosts invited us to join them for brunch at the "Donkey Den" (a hotel and restaurant) on the beach in Santa Marianita, just outside Manta.
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The beach at Santa Marianita.
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The owners of La Victoria, and our hosts, Diego and his beautiful wife, Choi. These are two very special people who we like to now consider our friends!
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The conversation area at the Donkey Den in Santa Marianita.
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