Hello world,
You should read my friends blog http://earlgreytwosugars.net She wrote a really fun piece about the whole airport experience, she is also writing about planning my wedding with Ed.
So Cho and I had a fun trip to Manta! We packed up the panniers and trailer, got out side and bam! the bike was so heavy with all the stuff I couldn’t lift it! And the seat was so high I couldn’t get on it and control the bike- neither could cho! Plus, the little key we needed to lower the saddle was buried deep in Chos trailer, so we pushed the bikes. In one moment, we had to cross the road, when I had got to the other side and it was time to mount the pavement… I couldn’t. I couldn’t lift the bike. Then a bus started coming… so in the end the bike fell over and I had the drag it sideways in a big flurry of panic because I didnt want the bike to get hit by the bus. But phew! the crisis was averted.
We then got to the bus station but, we were then told we had to go to a different one, 45 minutes away. How were we going to get 2 people, 2 bikes, 8 panniers and 2 trailers into a taxi?! We didn’t have the time to cycle there, or the desire. But, we managed to fit it all into 2 taxis- Ecuadorians will do anything for business, which was very helpful! After buying 2 tickets and a lot of strange looks, we were on the bus and on our way to Manta!
We arrived at our hotel in Manta, which is beautifully placed on the beach, ready to get going. I had a few things to do, like do over all the electronics, learn how to use the Garmin, and SPOT3, sort the food and buy a few last minute things. After sorting the electrics, I realised I was missing a cable, the cable which allows me to charge my laptop from the solar panel, my laptop is vital because I need it to transfer the footage from the CF and SD cards onto the hard drive to send back to the production company. So… Here I am, in Manta, ready to start, minus one cable. We have been waiting here 3 days so far… we have been told it will take 3-5 days, so hopefully it will turn up any day now!!! And we can be on our way.