Wildlife - vol.2

De Anne found a blue footed boobie sittting on the beach during one of her walks. It was still there when she returned so she and Linda decided on a "wildlife rescue". We named it Boobie (showing our ability to come up with appropriate names). Boobie was housed on our porch in a spare dog kennel.

The cats were not pleased with a large bird as a house guest.

After a good nights sleep Boobie seemed more alert. We supplied water and shrimp; however, Boobie showed  no interest. Xavier (Linda's manager) came by to check on Boobie. He grabbed the beak, stretched the neck and felt it. He said there was still food in the gullet, but checking the feet said there were signs of dehydration.

We took Boobie down the beach to a quiet area and released him.

During the past couple days we have been having internet problems. I will post more pictures when the problem is fixed.

Wildlife

Inland we see donkeys and goats either next to the roads or in the road. When walking iguanas constantly scurry away from the threat we present.

The beach is the main place to observe the wildlife. Crabs are side-stepping everywhere. Diving birds, including the large frigate birds feed on fish.

We have spotted humpback whales. In fact, De Anne just interrupted my writing this blog entry to see a pod of whales playing. they were breaching and tail slapping a lot. It's an awesome sight to see 80,000 pound animals leap out of the water.

On the more distasteful side the ocean washed up some of the dead. Puffer fish die inflated. We have seen a huge moray eel with an impressive set of teeeth, a 2 foot sea turtle, 6 inch diameter sand dollars, and a swordfish. I have even kicked back a couple live fish who ventured too far in and washed ashore. 

Costal tour

Today an expat - Justin gave us a tour of his favorite spots along the coast of Ecuador. His 4 wheel drive Trooper was the right vehicle for the job. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

 New port just south of Manta:

 The fishing village of San Mateo:

 A slight hike and worth the view:

 A tall blonde always makes the scenery better:

 The road back to "our" beach:

Busy Weekend

We started out Saturday morning with an extended beach walk timing it to a low tide. Walking south we passed the fishing village and crossed from sand beach to rocky beach. Locals were hunting through the rocks, exposed by the low tide, for juvenile octopus. Xavier, the manager where we are staying, says it is his favorite food. The young octopus feed on the tiny shrimp giving them a flavor prized locally. I have seen it served a few times and can't get passed the appearance of a whole grilled octopus and so will rely solely on his word as to the flavor. There are a dozen hard to see people in this picture - click to enlarge:

 
 Saturday afternoon was the regular expat lunch in Manta at a beach-side cafe. As mentioned before lunch is a long social affair.

 On Sunday Linda invited us to join her in a trip north to the small town of San Clemente. We wound our way through Manta filling the car with various other folks before leaving town. The San Clemente beach was not as nice as our beach, but that is a relative term. We had lunch at an open air cafe run by a German expat and after lunch we were led by the owner through a locked door behind the cafe where various items were available for purchase. Being a man of simple tastes I left with a fine bottle of dark rum which cost me $3.50.
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 On the trip back loaded with people and purchases we encountered a police roadblock. De Anne's first comment upon seeing the checkpoint was an expletive deleted; however, Linda calmly waved and drove right on through. I admit to being a little tense, but when no warning shots were fired or chase started I calmed down quickly.

 We got home right at sunset as the last of the folks enjoying Sunday on the beach were leaving

Boat building

We visited the Manta ship building yards. A dozen large fishing boats, both new and refits were on the beach - under construction. All the boats were wooden construction. A single, massive hardwood timber about 12 inches by 18 inches wass set on blocks as the keel. Ribs were naturally curved timbers that looked to be roughly 6x6's. The first picture shows a man in an orange jumpsuit standing on the keel hand chiseling a mortise and tendon fitting for a prow. In the second picture the timber for the prow is being cut with a chain saw to fit in the chisled hole. The third picture shows another boat with the prow fitted in.

The most prevelant tool used in boat building is a three foot chain saw. Axes, hammers, and chisels rounded out the tool set needed. The 2x6 planking that was the outer shell of the boat was sealed using a plant fiber, spun on site, into a rope-like chinking that was pounded between the planks. When launched, a new boat leaks all over until the water swells the wood to seal the hull. Launching a new boat is done with a huge bulldozer that simply pushes the boat back into the water. I was constantly wincing while watching men use the chainsaws in ways, that in America, would drive a Federal OSHA inspector into a frenzy and cause spasms of delight in a liability attorney.

On the waterfront

Linda dropped us at the fish market yesterday morning. Hundreds of fishermen sell their catch every day on the beach. Boats loaded with fish were still pulling up when we arrived.

The big fish like tuna and swordfish were sold off wheelbarrows and trucks right on the sand. Smaller fish, shrimp, squid, and shellfish were sold in a shelter. There was not an ice cube in sight and the equatorial sun was rising so everyone was moving quickly to sell their catch.

Lunch time

We had walked the beach in front of the fishing village about a mile south of our house, but decided to revisit using the main road. Small brick and concrete homes lined both sides of the road with dirt side streets branching off on the steep hill.

We joined Linda, a German couple, and another American couple for lunch in a small beach restaurant. It was part of a line of 8 tiny restaurants on the beach between Linda's house and the fishing village. As one might expect the menu was seafood. The restaurant floor was packed dirt, the structure was bamboo supports, with split bamboo walls and a thatched roof.

I had the fried shrimp which was at least a pound of shrimp very lightly battered. It included rice, salad, fried plantains, and a local beer for five dollars. Lunches in Ecuador are a long, leisurely, social affair. Just another sunset: