Notes From Ecuador

dbCooper

I arrived with the lady who tolerates me on Wednesday, we'll be here for another couple weeks, primarily around the Cuenca area with a Galapagos side trip. We've made this trip the previous two years during the same time frame. Day of the Dead and Independence Day celebrations are currently under way. We enjoy them immensely, along with the culture, the people and the food of course! 

I thought perhaps the forum folks might be interested in some cooking/eating items we encounter. Along those lines I'll add to this post from time to time. For now a couple bread/pizza ovens we came across. First up a massive oven from where we stayed the first night just outside Quito:

The opening is inside the building, unfortunately I was unable to get access to the kitchen, so no pics from that side.

Next up a custom build unit that resides in the courtyard of a chocolate maker that has a restaurant.  This was originally wood fired, now converted to also run on gas.  The owner told me I could have one built for $600-700.  Sorry that my "inside" pic lacks clarity.  There is a Brinkmann offset sitting next to it, also converted to run on gas:

 

All for now, hope some find this interesting.

DoubleEgger

Sounds like a great trip! 

theyolksonyou

Interested?   Not yes, but HELL YES!!!

YukonRon

Absolutely and thank you!

gnatnoop

excellent, post more please...

lousubcap

Great adventure right there and thanks for sharing on the forum. 

JohnnyTarheel

Thanks for sharing...

piney

Please keep us posted

Gr_egger

More please

FearlessTheEggNoob

Try the grilled Cuy, I hear it's delish.

nolaegghead

Nice.  Those "sh!thole" countries aren't just filled only with rapist criminals after all!  

DuckDogDr

@dbCooper. Nice keep us posted,  especially about the Galapagos.  Wanting to go there myself for the scuba diving

dbCooper

@FearlessTheEggNoob: We've had Cuy here previously, it is delish!  We will likely be indulging once we journey out to the more rural areas, found it to be better outside the cities.

We spent the weekend mainly within Cuenca historic district for the festivals and celebrations that were taking place.  Some random items.....

Passion Fruit, one of our favs.  The inside reminds me of fish eggs.  Each "egg" has a seed inside that is edible.  Tart flavor.



Couple of Cuenca's finest doing some PR work with the youngsters:


Part of Independence celebration includes food vendors from within the country, I'd say there was about a half mile of strip of them.  These folks impressed me the most:



All for now.....

thetrim

Looks like you're off to s great start.  Thank you for sharing with the group.

Carolina Q

Nice thread! Looking forward to more!

CTMike

Very jealous. My wife and I were looking at retiring in Cuenca until her asthma reared its ugly head with a vengeance. It is usually rated the #1 Retirement Haven on the planet. 

Foghorn

Great post.  We were there 21 years ago and this is bringing back some great memories.  

One thing I remember about the food is that their "soup" was often more like a meal with soup - at least in Guayaquil.  For example, "fish soup" was a bowl of soup with a whole fried fish filet sitting on top of it.  (For the record, I viewed this as a good thing).

dbCooper

Bit of a grab bag of items to pass along.....

I am a car guy and this little Toyota struck my fancy.  Vehicles here are taxed on engine size.  Small, fuel efficient types are the name of the game.  You see a good number of older, well maintained vehicles.  It is a kinda interesting to see Datsuns on the road.  Regular gas is going for about $1.85/gal, last year it was around $1.50
 
Back home we have a beetle we call a "pinch bug", his pinchers are of a East-West orientation.  As a youngster I left one in my pants pocket, mom was not happy!  Here they have what I believe to be of cousin of the pinch bug, referred to as a rhinoceros bug with a North-South orientation.  Length is about 3 inches.


Ecuador is a caring country and they have welcomed numerous refugees, notably from Venezuela.  Some young families here are in dire straights, resorting to various means including hawking candy on the streets.  Really reinforces my believe that being born in the US was tantamount to a winning lottery ticket and just shear luck.  We realize donating to them is no solution to their problem but may help some for getting thru today, so we do it.  Gave one young mother some help and she offered this in return.  I can't fathom having my life savings be worth less than scrap.



Desayuno is a breakfast combo offered at numerous places, typically to be had for under $3/person.  We had this today for a total bill of $5.50


Likewise, Almuezo is a lunch combo, typically under $5/person.  Lunch on Monday Angie had the pork chop and I went for Lomo (beef).  I know better, beef is not what we are accustomed to in the US, almost never tender, but I always have to at least try.  It was tough but still good.  This meal came in at about $13. as we splurged on some fancy teas.


All for now.......

Wolfpack

Keep the posts coming- enjoying this one and what a great experience. 

Sea2Ski

I agree. Please keep them coming! 

Eggcelsior

Do they have any Kei cars?

GATraveller

My grandparents traveled the world extensively and always said the Ecuadorians were some of the nicest they encountered anywhere.

Love the pics!!  Please keep them coming.

dbCooper

@Eggcelsior:  I had to look up Kei cars, interesting!  I have not seen any here.
@GATraveller: I don't think things have changed much as far as Ecuadorian niceness!

Another grab bag of items to share....
We toured a zoological preserve, http://www.zoobioparqueamaru.com/.  Lots of walking on "steep" up/down pathways.  We were fortunate in having a nice dry day, I can't imagine navigating the trails if it were wet out.  Nice view of Cuenca from the park, elevation 8400'.


We've traveled extensively in Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador, always wanted to encounter a Toucan but never had, until now.  Granted a zoo not the same a seeing in the wild but we still found this guy to be so cool.  He was a friendly chap, would come right up to us!

Ecological preservation education is a focus within the park, how about reusing car wheels for making a chiminea type device for the patio?


Angie had a birthday on Wednesday, I surprised her with a floral arrangement.  $10. very well spent!  She is telling folks she got one rose for each of her years.  Guess I now have me a trophy wife.  Would that it were!


We picked up this cool bottle of Licor Crema, been using in our coffee.  Felt hat and a pony tail!


Some items available in the local SuperMaxi grocery:  Big rack of spares, Lomo is tenderloin, Salon Res is round steak.  I believe the two Pulpa's are also round, but neither of us are sure of the translation.  Had some stares from the store workers, I don't think a gringo taking pics of their meat case is common!  Plenty of selections for Pork, Poultry and Fish, for some reason beef is just not a big thing here.




We eat papaya frequently when on these trips, like the taste and provides some good health benefits.  Well, I found this Habanero/Papaya hot sauce that I am dying to try, but will be keeping it sealed until back home.




All for now......

20stone

Great pics, and keep them coming.

It was interesting to see the asado for the pig in the first round of pics.  I think of that as an Argentinian thing, but it is cool to see it in other spots.

I've had the itch to visit Equador, and your travelogue is making it itchier!

rekameohs

dbCooper said:

I arrived with the lady who tolerates me on Wednesday

Hopefully, you can find someone that tolerates you on the other days of the week!

Nice pictures/descriptions.  Thanks for sharing

johnmitchell

Really interesting post, thanks for sharing.

dbCooper

rekameohs said:

dbCooper said:

I arrived with the lady who tolerates me on Wednesday

Hopefully, you can find someone that tolerates you on the other days of the week!

Nice pictures/descriptions.  Thanks for sharing

I am fortunate to get one out of seven, from anyone!

caliking

Thanks for letting us tag along. I love seeing what people around the world eat and let how they they cook their meals. 

td66snrf

@dbCooper Thanks for posting. Please keep the pics coming. 

JohnnyTarheel

Great post... looking forward to more 

Hans61

Beautiful pics and interesting thread reminded me of a book I read in college