6 Video Views·Dec 15, 2022 #ameliaandjp #ecuador #expats We've heard a LOT about this popular expat destination since we moved to Ecuador. Several of our viewers have either moved there already, or are planning a move there, so we wanted to go check it out for ourselves.
Playa Santa Marianita is located just 20 minutes south of Manta proper, but it's actually one of the 7 parishes or burroughs of Manta. A cab ride costs $10 each way, but we were told there is a shared ride that costs $1.
Santa Marianita is best known as the Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding capital of South America because the flat beach and the wind conditions coming off the Pacific ocean are always just right for the adventure sport. We were considering a lesson, but after seeing the 8-pack abs as the Kitesurfers strolled up from the beach, we decided to wait until we're in better shape.
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Hola Unconventionals! I'm Amelia and I'm JP and we're sharing our unconventional life with you
from Ecuador. There is an area just south of Manta that is really popular with expats and today we're
going to go find out why. A lot of you have been asking what our cost of living is here in Manta.
We haven't really been here long enough yet to know but we're going to collect all of our expenses
in June and share an updated cost of living video in July. But you can download our cost of moving
and living calculator on our website. I'll put a link to that in the description if you want to
go grab it now. Now we're going to show you the drive to Santa Marianita and when we come back
we're going to tell you the nine reasons why expats love it so much and why we did too.
The first reason expats love Santa Marianita is because it's so close to Manta.
Yeah it was a $10 cab ride and our new friend Lia. Hola Lia! She told us that you can also get a
dollar ride with one of those white trucks. Unfortunately we don't have any video of that
but she said you can hop on one of those shared rides and it'll take you into town for a buck.
Yeah we're not sure where to pick it up here to go back but I'm sure you can figure that out.
The next reason why expats love Santa Marianita and so did we is because it has a beautiful
eight kilometer beach perfect for long walks. Yes it was high tide while we were there so
we did not get to walk on the beach this time but we'll make sure and do that in a future video.
Yes we will. The more adventurous expats love Santa Marianita because it's the kite surfing
capital of South America. Yeah we think that is really cool however you don't have to participate
or be super adventurous to enjoy the kite surfing. We really enjoy just sitting back
and watching the experts at work and the people who are taking lessons. Yeah it's a lot of fun to
watch them jumping on the waves and it's very relaxing. It is it's really pretty. One thing
expats love about Santa Marianita is the beautiful weather. Yes they do. If you noticed on our drive
in it's very desert like that's because this whole area is a desert microclimate so it's
extremely dry and there is not a lot of humidity especially compared to what we found in Olón.
Yeah and there's usually more sun but of course the day that we decided to go and film
it clouded up and well we didn't see any sun but trust us there's sun. It's normally a lot
sunnier here unfortunately we just weren't lucky that day. Santa Marianita also has a variety of
hotels and restaurants. Yeah it kind of reminded us of Olón because they have the line of cabanas
all along the beach that serve the local cuisine. And we saw a lot of people eating at other outdoor
restaurants some of them tied to the hotel so it's a lot of outdoor eating options there as well.
We were really excited to see some moringa trees. Yeah I was really happy to pick some fresh
drumstick to make my yummy Indian curry which we first had when we went to Aban and Chinu's
wedding in Kerala. That was really cool. Yeah Amelia made a big pot of Samba out of it which
is one of my favorite meals. I love to eat it for breakfast. When we were in India we ate it every
single morning on top of dosa which we can't get here and we can't even get the ingredients here
but it's still delicious even without it. Yes it is and thank you. It's got the basic services so
you can get your essentials and you can pay your utilities there. Yeah there's a few small tiendas
and a gas station, a pharmacy, and a few other small shops. Yeah but for the full-blown shopping
experience you do need to go into Manta and as we mentioned that's just 20 minutes north. Yeah
there's no Tia or Super Maxi in the small rural town of Santa Marianita. Something you might enjoy
is there are no dogs allowed on the beach. Yeah that was the first time we've seen that. Usually
dogs are allowed but the sign said that that was to protect the turtle and their nesting sites so
that's a good thing. Yeah so you can enjoy your walk without watching your step. Yeah no landmines.
It has a nice quiet residential area with updated and newer housing that's popular with expats.
Yeah and it's built on the side of a hill so you have beautiful views. It's like stadium seating
so every place has their own view of the ocean and the beach. And finally expats love Santa
Marianita because it's muy tranquilo. Yeah Leia told us that the residential area was much quieter
and it did seem like it was just much quieter in general even though there was some music
playing over by the cabanas. The way Santa Marianita is spread out it just feels much
more spacious and calm. That's why Santa Marianita is so popular with expats. Now if you would like
to know why we chose Manta as our next place to live we're going to talk about that in a future
video so be sure to hit that subscribe button and ring the bell please so you get notified when
we publish it. And that is all we have for this video. If you liked it leave us a thumbs up please.
We hope you have an unconventional day and we will see you all in our next video. Ciao. Ciao.
