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Published: January 14th 2023
The Block Party Aboard Holland America’s MS Volendam
A Good, Old-Fashioned Get to Know the Neighbors Was a Great Idea for an Extended CruiseWhen I was awakened by my reliable alarmophone at 0645 (so I could don my bathrobe before my juice and coffee arrived at +/- 15 minutes of 0700), I again felt the resurgence of enthusiasm about the cruise that had began the previous evening. Cruise Day 8, Tuesday, January 10, 2023 would be another day at sea. The events aboard ship have numerous daily activities; but, in lieu of shore excursions, the singular or weekly events seem to be held on our days at sea. Two astronomy professors have been on board for pretty much the entire cruise and offered two presentation on Cruise Day 8 which I found very interesting – Guided Tour of the Solar System and James Webb Telescope. In the late morning, a Military Meetup was attended by 40-50 veterans. Each attendee gave a short bio, and most were Vietnam veterans. I suppose the younger veterans still have jobs and can’t take a 75-day cruise!!! During Port Talk: Manta, Ecuador, I learned that Ecuador had abandoned its own currency in 2000. At the time the change was made, a million Sucre was worth $1.70 and inflation was rampant. U.S. currency is now used throughout the country. That
Misc. Pictures In/Around Holland America’s MS Volendam
Every Day, The Elevator Floor Orients the Passenger to the Day of the Week – Very Helpful When the Days Become a Blur will make negotiating for my refrigerator magnet quite easy! The ship’s staff organized a block party which was enthusiastically attended and pretty cool. I had met the husband of the couple across the passageway from me at the Military Meetup. He is also is a Marine Corp, Vietnam veteran who has been ravaged by complications from Agent Orange. I suppose my day will come. All in all, a very busy day at sea.
On Cruise Day 9, Wednesday, January 11, 2023, I embarked on my first shore excursion. With the earliest "restaurant" opening at 0700 and a 0730 tour departure, I opted to have a room service breakfast delivered at 0630. Served on heated platters, the food was very warm and totally tasty. It had seemed to me that the Best of Manta shore excursion would give me the best insight into the history and culture of the Ecuadorian people. From the Holland America web site: “Discover Ecuador's self-proclaimed finest port city, Manta.
Your tour starts with a panoramic drive along the malecón -- the oceanfront road where the constant breeze makes for very pleasant conditions. Continue past the new town and residential areas, where wealthy Ecuadorian exporters
and industrialists make their homes. Visit the tagua button factory, where the tagua palm nut (often called vegetable ivory), found only in Colombia and Ecuador, is peeled, cut and made into buttons, sculptures and souvenirs. The seed of the tagua palm, in its raw state, is roughly the size of an egg. When first processed, it is soft and workable, but it later becomes as hard as ivory. A 15-minute drive brings you to a typical ranch where manteños (people from Manta) will show you the steps required to create a fine Panama hat. These hats were the backbone of the Ecuadorian economy in the 1960s, and even today there are still some families who continue to use the age-old technique to authentically produce these well-known sartorial accessories. First, you will see how the fiber is obtained from a plant that grows only in tropical regions. The plant is called Carludovica palmate. Once the leaves have been harvested, the ladies boil the fibers in huge pots in order to soften the material. After drying the fibers in the shade, the hard work begins. The hat is formed row by painstaking row. The finer the hat, the longer the process takes.
The Best of Manta Shore Excursion
A Short Drive from Manta Introduced Us to an Entirely Different Ecosystem A super-fino (top quality) hat takes at least three months to weave, and when it is rolled up it will fit through an average wedding ring. Once the weaving is done, the hat needs to be shaped -- a bit of ironing takes care of that -- and finally the traditional black band is fitted and the hat is completed. Finally, you will learn how to roll a Panama hat, so that if you purchase one, you can take it home in its little balsa-wood box. You will have free time to snap a few photos and, if you wish, you can purchase a fine hat directly from the producers. Continue to Pacoche. Here, at a local restaurant, you will learn to cook one of the traditional appetizers that is typical of coastal Ecuadorean cuisine. Once it is ready, you will enjoy it as a snack before returning to the pier. Notes: Minimum height is 2 feet. Minimum age is 4 years.”
Our itinerary differed from that in the descriptor above, but it should be no hill for a climber. On the way to our “panoramic drive along the malecón,” we were told there are two seasons in the
Manta area – dry and wet – with each lasting about six months. The dry season was nearing its end when the first rains will turn the seemingly lifeless vegetation into a lush paradise. We also passed a couple of American expat communities and were told retirement living in Ecuador is very affordable. We arrived at the beach where a handful of protected turtle species have made nests. As a visitor destination, the beach is a favorite for surfers. There was a restaurant across the street where restrooms were available for fifty cents. Am I back in Europe? Perhaps only in America are the restrooms free!
We next headed for Pacoche and the Pacoche Lodge & Reserve where we learned to cook bolon de verde, or mashed fried green plantain dumplings, a traditional, coastal Ecuadorean appetizer made from plantains, a banana-looking fruit more often utilized as a vegetable than a fruit. One member of each table peeled and mashed the plantain, added some butter and seasoning, and formed the mash into a ball. Fortunately, and in the interest of time, the staff had already prepared samples for all to have. It was an interesting concoction that was quite bland
and will not make my “I have to try this at home list.”
Our third stop was in Montecristi to watch the creation of the Panama hat. The narrative from Holland America (above) is better than any I could compose, so I will let the photographs do my typing. Our final stop was the tagua button factory. The industry was nearly run out of business with the advent of plastic in the 1950s and 1960s; however, the tagua palm nut button has seen a resurgence as people become more eco-conscious and anti-plastic. EVERYTHING is used in the process – remember, this is a nut, so the “nutdust” and lathe turnings are fed to chickens and other livestock.
As optional tours go which I have taken, The Best of Manta was one of the best. The tour guide was knowledgeable and organized, and the “class participation” made the visits fun and informative. I’m glad my attitude got an adjustment, and I did more than just dash ashore to purchase a refrigerator magnet in Ecuador!
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