Welcome to Ecuador... country #74

Writing this from our hotel room in Manta, Ecuador.

So lets get you caught up on the last couple of days! We were busy with Lindsey and family on Monday, and then a travel day to Ecuador on Tuesday.

Monday morning, we all got the 9:15am bus into Mexico City. From the bus terminal, we walked about 20 minutes to a place that we know that does the best huaraches in Mexico City! With full stomachs, we walked another few minutes to one of the public transit cable car lines.

We are going to hop on the cable car!

I'm surprised more cities don't have this option.

In Mexico City, it costs 7 pesos ($0.55 CAD, $0.41 USD) per person!

Unfortunately Chapultepec Park is closed on Mondays so we couldn't walk through the park. Finally figured out how to take the bus from there to our hotel, and dropped off our bags so we could walk around unencumbered.

For a treat, we went to the cafe at the 7th floor of the Sears building overlooking the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

Beautiful day in Mexico City.

We popped into the Miguel Lerdo de Tejada Library.

And the Gran Hotel for a look at their fancy ceiling.

Scenery along the way.

Interesting building.

We bought some chapulines (crickets) to snack on.

Tasty with hot sauce!

Yes, it's an odd snack. The taste is actually fine... but the legs get stuck in your teeth!

We were going to look for somewhere nice for dinner on our last night with the family, but we decided we were quite happy just going for birria tacos! Nothing wrong with one more meal of Mexican street food!

Tuesday morning, we met in the lobby at 6:30am and took the subway to the Mexico City airport. Such an efficient transportation system! We had arranged our flights so that we could all go to the airport together, go through security together, and then say goodbye at the gate while Ruth and I headed south to Ecuador, and Lindsey and family north to Canada. 

We were flying Copa Airlines to Panama City and connecting to Manta, Ecuador. Forgot to get a family photo when we said goodbye!

On the plane to Panama City.

We refuse to pay extra just to sit together, so our seats were randomly assigned. On the first flight, we did actually get seats together, but no window seat. Oh, funny story... as we're sitting down, we see a woman waving at us. Turns out that it's Rebecca and her husband Steve... we originally met them in Duluth, Minnesota in September 2013! And the last time we saw them was in March 2018 in Mazatlan. And now here we were both on the same plane to Panama City! Too funny. We chatted for a minute when we got off the plane, but they were in a rush to catch their connecting flight... also to Ecuador. Maybe we will see them in Cuenca... that would be fun.

In Panama City airport.

On this flight, we both had window seats, but on opposite sides of the plane.

We arrived at the very small Manta airport where the hotel had sent a driver to pick us up... for the grand total cost of $5 USD ($6.80 CAD). They use the $USD as cash currency here in Ecuador. 

Our hotel is fine, and is costing $41.50 USD ($56.30 CAD) per night for a two night stay... breakfast included.

We even have a tiny little outdoor patio.

There is a big Oro Verde resort hotel very close to our little hotel. The restaurant there gets great reviews, but it's a little pricey by Ecuador standards. But we needed some dinner and didn't want to go to far in the dark on our first night here. Plus, I hadn't had my birthday dinner out! We decided to splurge.

Very nice setting with palm trees and pool.

My first Ecuadorian beer.

View from our table.

The dinner was buffet style, and very nicely done. The food was great, except Ruth complained that it wasn't hot enough. Still, we enjoyed the meal and walked away stuffed for a total of $77.25 USD ($105 CAD) for the two of us including a beer and a glass of wine. There is not much of a tipping culture in Ecuador, however many restaurants charge a 10% service charge in lieu of tipping. The price was the grand total including tax and service charge.

Back to the hotel, and ready for sleep!

Just heading down for breakfast now, and then out exploring!