Amazing AirShow in Manta

When I saw the poster on Facebook about an Airshow in Manta, I thought "that'd be cool" but I never thought we would go. 

But then a blog reader from Australia emailed and said he was here in Ecuador visiting family, and would we want to meet for lunch or dinner...where? Manta! After exchanging some emails we found ourselves with an invitation to a whole weekend of fun and family, not having met any of these people before we were of course ready for the worst, but in true Ecuadorean style it was the best weekend we'd had in a long time! 

This is the area of Manta where the Airshow was to be seen, and low and behold one of those apartment buildings is where we were staying! These were taken Saturday afternoon, fun to see how much different from our little beach. The morning of the airshow we wandered down to the beach to see it when it began, but as we wandered around, we realized we should go to the apartments rooftop deck. (Beach was Crowded and hot)

By the time these guys landed we were up on the roof so this picture is from Facebook

Neighboring apartment buildings, having the same idea. Even though it was sunny on the roof, there was much more breeze than down on the beach, so it was lovely.

The big blank spot was roped off for the parachutes to land.

And later, after the parachutes landed, the people were allowed to use the area, it was crazy to watch the mass exodus. What an amazing view from here!

These jets really made your heart race. And then the acrobats...

To be honest, some of these pictures are not ours. We had three people taking pictures that day, and we all shared, and there may be some googled pictures, if none of ours came out. But it WAS amazing and gave us goosebumps.

As did the view, the city with Montecristi in the background.

We were on top of the 9th floor, not too high, but high enough to stay away from the edge! We enjoyed the rest of the day with pool party and bbq. Met other families who live in the building, and made new friends.

We stayed til sunset, then got a ride home from our new friends. Wow! Step outside your comfort zone, and you just may have a great time! Thank you to our wonderful Manta hosts, and to Chile for the terrific anniversary present! We look forward to another airshow, maybe for the 100th anniversary?

So...stay tuned, the adventure continues!