Random experiences living in Manta, Ecuador

We've been exploring Manta and becoming more familiar with the rhythm of life here. For today's post I have documented some of the small experiences we've had as part of our day to day living in Ecuador.

Buying a pen & paper:

I needed to take notes for a project I'm was working on and I didn't have a notebook. I rarely use paper as I'm a techy person and also a tree hugger, but I had to make an exception this time. I had a ride along scheduled with a Real Estate Agent to make notes about properties she was listing for sale. I was also going to taking pictures of said properties with my ever so cool camera.

There are no (or few, maybe we haven't found one yet) one-stop shops like Target or Walmart here, so if you need to buy paper you go to the paper store, paint to the paint store, books to the book store...you get the picture. We walked to the paper store about a half-mile from our apartment. The paper store carries a fair selection of notebooks, pens, printer paper, party supplies, etc.

I selected a notebook and went up to the counter to pay for it. I spotted some pens behind the counter. Pens are easy to steal away in a pocket so they keep them out of reach. I asked the girl behind the counter for a pen. After a few minutes of her trying to understand me, and me trying to make my need clear, I settled on a pen and handed the notebook to the clerk. She scribbled with the pen to ensure it worked (you don't return things here so you better be sure it's working before you leave the store), rang up the items and put them both in a bag. Then she handed me the receipt, but not the bag! I asked her for the bag and she pointed down the counter to the caja, which means cashier in Spanish. I walked to the cashier to pay for my purchases but the cashier was behind a dark pane of glass that I couldn't see through. I wasn't sure anyone was there. I put the money in the tray and crossed my fingers. The cashier took my money - $1.40 - and gave me the receipt, then she walked back down the counter, picked up my bag and handed it to me. It took two people to sell me a notebook & pen for $1.40. Another one of the peculiar things about living here.

Taxi rides:

Taxis are abundant and inexpensive here. In a country where most people can't afford to own a car good transportation is a must. We usually walk up to the main road, about a quarter mile from the condo building, to flag down a cab on Flavio Reyes. A cab to anywhere in town costs between $1 to $1.50. For around $8 an hour you can hire a taxi to take you all over town to run errands.

Flavio Reyes is one of the main commerce streets that run through Manta. They don't have the same type of zoning laws and restrictions in Ecuador that we have in North America, so many streets are a combination of businesses. Grocery stores, small shops, restaurants, bars, discos, and apartment buildings are often found in just one block. Many buildings have businesses on the bottom floor and apartments in the floors above.

Not the cab we take in Manta.
This is a taxi in small beach towns. 
This one was in San Vicente.

Each taxi reflects the driver's personality, as does the music they play. It's common to hop into a cab to quite loud music blaring from the radio. If you are lucky the cab driver will turn it down long enough to hear you tell them your destination. Although the cabs look pretty much the same on the outside (yellow), many reflect their owners personality on the inside. One of my favorites was the cab with the dashboard covered in grey faux fur and trimmed out with red fringe. Most cab drivers have some type of dashboard talisman, be it a statue of their favorite saint - the Virgin Mary is a popular choice - a bobble head of their favorite futbol star, or some other trinket. 

Buying antacid:

I had a bad case of heartburn and needed to buy some antacid. We walked to the pharmacy because you can't buy over the counter (OTC) drugs in the grocery store. I looked all over the pharmacy for antacids and couldn't find them, so I took a number and waited to speak to a pharmacist. My Spanish isn't too bad, but it is less than sufficient in this type of situation, so I used a combination of words and hand gestures to get my point across. Now, all I wanted was the equivalent of a Rolaid or Tums but apparently they have many pills for heartburn. The Pharmacist very patiently brought out several options that appeared to be increasing in potency. Just as I was about to give up my husband spotted some OTC antacids on one of the shelves I overlooked in my search, so I thanked the Pharmacist and walked away with more than a bit of relief, but not of my heartburn.

Shopping for computer chairs:

We decided to buy computer chairs because the furniture in our condo isn't conducive to sitting. We tried to find stores that sell the chairs online but searching for stuff on the Ecuadorian Internet has been frustrating to say the least. If a store here in Manta has a website at all, and many do not, the site is out of date or doesn't work. We found several sites that showed computer chairs and had shopping carts but no prices listed. When we tried to add something to the cart and checkout, thinking we would see the price, we still didn't get a price for the item. Ronnie and I joked that it was free99...if there is no price doesn't that mean it's free?

We ended up asking some of the people we've met and a few taxi drivers where we could purchase computer chairs. We visited several stores and found two we liked. They were expensive by Ecuador standards, but worth the money to save our aching backs.