Cantón Montecristi

The first time we visited Manta — in 2014 — we did the typical tour that included Montecristi and Pile … where we saw how “Panama-hats-that-are-not-really-Panama-hats” were made. Yes, indeed … these hats are actually Ecuador hats 😊

For this second visit, I went back to the same company — NARWELL Tours — and asked for suggestions for something different to do. And that’s how we came to be on the Coffee & Beach Experience today … with Sonia & Boris and Pat & Norm, who all agreed to join us even though this was their first time visiting Manta.

We started out shortly after 8:00a, took the “required” port shuttle to get from the ship to the cruise terminal, and met up with our guide, Javier. Our destination, at a much higher elevation than where we started off at sea level, was the Dos Maños coffee farm located within the Pacoche Wildlife Natural Refuge.

Dos Maños translates as two monkeys … for the howlers and the capuchins that inhabit the area … though the latter are quite endangered. We saw neither species, but the howlers made their presence known … loud and clear.

Our host was Juan — originally from Puerto Rico, but living and working in Ecuador for quite a while now. A charming host with a great sense of humor … a philanthropist at heart who is heavily involved in community projects … sometimes at his own expense … sometimes in partnership with the local government.

After hearing about the three different methods used to process coffee, we went for a walk amongst the coffee plants. Juan had told us that the “cherry,” as the coffee bean that is still encased in its red or yellow outer skin is known, was sweet and could be eaten like candy. We kept an eye out for the few cherries that were still on the plants that had otherwise been harvested already.

Because of the humidity levels at the high elevation at which the coffee farm is located, the drying beds are actually at sea level. This seemed counterintuitive to me, but … hey, he’s the expert. Juan took us to see the beds, and explained how the beans are dried, raked, and ground to different degrees of “powderyness” (if that is a word).

Then, Juan escorted us to his house for a coffee tasting … after a quick detour to an overlook to see in the distance a beach where turtles nest. He explained that the beach has been badly eroded by the rough surf and the turtle eggs were being washed out to sea. To protect them, he’s been involved in building nurseries to collect and incubate the eggs after they have been laid by the mama turtle.

We had a delightful chat with Juan who — together with Monke, his chihuahua — generously shared his home with us. He regaled us with interesting stories, invited us to go up to his third floor terrace to enjoy the views of the San Lorenzo Beach, and showed us his collection of artifacts, most of which he has traded for with the locals. He intends to have the collection donated to a museum after he passes.

We could have easily stayed at Juan’s for the rest of the afternoon to enjoy his company … not to mention the cooling breezes. But we had to move on for lunch … at Fish Cevicheria, a restaurant on the beach in nearby Santa Marianita. An obviously popular place, we were seated on the second floor from where we could enjoy views of the surf crashing ashore and watch the kite boarders dancing on the ocean as we ate a most delicious meal.

(I deleted the audio of the surf videos as the noise from the wind was a serious distraction. Trust me, however, when I say that those waves were booming.)

Our last stop was supposed to have been a “beach break.” Javier took us to a place called Ocean Freaks … a kiteboarding school that dedicates its time to wildlife and beach conservation during the off season … which is from January to May. Unfortunately, none of us were willing to brave the rough surf. Some of us went for a stroll on the hard-packed beach instead. When we were all gathered in one place again, we decided to head back into the city.

En route to the port, we kept our eyes peeled for a fruit stand. No luck. However, we stopped at a market instead. OMG! I haven’t had one of the bananas yet, but those mangoes are to die for. And only $1.98 for 4 big mangoes, 4 bananas, and 1 granadilla. Yes, that is USD $1.98 since the US dollar is the official currency here.

After we bid Javier adios, we all agreed that we’d had a great tour. It’s always great to return from an outing totally satisfied with the experience.

We were at the Polo Grill for dinner with Sonia & Boris … hosted by GM Claudio and Executive Concierge Julio [EC here on out]. Mui and I know them both from previous cruises and sailed with them last when we jumped on Insignia last spring for a “revised segment” of RTW2022. We’ve been catching up with them both here and there around the ship, but it was especially nice to have a sit down chat while we enjoyed a delicious meal. Oooops! Forgot to take a photo again.

We wrapped up our day with an encore performance by Jared Freiburg & the Vagabonds. They put on another rousing show of mostly 50s music and received another standing ovation.

Tomorrow … another port in Ecuador … this time with an overnight stay.Read more