Good Ole Manta
Scavengers (frigates, egrets, herons and buzzards) waiting for a hand out.
Manta, Manabí, Ecuador Tuesday, January 10, 2017
As we had been to Manta several times and already explored Montecristi and the ivory nut factory and a nearby National Park before, we decided this time to visit Manta’s Fish market. A scenic drive from the ship took us past the beachside open-air boatyard, souvenir stands, and wooden commercial-fishing trawlers.
Manta’s fish market located right on the Tarqui Beach is one of the most popular spots in town. It is one of the best fish market in the world. Manta is the tuna capital of the world and it brings in more tuna, pound for pound than any other place in the world. Here, we saw the fishermen's daily catch laid out on tables under the market's tin roof: dorado, red snapper, grouper, wahoo, prawns, lobster, and the city's most famous export: tuna, all glistening under stray shafts of sunlight. We saw restaurant owners haggling and buying fish to put on their table. We saw fish being carried up from the boats that pulled off from the beach. The fisherman sells to vendors or pass the catch to their salesmen to sell in the market.
The flash of machetes and fillet knives slicing through the sea’s bounty and the salty smell of the sea and fish in the air gave us a new appreciation of an ocean harvest. Mid-day, after the crowds depart, the market is washed down; later on in the day it might turn rank, but there are the scavengers (frigates, egrets, herons and buzzards) waiting their turn to help with the final cleanup.
Next door to the fish market, we visited a boatyard right on the beach, where fishing boats are built and repaired. Each boat is unique in design and painted in bright colors.
Comments:
The sweet mangoes in Manta look delicious. However, the best in the world are still Philippine mangoes. Have never found any more scrumptious. From Frances, on Jan 13, 2017 at 10:29 PM
All those Souvenirs, I would Definitely need an Extra Suitcase!!!! From Kim Connelly, on Jan 15, 2017 at 05:44 PM
