• TO SANTA MARIANITA
• From nearly every city in Ecuador, buses go to Manta. There is also a small airport with flights from Quito. Santa Marianita is located at 20 minutes drive from Manta. A taxi ($10) is the easiest, but there is also public transport "las camionettas" available. They leave from the centre of Manta (near the "mercado", calle 12 avenida 17) and bring you for $1 to Santa Marianita (about every 20 minutes, 6 am to 6 pm, less frequent on sunday). Tell the driver you want to go to Punta la Barca.
• Be aware that in the city of Manta, there is also a region called Santa Marianita (and google often shows this first). This is NOT the beach-fishingvillage-kitesurf santa marianita though!
• IN SANTA MARIANITA
• Santa Marianita is a village with only one main street, still it seems easy to get lost here. Coming from Manta you pass first the touristic beach till you get to the village. Pass the football field, the church and the cementary, till you reach a 90° left turn in the street. The "Punta la Barca" sign at the tree says to go the right up the hill -that what you should do, leaving the paved road for a sandy one. The "camionetta" will also drop you here. Go up the hill; at the top, go right. The hostel is at the end of the street, a bamboo house with a leaf roof, watching over the pacific..