By Peter Stromberg As I stood on the beach last weekend, I found myself engaged in a conversation with an Ecuadorian businessman who had...

By Mark Bradbury Three years ago, in September of 2019, I was contacted by Tina Rettka, a Canadian expat living here who wanted to do an art show in Manta. Tina had a contact with a large orchid grower here in Ecuador, and she proposed that we have a joint show for art and orchids. I thought it was a great idea, so we decided to go ahead and plan an event. I was living in a condominium building near Mall del Pacifico, the Pireos Building, and the owner, Jose Atiaga, was kind

By Mark Bradbury As the admin for a Coastal Facebook group here in Manta, I have seen so many requests from people wanting to know what the area has to offer as far as tourism attractions go. It makes me crazy when someone from the group says “Oh, there’s nothing to do in Manta.” It sets off the invisible fireworks in my head! There are so many tourism options available here in the greater Manta area, and so many more all over Manabí Province. I am going to talk about some o

By Mark Bradbury I was asked to do an article on Ecuadorian patriotism for the August issue of Hi Expat Magazine and even though I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about, I accepted the assignment. I have been wondering what I was going to say ever since! I have been living here on the Coast for almost seven years, and one thing I have definitely seen is that Ecuadorians are fiercely proud of their national heroes and athletes. Even though there are so many political fa

By Mark Bradbury This is a question some of you may have already asked, or you may have at least been thinking about it. Perhaps you haven’t discovered a special place to celebrate your wedding vows but you want a unique location that will bring great memories for years to come. If that’s the case, then you should be considering the Province of Manabi, Ecuador! The beaches of Manabi offer so many choices for your special event. There are 350 kilometers of oceanfront beaches

By Mark Bradbury This month’s issue addresses environmental ocean conditions here on the Ecuadorian Coast. It is a big ocean that welcomes us all, but she constantly needs our help. For me, coming to Ecuador meant being able to live near the Pacific Ocean, and I have been living my dream since I arrived over six years ago. She is something I stare at every day of my seven-day week, and I love it! But there are things that we all need to address. The world’s oceans receive th

Sometime in the last quarter of 2014 I had decided to leave my comfort zone, the United States, and become an “expat.” Prior to that I...

What do lime green or electric blue baking flour, water guns, soapy foam spray, big parades, costume parties, eggs, and more water have to do with Ecuador? If you don’t know the answer to this question, the chances are that you have never been here for Carnaval. You certainly would have found out unless you hid under a local rock when the partying started. Carnaval is one of the most celebrated holidays on the Ecuadorian calendar, and usually takes place during February or e

As the owner and administrator of a local Facebook group, Manta and Manabi Expats and Amigos, I see and hear a variety of opinions and...

Today I would like to talk about something new coming to Manta and to the Province of Manabí. It is a great new communication forum designed to address the needs of the rapidly growing expat community here.This new monthly magazine, “HiExpat,” will serve this expanding segment of the population scattered throughout the Manta area. My name is Mark Bradbury, and I will be doing a monthly feature column that could, and will, address many of the things that make living here speci