Chowing Down in Coastal Ecuador-Part I

The first step is to admit it. Fine. I am a foodie. Love. Food. Must.Try. Everything. Preferably with wine.  

My grandmother was an amazing cook. She didn't measure. She just knew. Obviously she was not a baker! My father - same way. By the time I was 12, I was whipping up some pretty decent meals for our large family. And I have passed along our family's culinary (and wine) appreciation to my oldest son-23, who graduated from culinary arts (JWU-Denver) and is now a chef in VA, moving soon to Chicago. 

So I can't help it. The foodie in me is in my genes.

Whenever we go on vacation, I always take pictures of our food, much to the amusement of my husband. Ken isn't picky about his food - he just prefers that it be cooked. That's about it. Me, on the other hand, well....let's just say I will analyze the dish. I am yammering away about the presentation, the colors, the smells, the flavors, all the while my adorable husband is patiently looking at me, smiling in between his bites, and pretty much mumbling 'Yes, Dear.' He could care less whether or not the plate has pretty little garnishes. The poor guy just wants to eat.My son enjoys taking pics of foods he's eating to prove that he did, indeed, just eat that!

Alec and Ken chowing down at lunch - Hotel Caridi

Here's the low-down, complete with pics (surprise!) on a few of our culinary adventures while in Salinas:

Herminia's - on the Malecon. Ken and I stopped in for a quick bite sans Alec and when Alec saw the pic of Ken's dish, he wanted to visit the restaurant, so a few days later we went again. Very humble surroundings, we sat outside both times, people watching is so fun! 

First visit I ate the octopus ceviche. Served with rice and plantains and on our 2nd visit I had the pescado ceviche, both excellent. Very fresh tasting, tender meat, flavorful and not overly acidic. Different styles, the fish having more ingredients, and a slightly spicier tang from the peppers.

Ken had the arroz con pollo our first visit. Alec had it on our 2nd visit. Can you tell the difference between Ken's dish and Alec's? We know the Ecuadorians love kids...the "mom" must have thought my son needed some 'extra' since he was a growing boy - and the 'extra pollo' was gratis! Alec ordered a batidos pina con leche and it was delicious. He let me have a sip :) 

RaPaNui - on the Malecon next to the Doral Bldg. Great little outdoor area, and the service was excellent. I enjoyed a fresh mojito that was not too sweet thank goodness, and we all enjoyed a nice lunch. Ken and I had the almuerzo and Alec snacked on a pizza, in addition to trying some of our caught-that-morning fish. 

 The soup looked thin, but it was filled with goodies, and very delicious!

The portion of fish missing was eaten by my kid, who actually liked it. Here's a pic to prove he ate some fish:

There ya go Alec, take a bite! You'll like it!

Cheers,

Tami

Surf's Up

Waves. Love the sound. Love watching them crash against the shore with intent, draw away and come back to shore, again, with more purpose and drive, as to prove a point. The point is, to me, gorgeous. Calming and exhilarating all at the same time. Not to mention breathing in the salty air, smelling the ocean, toes in the sand...you get my drift.

Surf in Montanita - tide was out, small waves

A while back I had the pleasure of living in California, Moorpark/Thousand Oaks area in Ventura County. LOVED IT. My kids loved it. We loaded up the Jeep with our boards and set through the canyon road to Malibu, at least several times a week. My younger son Alec loves the water, but he was rather young when we left CA for Alabama, so he didn't get as much time "on the board." So this trip he had the opportunity to surf in Montanita - boy he was excited!



So while we were in Ecuador, we took a day trip to Montanita. What fun! Cows in the road (seriously, more on driving and roads in a later post), and those speed bumps. Freaking 2 stories high my husband says! Almost took out the undercarriage of our little egg car (Chevy Spark). But I digress....



We park the rental car, talk on the phone with Leigh from Olon, unfortunately they can't meet up with us, but she gives us great referrals in Montanita - where to eat, where to go for surf lessons, etc. We head over to Montani Tours and Leslie hooks up Alec with a 2 hour surf lesson for $20. Really? Sweet!! That includes board and a nice rash guard to use. 

Since we have several hours to kill, we roam the streets of Montanita and for those of you who enjoy people watching, this is manna. We hang out at the beach. More people watching!

Bought a few things - we communicated in what is called Spanglish, haha

Inexpensive jewelry, lots of um, herbal stuff and accessories to go with, yeah, that's a nice description, and they have public bathrooms and showers! THAT'S a rare sight! And they were decent, too!

 Time for the lesson - pics tell it all:

 His instructor is to the right. Nice guy. Didn't speak much English but Alec understood most of what he was saying.

Looks like a strategy session.






















Heading into the water....

That's a big board ya got there Alec!

Almost.....

And he's up!

 Needless to say, we enjoyed watching him tackle the waves, albeit from the comfort of our beach chairs. I remember my surfing days.....ahhh, to be young again. 

Tami

Celebration Time...Come on!

Bet you have that song in your head now, right? When I first started this blog, I mentioned that I wanted to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. But I also wrote that according to many who live in Ecuador, I could very well wake up to a parade or some kind of celebration.

Our very first night in Salinas, we were at Score Sports Bar, chatting up Will and Wendy and Deana and enjoying our first meal in Ecuador. Since we were traveling with my son Alec, 17 yrs, and this being his very first trip overseas, we decided to go easy on him and let him get his fill of hamburger and fries. The kid survived the driving from Guayaquil to Salinas in our 'egg car', so some reward was in order.

Chowing down

 Horns honking are nothing new. Many drivers around the world use their horns to announce all sorts of things: get out of my freaking way, I'm here, I'm there, hey how ya doing, need a ride?, I really want to give you a ride, etc. Ecuador is no different.  But the horn honking we were now hearing was a tad, um, persistent. And loud. And then we saw the trucks loaded with people in the back,and cars with streamers and balloons hanging everywhere, and more trucks filled to the brim with kids whooping it up. And then the buses with everyone, and I mean everyone, hanging out the windows and screaming. And we did what anyone else in our situation would...we waved. Oh mercy, that got 'em started. They loved it! Their whooping and hollering got even louder. (how was THAT possible?)


And then - I still get giggles when I think about this - a truck came by, with a full band in the back. And they were playing. Sounded pretty good. So a few more minutes of buses, cars, trucks filled with kids in the back and more whooping and hollering....oh, the celebration? Local college celebrating 35 years - at least that is what we could decipher from the posters and signs on the vehicles.


This is a Saturday night after all, so why not celebrate something? We head back to our condo, which is a few miles away from the Salinas Malecon, closer to Muey and LaLibertad, and settle in for the evening.


BAM, BAM, BAM! I wake up to crazy fireworks. Seriously wild, crazy fireworks. Maybe a few shots fired as well. The kids must still be having a grand ol' time! It is at that moment I am glad we are staying just outside of party central.  Eventually I go back to my slumber, all the recent traveling has worn me out...


Hasta Luego,
Tami

Flying Times

Back in the day flying used to be fun. Something to look forward to, a treat. Now, it is anything but enjoyable. Very few airlines make an effort to be pleasant, the seats are so small, no food or movies to help occupy the time, unless you want to pay through the nose....

And I haven't even gotten to the security nonsense we American citizens, and those who dare to pass through our borders, have to endure.

We arrived in Miami super early for our 8:30 am flight to Guayaquil. Getting through the security line was easy, no long lines at 6 in the morning, international terminal. Went through the full body scanner, it was working, not happy but then again do I want a thrill of a grope session, or someone looking at my boobs and crotch on a screen? Hmmmm.

I decided to live with the anonymous person looking at my bod instead of the hands-on approach. 


Our group of 3 were in and out in a matter of minutes. So far so good!


LAN Ecuador gate - they let us board a tad early because my back was hurting. Flight attendants even came by to check on me, and one offered a little something something....how sweet :)


Flight was awesome. Smooth as silk, food was pretty decent! Headsets free of charge, movies, games, music available. All in all, a very non-eventful event.

Customs in Ecuador - they like gringos. And gringas with blondish hair, hehehe. We had ZERO problems, no questions asked. The only people with luggage splayed out were Ecuadorians or those who looked the part.


Returning to the US - this is the fun stuff!!
We had some serious excitement (lots of nail-biting and praying) just driving into the city and making it TO the airport to drop off our car at Budget, getting a taxi to the Malecon and THEN getting a taxi back to the airport.

Uh oh, there's a space available.....

Now there isn't!

And more cars have filled in whatever space WAS there...

Already out past the safe gringo curfew (LOL) we decided we had taken enough of a chance getting into a taxi in downtown Guayaquil after dark and so getting to the airport 4 hours before our flight wasn't that bad after all. Good time to catch up on reading, free wi-fi for the kid and his Facebook, and an opportunity for me to have a drink, or three.

Standing in line at the LAN counter for 1 hour prior to getting our luggage checked was a nice lesson in patience. Oh, we were 3rd in line. I am NOT JOKING.  Another tip: people will sneak in front of you if you are not paying attention. How do I know this? A few tried. Only 2 guys succeeded, but that was because they knew the group in front of us. So I don't really count that. The others weren't so lucky. Girlfriend here had her eyes open, looked at them square, and made it perfectly clear it wasn't gonna happen on my watch. Hahahaha....evil laugh. 


Security - leave your shoes on. Bracelets too. Take the coins out of your pockets, guys. Ken left some change in his pocket, but the security guy just laughed, waved his wand, and waved Ken right on through. How nice. No groping, no checking out if we had bombs in our panties or boxers, overall a very pleasant experience. Wait a minute! They let me take my full bottle of Coke Zero, a Te (tea) drink, and a bottle of water! Didn't we just go through security??? This must be a dream from decades back....I think I need a drink.



Terminal: a bar filled with smoke (anyone been to Atlanta and seen those people crammed into the smoker's room? yep, same thing but here they are drinking while smoking). I go in and ask the gal at the counter if I could have the 'quesadilla special' that includes a cervesa - and could I get that 'to go?' With the assistance of a very nice gentleman translating, she said sure, and I promptly walked out of the smoke filled bar and into the terminal carrying my two beers. My kid got the special too, but he is too young to drink! Oh, well, someone has to drink it.

There I sat, with my handsome hubs on one side of me, enjoying his empanada, and my handsome 17yr old son on the other, checking out his Facebook page, eating a quesadilla, and me, in the middle. Enjoying beer. IN PUBLIC VIEW. Horrors! I am such a bad example according to US laws. Oh yeah, that's right: I am in Ecuador. If only for a few more hours.


And then as we board the plane: yep, the long and strong arm of the US is ever present and wielding it's power. Our carry-ons are opened and checked. We are patted down, albeit a light "I don't really want to do this but I have to" kind of thing, and we are on board. We are welcomed with headsets, pillows and blankets in every seat, and ...oh, eye masks and ear plugs! I remember those! And the pleasant yet sad journey home has begun. Sweetened with a snack of lasagne, cake, and unlimited wine. 

Welcome home to the USA. Long custom's lines, and yes we had the special invitation to go to inspection room 15 and have all our luggage, including carry-ons and purse, screened. Again. I feel so special!


:D



 

Time Flies when you are having FUN!

What a week! Hanging out at the beach, vendors bringing you everything from cerveza, cocunuts, jugo, empanadas (YUM! - warm with sugar, queso inside) and of course the requisite jewelry, sunglasses, DVD's, ice cream, etc. Gorgeous weather, not reliable internet, great food, no one is sick or has been sick (we have one more day!), and the kid even went surfing in Montanita. We survived the weed wafting through the streets, haha.

Upon our return to the states, I will organize some nice postings about our adventures in Ecuador. Cows on the road, goats too. Ceviche galore, learning to speak Spanish, more importantly learning what they are saying back!!!!

Fabulous restaurants - not anything remotely what we are used to - no fancy white tablecloths and fancy decor - no, these places are, well....wait for the pictures and the posts. I promise you won't be disappointed and they are well worth the wait!

Right now we are at Score Sports Bar in Hostal Aqui, owned by Will, who is originally from Kentucky - and he threw this amazing 4th of July party, complete with crazy military grade fireworks. Even the Mayor of Salinas showed up. Thank goodness, cause the policia did show up. Details later! Food is awesome and my 17 year old LOVES their hamburgers. He has been adventurous, trying fish and all, and I am so proud of him, but he has a fondness for American food.  Again, more on the food later....

Wish us luck as we try and navigate our way back to Guyaquil. We made it fine to Salinas - there are no written directions, only a Spanish speaking (no habla Englais, lo siento) gentleman who did a fantastic job of telling us the way, and WE did an amazing job (it took all 3 of us remind you!) to listen carefully and we took all the correct turns. Not easy, but what is? So now we have to remember how to get back, haha.

Loving life, having a great time!

Hasta Luego,

Tami y Ken y Alec