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Tuesday, 6 January, Manta, Ecuador We docked at Manta during breakfast, and while eating we watched two fishing boats unloading many tons of giant tuna into trucks to take to one of the local packing plants. Manta claims to be the "tuna capital of the world" and has several packing plants representing some of the largest tuna packers in the world. We saw the BumbleBee packing plant on the way to the airport. The tuna are common in the area because of mixing of ocean currents that produce lots of food, plus the deep and cold water that tuna like. I boarded a bus for the airport just before 900 and was quickly taken there with 24 others to await the plane. The plane to Quito turned out to be a chartered A320 with seats for over a hundred. Since there were only 25 of us, we all got window seats so we could see the Andes on the 30 minute flight. Quito is in a valley at 9300 feet (same as Silverton, Colorado) between two of the sub-ranges of the Andes. Since it is on the equator (well, within 20 miles) the weather is never really cold and they have beautiful flowers and greenery all year round. We were split up onto two buses, with only ten plus the guide on the one I was on. We saw the central square of "Old Quito" with churches, President's Palace, and so forth. The northern and southern parts of Quito are much newer, and have many of the city's 3 million people. Overall, the city is some ten miles wide and thirty miles long, spread over the valley and the hills on both sides. Although some complained that we spent too much time there, I really enjoyed the visit to the Franciscan Church and Convent (apparently they use the term for living places for clergy of either gender). We learned about why the Virgin is so important in their churches, particularly as compared to the United States. The Incas worshipped multiple gods, but in all cases there were pairs, one male and one female. They couldn't accept the idea of there just being a male god in the form of Jesus Christ, so the priests started emphasizing the female aspect through the Virgin Mary. Apparently that worked, and Mary's images are more common in many churches than are those of Christ, or even of crucifixes on the walls or over the altar. We had a wonderful four course lunch in the refectory of the convent. The refectory was decorated with pictures of martyrs, all showing clearly how they died. Some had swords in them, some held their heads in their hands with blood running from their necks, one had a big rock on his head, and so forth. The guide said that the first time she took a group there for lunch she couldn't eat due to the pictures. We later saw some of the newer parts of Quito, and went to the top of a high hill where we could overlook much of the city. Naturally, we also went to a market before returning to the plane. The weather was beautiful, partly cloudy and about 70 degrees, with no rain. Quito is often under a very bad inversion, as it is trapped between a bunch of mountains, but the air was very good, with a light breeze. I was very happy about that. We returned to the airport and took a commercial flight back to Manta. We were theoretically going to be back at 630, but returned after 700. I was the third to last person back on the ship. However, we were further delayed in departing due to two medical situations. One man was quite sick and another had died of an apparent heart attack at the early dinner seating, so both of them and their companions were sent home. I hope they all had travel insurance. Gail had a good and restful day in the cabin, with a room service lunch, except for going out for afternoon tea at 400 for her daily dose of scones with cream. We later had supper in the buffet and went to bed early, both very tired, but Gail perhaps getting a bit better. |
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