![]() All 4 of us had a blast and it was one of the highlights of our cruise. The trip back was a mirror of our trip there, then back to the pier in time for a tender back to our ship. We hiked to beautiful cliffs overlooking the sea then back to our boat for an optional snorkel where colorful reef fish, enticed with a bread meal, encircled the snorkelers. They are so dumb they can only survive where there are no predators. ![]() These birds nest on the ground unprotected, with nests even right on our hiking path. We saw poisonous snakes, lizards and an abundance of Blue Footed Boobies and their chicks, a first for all of us. After a pit stop and briefing we were off on a rather strenuous 2 hour guided hike. ![]() On arrival we were greeted by 2 large sea turtles circling our boat. Isla de la Plata is known as the poor man’s Galapagos. It was an experience we will never forget as the boat rode the 1-2 meter swells like a bronco buster. The 1 hour speed boat ride to and from the island was like Mr.Toad’s wild ride at Disneyland. The car ride there was comfortable with excellent driver and English speaking guide. We left from the pier on a 1 1/2 hour drive to Puerto Cayo, where as promised the speed boat and 5 other passengers awaited me, my wife and our 2 friends. I has excellent communications with Gabriel who always rapidly responded to all my questions. Gabriel arranged for the boat to wait for us. The ship cancelled their tour because they could not get to and from the speed boat in time. Gabriel of Narwell had arranged our tour for 1/2 the ship’s tour price. We made it back to the ship with minutes to spare but given the circumstances we would recommend this tour especially if you have a longer stop than we did.In November of 2019 we arrived in Manta, Equador on the Seabourn Odyssey. We visited a shop that made and sold these and several were purchased. We then made a whistlestop visit to Montecristi which is the home of Panama hats. We did see a couple of howler monkeys and also the small frogs. NOTE: The walking on the second half of the path can be difficult, they do tell you but some don't believe it. Once we got moving we visited the Pacoche rainforest. Our guide Daniella was waiting for us outside the port but unfortunately two members of our group boarded the wrong bus from the ship and this delayed us a further half hour. Unfortunately due to our ship docking later than originally planned we were unable to visit the fish market something that the company let us know about in good time before we arrived. I recruited members of our Cruise Critic Roll Call to join our tour and Gema always sorted out the arrangements as our group grew.Īfter reading good reviews we decided to book a tour of Manta including Pacoche and Montecristi through Manta SOS guide. Prior to our Manta SOS tour I exchanged many emails with Gema who quickly and completely answered all my inquiries. We saw howler monkeys in the trees and many species of birds and unusual rainforest plants. Our local guide only spoke Spanish but Mauro translated for us. You need to be fit to do this part of the tour because there are uphill and downhill stretches as well as slippery rocks along a creek. After a stop in Montecristi where at least two members of our group purchased “Panama” hats we started our visit to the Pacoche Rain Forest. We then went to the Museo Ciudad Alfaro where Mauro explained some Ecuadorian history. We were promptly picked up from our cruise ship and started our tour at the fish market where we saw many different kinds of fish. We thoroughly enjoyed our Manta SOS tour with guide Mauro whose English was excellent.
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