Don, I really enjoyed this video. I’ve heard so much about some of these places; it was great to get a more realistic view of Manta. Your car seems like it’s pretty quiet and has some pep. Look forward to more trips!!! BTW the drivers remind me of the idiots here in FL. The motorcycles do the same stupid maneuvers here
Oh yeah its a huge problem in the City the motorcycles, and you should drive very carfully if you see a delivery guy those guys love sneak in any place im a resident and never reclame my drive license its because that kind of idiots
First Don ABSOLUTELY hilarious I may have just missed you when I was near Mall del del Pacifico with Juan Zambrano . I have driven many of these streets in a rental car NOT recommended. I will be in Manta in April and May . See you around.
Hi Don, thanks for the ride , you are a good driver, Manta looks like a decent place to live , the traffic is not too bad , roads look ok, didn’t see a lot of pedestrians, lots of green areas, city looked clean.
I will give you my pov as a resident. Manta no es un lugar tan limpio como crees hay dos fábricas de atún cerca del mar y un puente con un canal qué siempre huele horrible, las calles y el tráfico nunca son un problema pero si lo son los peatones si bien son pocos los pocos que hay suelen dar problemas, prefieren cruzar la calle a tomar el puente para cruzar seguro, debes tener cuidado con cada motociclista por que usualmente son imbéciles detrás del volante y más los de delivery.
I feel so happy seeing a video about my City, giving more de tails about who really looks like, i hope you dont have any incident with the residents sometimes they are a little dump driving. Un saludo desde Ecuador
Be cautious with the speed track, make sure you drive under the speed limit because the tracker doesn’t read correctly the speed for example if the speed limit is 50 and you go in 50 the machine read 60 and you get a ticket! 😢
Thank you for sharing this with us Don, nice to get a tour around Manta. I disagree that traffic and driving in the states is among the safest in the world. I honestly think that it is way too easy to take a drivers license in the states and that it dont really feel very safe at all at times. If we look at statistics the last 10 years of traffic related deaths per 100 000 people in countries we find that.... Ecuador has around 20 ± a few depending on year. USA has between 10-13 Germany, yes the country with no speed limit autobahn has about 4 traffic related deaths / 100 000. Sweden, my original country usually lands between 2-3 Norway, 2. So it is double as dangerous to drive in Ecuador than in USA. But it is 5-6 times more dangerous to drive in USA than in Norway. Keep up the great channel.
Yeah in my country (ecuador) its a problem the irresponsability of the drivers ussually the motorcycles they think they are inmortales and the king of the Streets sneak in every single Hole to be in front of you manta is not so cool as the promote videos you see, but not everything is bad the food its good
@@arielcastro582 There are many crazy drivers on both motorcycles and cars. Many motorcyclists are, as you say, immortal. I can attest they are not. I was grown up in the funeral business and seen quite some dozen motorcyclists. Even one I had to transport in 2 bags, in 4 parts. However sneaking in between cars, or what is called filtering traffic has both its pros and cons. The cons is obviously that sometimes, or many times, people dont see them coming which is prone for accidents. For the motorcyclist however it is good not to be in a back of a line because they are protected of being rear ended.
I live in Alajuela, Costa Rica. These streets are wonderful compared to here. Is the traffic just light there because it's so early in the morning? B/c we never have roads that are this clear. Plus we have BIG pot holes everywhere.
It looks light because of the areas I'm in but most of the traffic congestion is on the Malecon and in the downtown sector. If they had a better traffic light management system, left and right turn lanes and turn arounds, traffic would be a breeze. In some areas, you have to drive a stupid distance just to turn around. There is no management at all.
@@dougdileo4727 The roads that the tourists take to Guanacaste are good. The ones to tourist attractions are ok. I live in the country north of Alajuela town. To get to my house from Alajuela, at first you take the road that goes to Poas Volcan. It's fine. Then you turn off at a bridge and that road reportedly hadn't been repaired in 25 years. I swear there was a pot hole every 20 feet. People finally complained so much that they came and filled in the pot holes last week. Now they're not holes, they're reverse pot hills so there's a huge bump every 20 feet.
Don, driving in US is just as bad, if not worse. People are driving 90,100 mph on city streets, running red lights, causing dramatic accidents and killing innocent people. In a case from last summer, a professional football player (young, first year playing) was going 103 in his corvette, with a female friend, he lost control and hit an innocent girl's car, and the car exploded in flames. The girl and her dog burned to death. The football player had minor injuries and the female had some injuries. To add insult to injury, he has a high cost lawyer filing all sorts of motion, saying they can't use his blood tests results that showed way above the legal limit as evidence, they want a different judge, etc, he is out on bail walking freely today. So, there's idiot drivers everywhere, but U S seems to be getting worse with drunk, or on strong drugs driving way too fast and they don't care if they kill someone, it's all about them.
Even if there are lanes nobody pays attention to them. I guess you gotta keep your head on a swivel. That circle is the most stressful spot in Manta, walking, driving or in a cab.
Great video Don, brought so many memories from my visit to Manta last month. Hope to go back some day and enjoy breakfast with you at Dulce & Cremoso. Believe it or not, I found the traffic in Manta well organized compared to other cities in So.America. Driving in Lima for example is 100 times worse. Of course Lima is a much bigger city. Looking forward for more videos of Ecuador, especially the beaches, although I believe you are not a beach guy. All the best mi amigo!
If you love the beachs visit santa maríanita its a little far from the City but worth you can find a lot of restaurants with sea tradicional food and its clean and ussually less crowded that the other beachs and if you back to the City you should try encebollado in any Street stand its cheap like 1,50 or 2,50 a big one
Nah dont be worry man the last strong earthquakes was in 2016 now the City its fine only a little sector its empty like a gosht City. Deberias darle una oportunidad y aprovechar la comida
I notice that there was no graffiti on the walls as you were driving. I have the idea that graffiti is a good indicator of petty crime. So is. Manta relatively crime free?
Uh no, not really. There is petty crime here. People here have better things to do with their lives than spray painting property that isn't theirs. Plus, there is discipline in the family here and the kids know better. Can't say that about the US.
@@DonShader That’s what I thought. Same here in Loja. I see a lot more graffiti in Cuenca, but I don’t know if they have a crime problem. Guayaquil seems to be covered in graffiti from what I see on the news, and they have terrible crime.
@@DonShader ah ok. I live in Brazil. Originally from Michigan. And I know how the roads in my city are. I could hardly believe that your video was so smooth.
That was one scary ride. Why on earth are the lanes not marked in places? And now I understand why Indonesia (?) recently banned tourists from renting motorcycles.
Is the speed limit 50 while your driving all around town. Are traffic laws enforced there ? also what is the meaning of all the signs with the "E" & an E with a line through it Sir ? At least it looks 1000% easier to drive around Manta than it is in the Philippines
I don't think there is a speed limit unless it's marked and you don't see that very much. NO! Traffic laws are NOT enforced. The "E" means parking/no parking. I can't answer for the Philippines but driving here pretty much sucks.
Don do you have to pay to park in the mall? If so how much ? I know you just got the car but do you feel it is worth it to have a car? Thanks as always
That one inconsiderate taxi driver, he cuts you off so closely in front of you just to get onto the exit ramp further to your and his right, instead of him just slightly slowing down to simply go behind you and then he can just go to his exit without having cut anybody off..ugh.. They idiotically drive like that here in Houston, Texas all the time!
Hey Don 👋 It's nice to see you passing by us at 35:32. Hope to have you around again soon.
That was great ! Good to get out of the apartment.
Thanks for sharing Don. This video has helped to convince me that Cuenca is my place at least to start. Happy trails ✌🏾
I agree 👍
Knock yourself out! If I could tolerate the altitude, I would be there now.
Don! Great to see you! Still watchin this one, but we LOVE it! Thank you for takin the time.
Don, I really enjoyed this video. I’ve heard so much about some of these places; it was great to get a more realistic view of Manta. Your car seems like it’s pretty quiet and has some pep. Look forward to more trips!!!
BTW the drivers remind me of the idiots here in FL. The motorcycles do the same stupid maneuvers here
Oh yeah its a huge problem in the City the motorcycles, and you should drive very carfully if you see a delivery guy those guys love sneak in any place im a resident and never reclame my drive license its because that kind of idiots
First Don ABSOLUTELY hilarious I may have just missed you when I was near Mall del del Pacifico with Juan Zambrano . I have driven many of these streets in a rental car NOT recommended. I will be in Manta in April and May . See you around.
Don, my multi-lingual family and I thank you for publishing this with Spanish subtitles. I'm like # 245.
Enjoyed your videos of driving the streets of Manta, along with your commentary. That photo you took of the ocean was spectacular.
Many thanks!
Don, great video thanks. In UK we call the circles roundabouts.
Hi Don, thanks for the ride , you are a good driver, Manta looks like a decent place to live , the traffic is not too bad , roads look ok, didn’t see a lot of pedestrians, lots of green areas, city looked clean.
Please don't be deceived by one video. It is NOT green here. Manta is a concrete jungle. The green you see in this video is on the outskirts.
I will give you my pov as a resident.
Manta no es un lugar tan limpio como crees hay dos fábricas de atún cerca del mar y un puente con un canal qué siempre huele horrible, las calles y el tráfico nunca son un problema pero si lo son los peatones si bien son pocos los pocos que hay suelen dar problemas, prefieren cruzar la calle a tomar el puente para cruzar seguro, debes tener cuidado con cada motociclista por que usualmente son imbéciles detrás del volante y más los de delivery.
I feel so happy seeing a video about my City, giving more de tails about who really looks like, i hope you dont have any incident with the residents sometimes they are a little dump driving.
Un saludo desde Ecuador
Be cautious with the speed track, make sure you drive under the speed limit because the tracker doesn’t read correctly the speed for example if the speed limit is 50 and you go in 50 the machine read 60 and you get a ticket! 😢
Great video. Nice to see what the local area looks like. Thank you.
You bet.
Enjoyed the car ride and conversation! Was it difficult to get a driver's license?
I dont know for the turist but i think you have to take a test and thats it.
looks like a decent city....same drivers in the u.s.... no courtesy anymore
Thank you for sharing this with us Don, nice to get a tour around Manta.
I disagree that traffic and driving in the states is among the safest in the world. I honestly think that it is way too easy to take a drivers license in the states and that it dont really feel very safe at all at times.
If we look at statistics the last 10 years of traffic related deaths per 100 000 people in countries we find that....
Ecuador has around 20 ± a few depending on year.
USA has between 10-13
Germany, yes the country with no speed limit autobahn has about 4 traffic related deaths / 100 000.
Sweden, my original country usually lands between 2-3
Norway, 2.
So it is double as dangerous to drive in Ecuador than in USA. But it is 5-6 times more dangerous to drive in USA than in Norway.
Keep up the great channel.
Yeah in my country (ecuador) its a problem the irresponsability of the drivers ussually the motorcycles they think they are inmortales and the king of the Streets sneak in every single Hole to be in front of you manta is not so cool as the promote videos you see, but not everything is bad the food its good
@@arielcastro582 There are many crazy drivers on both motorcycles and cars. Many motorcyclists are, as you say, immortal. I can attest they are not. I was grown up in the funeral business and seen quite some dozen motorcyclists. Even one I had to transport in 2 bags, in 4 parts.
However sneaking in between cars, or what is called filtering traffic has both its pros and cons. The cons is obviously that sometimes, or many times, people dont see them coming which is prone for accidents. For the motorcyclist however it is good not to be in a back of a line because they are protected of being rear ended.
thanks for the ride Don, I really enjoyed it
Donorcycles.
Thanks for sharing, Don.
I live in Alajuela, Costa Rica. These streets are wonderful compared to here. Is the traffic just light there because it's so early in the morning? B/c we never have roads that are this clear. Plus we have BIG pot holes everywhere.
Yup I visit c.r. often,wife is a tica from satchi...the roads most everywhere are horrible...lol
It looks light because of the areas I'm in but most of the traffic congestion is on the Malecon and in the downtown sector. If they had a better traffic light management system, left and right turn lanes and turn arounds, traffic would be a breeze. In some areas, you have to drive a stupid distance just to turn around. There is no management at all.
@@dougdileo4727 The roads that the tourists take to Guanacaste are good. The ones to tourist attractions are ok. I live in the country north of Alajuela town. To get to my house from Alajuela, at first you take the road that goes to Poas Volcan. It's fine. Then you turn off at a bridge and that road reportedly hadn't been repaired in 25 years. I swear there was a pot hole every 20 feet. People finally complained so much that they came and filled in the pot holes last week. Now they're not holes, they're reverse pot hills so there's a huge bump every 20 feet.
Don, driving in US is just as bad, if not worse. People are driving 90,100 mph on city streets, running red lights, causing dramatic accidents and killing innocent people. In a case from last summer, a professional football player (young, first year playing) was going 103 in his corvette, with a female friend, he lost control and hit an innocent girl's car, and the car exploded in flames. The girl and her dog burned to death. The football player had minor injuries and the female had some injuries. To add insult to injury, he has a high cost lawyer filing all sorts of motion, saying they can't use his blood tests results that showed way above the legal limit as evidence, they want a different judge, etc, he is out on bail walking freely today. So, there's idiot drivers everywhere, but U S seems to be getting worse with drunk, or on strong drugs driving way too fast and they don't care if they kill someone, it's all about them.
Very true
Don't forget that there are 300 plus million people in the US and less than 20 million here. You really can't compare to the US.
@@DonShader There's only 3 million people in the area I live in, and all of the accidents I mentioned happened here in less than 1 year.
That was fun and super informative. Appreciate the narration too.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Traffic seems to move fast there. Not much traffic either. Your 3-cylinder Chinese car seems to do the job very well. 👍
3-Cylinder? What makes you think it's 3-cylinders?
@@DonShader I must be mistaken. Seems like a decent vehicle though. 👍
Even if there are lanes nobody pays attention to them. I guess you gotta keep your head on a swivel. That circle is the most stressful spot in Manta, walking, driving or in a cab.
You're absolutely right about that.
Best video every...! Thanks for showing us Manta.
My pleasure!!
Thank you Don for the nice trip, I love to see 👀 ❤ my beautiful little country through your eyes 👀 💙 ❤ ♥ 😍.
Glad you enjoyed it
In NY City, taxis drive on the sidewalks!
Loved the commentary. I think I would have enjoyed your convo with the guard... 😅
No John, that wouldn't be good.
Great video Don, brought so many memories from my visit to Manta last month. Hope to go back some day and enjoy breakfast with you at Dulce & Cremoso. Believe it or not, I found the traffic in Manta well organized compared to other cities in So.America. Driving in Lima for example is 100 times worse. Of course Lima is a much bigger city. Looking forward for more videos of Ecuador, especially the beaches, although I believe you are not a beach guy. All the best mi amigo!
If you love the beachs visit santa maríanita its a little far from the City but worth you can find a lot of restaurants with sea tradicional food and its clean and ussually less crowded that the other beachs and if you back to the City you should try encebollado in any Street stand its cheap like 1,50 or 2,50 a big one
I really enjoyed the ride
Cool video Don
Nice video, good to see the area
Don, you should interview the mayor and get another perspective. Ask him the questions about the city and the promises he made to improve it.
I'm working on it.
Manta, Ecuador is much larger than I thought. Too bad they have so many earthquakes.
Nah dont be worry man the last strong earthquakes was in 2016 now the City its fine only a little sector its empty like a gosht City.
Deberias darle una oportunidad y aprovechar la comida
Hi Don, how much is gasoline in Manta? Enjoyed the video and the commentary.
$2.40/Gal for super unleaded.
"Grumpy" haha.. It is really impossible not to be grumpy driving between the motorcyclists.
This was great- really helpful- how much is parking at the mall? Also- what was the temperature and what do you pay for laundry?
Parking at the mall is free.
I notice that there was no graffiti on the walls as you were driving. I have the idea that graffiti is a good indicator of petty crime. So is. Manta relatively crime free?
Uh no, not really. There is petty crime here. People here have better things to do with their lives than spray painting property that isn't theirs. Plus, there is discipline in the family here and the kids know better. Can't say that about the US.
@@DonShader That’s what I thought. Same here in Loja. I see a lot more graffiti in Cuenca, but I don’t know if they have a crime problem. Guayaquil seems to be covered in graffiti from what I see on the news, and they have terrible crime.
What kind of dash cam did you use? It's really good and smooth.
It's a GoPro Hero 8 mounted to a suction cup attached to the windshield.
@@DonShader ah ok. I live in Brazil. Originally from Michigan. And I know how the roads in my city are. I could hardly believe that your video was so smooth.
Thanks for the tour of Manta. Is your car electric? It is very quiet.
No, it's 100% gas but a very well built (solid) car.
That was one scary ride. Why on earth are the lanes not marked in places? And now I understand why Indonesia (?) recently banned tourists from renting motorcycles.
If I can ever figure that out, I'll let you know Jo Ann.
@@DonShader If SOME of the roads are marked, it's curious that not ALL of them are. Probably b/c it costs money.
@@joann5157 money money money............and then leadership. Corruption probably has a lot to do with it but I didn't say that.
@@joann5157 also I wonder how long the paint lasts with how strong the sun is.
Hey, Don. Do you know of ANY beef and/or dairy farms anywhere in Ecuador? I found one outside Quito but I can't seem to get a hold of anyone there
Unfortunately, I don't. Sorry.
Is the speed limit 50 while your driving all around town. Are traffic laws enforced there ?
also what is the meaning of all the signs with the "E" & an E with a line through it Sir ?
At least it looks 1000% easier to drive around Manta than it is in the Philippines
I don't think there is a speed limit unless it's marked and you don't see that very much. NO! Traffic laws are NOT enforced. The "E" means parking/no parking.
I can't answer for the Philippines but driving here pretty much sucks.
Don do you have to pay to park in the mall? If so how much ? I know you just got the car but do you feel it is worth it to have a car? Thanks as always
It’s free, you pay for the ticket if you loose it.
I’d like to get a driver license in Cuenca Ecuador, but I’ve seen how Ecuadoreans drive 😊maybe a electric bike.
It's a bit of a challenge and requires patience.
That one inconsiderate taxi driver, he cuts you off so closely in front of you just to get onto the exit ramp further to your and his right, instead of him just slightly slowing down to simply go behind you and then he can just go to his exit without having cut anybody off..ugh..
They idiotically drive like that here in Houston, Texas all the time!
That's standard protocol for them. I don't think most of these drivers even have a drivers license.
And Don how do drop off fright if there is no parking??
Fright? What are you talking about?
Really like your photographs. Do you sell them?
No I don't. If you want any of my work, send me an email and tell me which one you want and I'll send it to you.