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Notes From Ecuador

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Comments

  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,171
    I checked out this thread right after you posted it......glad I came back for a view later in the trip. Thanks for sharing. 
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
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  • billt01
    billt01 Posts: 1,731
    dbCooper said:
    We arrived back home in the US on Friday.  Some miscellaneous items from the trip that may be of interest:

    I found more beef for sale at a grocery, vacuum packed "tomahawks" and thin sliced beef ribs (what I use for Korean BBQ).  I would estimate the ribeye about 2" thick.

    This is a typical fruit and veggie market that you will find in most cities.  The markets are populated with independent vendors who rent spaces.  Wide selection of items including at least five different types of bananas, not including the various types of plantains.  By law Ecuador food is non-GMO, but I do not know what that precisely means.
    Fresh lobsters and groupers from the Galapagos at a little outdoor joint that cooks them up.  We picked one of each and split them.  Very tasty!
    Cuy (Guinea Pig) is highly prized and praised in Eqcuador, big in Peru too.  The skin is prepared very crispy and the meat is similar to duck in texture.  The head (particularly the brain) is a delicacy.  We are not highly enthused with it, but try to have it at least once on each trip, just because.  Preferably in a rural area at a roadside or a hole-in-the-wall joint.  Just seems better that way.

    They have some serious teeth.

    A side of potato soup and fried sheep blood was included.
    Came across this smoker at a private residence, a vertical-offset design, seemed unique to me.  No one in the yard to speak with so I have no details other than the pics I took thru the fence.  Note the cables in the pics, one is a lock for the smoker, the other is the electrical feed to the house.  They do things a bit different there.
    Some oddball pics that grabbed my interest:
    All weather motorcycle......
    Not a job I would have ever wanted.....
    Suicide Shower, these are somewhat common in older homes and the occasional older hotel.  This one was in a BnB we had for one night, it was rough around the edges in a couple areas.  We did not shower during that stay!

    I'll finish up with a picture (approx 3' x 4') that hangs in the dining room of a hotel restaurant.  A very nice hotel in all respects.  The pic seemed out of place to me, so I quizzed the manager about its origin/meaning.  I never got more than a ****-eating grin from him!

    All for now.
    From a restaurant out in California, could be the same artist..


    Have:
     XLBGE / Stumps Baby XL / Couple of Stokers (Gen 1 and Gen 3) / Blackstone 36 / Maxey 3x5 water pan hog cooker
    Had:
    LBGE / Lang 60D / Cookshack SM150 / Stumps Stretch / Stumps Baby

    Fat Willies BBQ
    Ola, Ga

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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    Epic!  Thanks for sharing.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 34,079
    Great trip and documentation.  Learn something new dang near every day here.  Thank you for making the effort to share your adventure.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • TEXASBGE2018
    TEXASBGE2018 Posts: 3,831
    @dbCooper I take it you feel pretty safe there? We are looking into taking a cruise with the family there next summer. Although we will likely only go to the cruise ships private island so not much risk of interaction with shady characters. 


    Rockwall, Tx    LBGE, Minimax, 22" Blackstone, Pizza Party Bollore. Cast Iron Hoarder.

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  • Acn
    Acn Posts: 4,448
    TEXASBGE2018 said:
    @dbCooper I take it you feel pretty safe there? We are looking into taking a cruise with the family there next summer. Although we will likely only go to the cruise ships private island so not much risk of interaction with shady characters. 
    The State Department has Ecuador as a Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution travel rating.  This is the same classification it has for, among others, Turks and Caicos, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

    LBGE

    Pikesville, MD

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  • dbCooper
    dbCooper Posts: 2,452
    TEXASBGE2018 said:
    @dbCooper I take it you feel pretty safe there? We are looking into taking a cruise with the family there next summer. Although we will likely only go to the cruise ships private island so not much risk of interaction with shady characters. 

    @TEXASBGE2018 - With the exception of Guayaquil (which has nothing for us)  we don't have concerns for our safety while in the country.  Petty theft, likely born of desperation, is a real concern.  Situational awareness and common sense seems to have kept us away from experiencing any of that.
    LBGE, LBGE-PTR, 22" Weber, Coleman 413G
    Great Plains, USA
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  • JohnInCarolina
    JohnInCarolina Posts: 32,764
    Acn said:
    TEXASBGE2018 said:
    @dbCooper I take it you feel pretty safe there? We are looking into taking a cruise with the family there next summer. Although we will likely only go to the cruise ships private island so not much risk of interaction with shady characters. 
    The State Department has Ecuador as a Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution travel rating.  This is the same classification it has for, among others, Turks and Caicos, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
    The State Department's version of "keep one hand on your wallet, and maybe the other on your passport" at all times.  

    I was in Barcelona for a conference and we sat down at one of these outdoor restaurants for a dinner.  I put my phone on the table while we were eating and the waiter came by to tell me that if I didn't put it away, a gentleman standing about 30 ft away would soon be approaching to grab it right off the table.  He even pointed him out.  

    A minor nuisance, but once you're aware of this kind of thing, entirely manageable. 
    "I've made a note never to piss you two off." - Stike
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  • jdMyers
    jdMyers Posts: 1,336
    Wow.  I truly appreciate the journey you have shared.  Thank you.  Especially local food
    Jd
    Columbus, Ohio
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  • dbCooper
    dbCooper Posts: 2,452
    Some miscellany from past few days.
    Supper last night from this lady, chicken/chorizo on a stick with baby potatoes and plantains all cooked over coals.  Passed on the Mote as that is gross, reminds me of lutefisk.  $4. for both of us...
    Artists of America's Festival gets in full swing starting today, will be lots of craftsfolk showing off their talents, plus yummy food offerings.  Setup phase was finishing up yesterday...
    Bit of serendipity, Van Gogh Experience is in town.  We were to see it in Omaha but a medical event with Angie's dad forced us to cancel.  Got tickets for Wed at $10 apiece.  Thinking they were around $50. in the US...
    And a pic for @lousubcap with a nod to his fav Xmas movie...
    Hope to get some good food pics today.  All for now.
    LBGE, LBGE-PTR, 22" Weber, Coleman 413G
    Great Plains, USA
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 34,079
    @dbCooper - definitely enjoying the photos and descriptions you are sharing here.  I'm sure that Artist's festival will be an eye-opening experience.  you may need to buy another suitcase or two.  
    Glad the Royal with Cheese is available as a backup plan.   B)
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • wps456
    wps456 Posts: 107
    Love the pics, bringing back memories! There may not be a more beautiful country on the planet than Ecuador. I flew into Quito (bout 10 or 12 years ago), then down to Loja then about a 5 hour bus ride and did mission work along the Nangaritza River near the Peru border. We worked with the Shuar (sp?), they are famous for being the "head shrinkers".
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,943
    I started at the top, and read through this thread from the beginning. Thanks for the updates. Sounds like y'all are having a wonderful time (again!).

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 15,265
    McBrasil, McEcuador, McArgentina

    So many choices, I wish I could see what’s on them.
    Love you bro!
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  • Elijah
    Elijah Posts: 786
     
    Pastries at a McDonald's in Italy 
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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    Love it. Thanks for sharing.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
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  • dbCooper
    dbCooper Posts: 2,452
    Lunch today from these fine folks from Peru, one of the vendors down for the arts festival.  Pork done right...
    Another vendor, this is from yesterday, no purchase as we had eaten recently.  "Chicken to the left of me, Cuy to the right, stuck in middle again". :)

    LBGE, LBGE-PTR, 22" Weber, Coleman 413G
    Great Plains, USA
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