Manta, Ecuador

Our next port of call will be Manta, Ecuador. But, prior to that we will be crossing the Equator in the early morning hours at 00:26 hrs. The actual geographical location is N/S 00-00.0 and West 080-37.6 about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Ecuador. We were granted a certificate of this fact. I am pretty sure that we were sleeping at the time.
Manta is on the central coast of Ecuador and is the second largest city in the area behind Portoviejo, which is located inland of Manta. While the city enjoys several beaches, as you travel inland from the city itself the terrain becomes a dry tropical forest. The coastline in Manta is frequently hit with quite big waves from the Pacific Ocean, which has led to the city becoming a popular destination for watersports, with the San Lorenzo and Santa Marianita beaches both enjoying good wind and wave conditions most of the year.