26/07/04- 27/07/04 Manta

Possibly this town looks nice in any of the 3 month a year when it isn´t shrouded in fog, but I doubt it. The journey here was entertaining though.

We rented a driver and taxi to take us all the way to Manta and the driver brought his daughter along who kept playing with her mobile phone, making it ring and showing it off because it was new. The driver had a funny head twitch and a less funny one in his arms which caused him to swing the car side to side periodically; he drove very fast and we assumed the car was automatic as he never seemed to have to change gear but it turned out that he was just driving in second gear all the way on the clutch. As a consequence there was a nasty smell and another driver pulled us over and suggested that there was a problem with our vehicle. When the other driver left our driver tried to pull off but couldn't move as he had destroyed the clutch with his pathetic driving but he persisted and the car kept rolling down the slope of the roll- he didn't listen to us telling him that he had killed his vehicle until Fi's dad pulled the handbrake rather than drift off to be perpendicular to the road. Pulled car over, took out our bags and waited for bus. Turns out that the daughter's new mobile phone didn't work so there was no point flashing that around was there girl? And the man leant on the car talking to his daughter in (sitting in the boot seat) about the problem and crying about it- clutch for a 5 year old Mitsubishi 4x4 I guess would be very expensive. He only had a smattering of money left as we paid him only part of fare and he had spent most of that on petrol and I did feel really sorry for him though no one else did. Mind you I didn't feel so sorry to give him the rest of the money as he wanted/ begged for nor even giving him enough money to get back to our starting town so they were stuck out there as far as we knew. We, on the other hand, did have enough money for the bus when it came passed (after a few terrifying truckloads of men with balaclavas and machetes) and I maintained our no payment stance as I got on the public bus with the weeping driver tugging at my shirt. Aaaah. I felt really bad for him but, as I mentioned before, no one else did- I must learn to control my guillt. Anyway, second bus journey in bizarre coach nearly killed us.

Manta- stayed in hotel as it was miles from the town- not too impressed by it, Fiona went a bit mad at the staff as they were arses and when we left and set fire to the lobby and all the staff vehicles in the staff car park. Fiona strung up the manager on a flag pole- the rest we attached upside down to the fence and we danced around their flayed bodies chanting about the fallen taxi driver and the parable of the crap mobile phone.