December 30, 2024

MANTA FISH MARKET

Today we had 2 busloads of residents doing this tour, very popular. The first stop for us was the Manta Port Fish Market. Fisherman had just brought in their catches of the day - mainly tuna and sadly sharks caught in process of tuna haul. This area is the TUNA capital of the world and there is a cannery right in town. Ironically the local people don't like to eat tuna, they view it as an inferior fish because of it's dark color, they pay more for white flaky fishes, brought in from other regions. I was itching for some amazing sushi grade tuna!  

The Fish Market has tons of vendors selling every type of seafood desired along with fresh peanut butter, chickens, vegetables,etc.

Next, we drove about 30 minutes to the famous town of Montecristi, Ecuador inland, in the hills. Teddy Roosevelt came here when he was President and wore one of the handmade artisan hats, to the Panama Canal construction site the next day and it was in photographs all over and dubbed The Panama Hat by all the news outlets. So, the authentic Panama Hats are actually made in Ecuador!

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Next, we drove to the overlook of Montechristo and looked down at the town. We did some shopping but sadly, we had no time to explore the town. Our bus got blocked on one of the roads and we wasted 20 minutes dealing with that and had to take others back to the ship. Lesson learned, we don't like to be part of big group excursions!     

The final stop was the Pacoche Rainforest National Park with a chance of seeing Howler Monkeys. We scored big here !!

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PAPEETE, FRENCH POLYNESIA

By Patricia Patrick • January 19, 2026
I got to go Sailing Again! We were supposed to head to the COOK ISLANDS after the lovely Rangiroa and the Tuamotu Archipelago, but due to stormy weather there, with all unprotected tender ports, they made the decision to head us southwest, back to the protected port in Papeeta (Tahiti). We got lucky and Holly ( pictured below) found us a sailboat available for charter.

RANGIROA, FRENCH POLYNESIA - Drone Shots

By Patricia Patrick • January 14, 2026
Since Janette Emerich is generous enough to share her drone photos with all of us on board the Ship, I have to share them with you all. This beauty is why I said we felt like we were in a screen saver the whole day in Rangiroa! I love the height perspective in the photos it really captures so much more. Blue Lagoon below:

RANGIROA, FRENCH POLYNESIA - More Drift Snorkeling

By Patricia Patrick • January 13, 2026
The water in Rangiroa is so spectacular, I wanted to spend more time drift snorkeling and checking out the area called " The Aquarium ". So today I went back out for a 3 hour session to do 3 drift passes in Tiputa pass and then spent an hour in an area with wonderful healthy corals and tons of fish, earning it the nickname " The Aquarium ".