Sea-foodie Heaven Part II

Ken's favorite dinner was at Mama Rosa's in Manta (Playa Murcielago area) - he had the swordfish, grilled. Yes, that was one delicious piece of fish. He let me have a bite or two:

Very buttery, garlic seasoning, it was YUMMY. Whole swordfish meal, about $8.

I had the 'sweaty' (steamed) swordfish with grapefruit. It was very good, but Ken is right, his was better.

We walked to Mama Rosa's from our hotel just a few blocks down the same street (Flavio Reyes), and even though it was dark (the horrors!) we were just fine. There was a security guy outside one of the buildings on the street, and even our hotel had a security guy at the door. Saturday night in Manta, whoo!

Anyhow, we arrived at the restaurant, and were greeted very warmly by our server, who said we could sit wherever we wanted. We picked a table with a birds-eye view of the entry, and also to take advantage of the breeze. Nice atmosphere, a tad dark for my old eyes but we managed just fine....hey, I got the sweaty swordfish, right?

The server took our drink orders, and almost immediately brought us a champagne glass with a sparkling cocktail - how sweet! It was gratis, and that set the mood for some fun:

Me after a glass or three of wine.....

Fantastic fresh meal, highly recommend Mama Rosa's, not for the Italian food, but for the fish. Service was spot-on, nice bar area, pretty decor, has a note of elegance, enjoyable music. Would be a great place for a big celebration or a quiet romantic dinner.


MY favorite dinner: Rocka's in Salinas. I know, I know, it isn't seafood, but wow, the meats have this wonderful smoky flavor, and it was a nice change from ceviche and fish, which of course I could eat (and did eat) every day. They are located on a side street, ask a local and they can point the way, or better yet, follow your nose. I'm serious!

Really really (really) good grilling skills these guys have:

Grill master on the right, he was so nice and explained each item

Pappas y Carne pictured above, smothered in queso, below is the mixed grill of chorizo, beef and chicken with two dipping sauces.

 The potato is so freaking good!!!!

 Ken's chuleta - thin piece of pork grilled to perfection, he liked the chimichurri type sauceThe corn - ahhh, sweet and I could eat several!

 Above left - chuleta on the grill, right, the grill master's assistant

Plaintains with queso - the one thing we didn't try!

Food was kept under wraps - nice touch!

Rocka is only open for dinner, the restaurant is open for lunch but not the grill. Go for the grill!! When we arrived, it was a Friday night, and the evening was young. Maybe around 7. Disco and 80s music playing, I was 'chair' dancing and the gals by us started giggling. Hmmm. Well then they started moving a bit, the music was fun, and you HAD to dance to it! And....it was in English. The place started filling up and filling up quickly, with locals. Plenty of families, young couples, and the atmosphere was fun and friendly.

Rocka is a bit different from most places. It is outside, and the grill and caja (cashier) are on opposite sides, with the tables all in between. Snag a table, then go to the cashier and place your order and pay. Take your receipt to your table, and the server will go to the grill and get your food. Service is super quick, and we placed several orders, wanting to try many things. Their homemade aji sauce had a nice kick to it, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but their chimichurri sauce was super yummy! 

They have a reputation of running out of food (because they are so popular), so I am glad we were able to try most items - I think we tried too much because we were SO FULL!! And, our dinner was around $11 for two of us, including our drinks (beer, soda). Very affordable. We slowly made our way back to the hotel, hoping the long walk would help digest the enormous amount of food we consumed! We WILL go back.

Hasta luego, chao chao, and all the good stuff,

Tami

Reservations, smeshervations...

As soon as we stepped foot back on US soil, Ken and I were already planning our next trip to Ecaudor. Flights were booked and confirmed, AND paid for before the end of 2011. Did I say PAID for? Yep. So imagine my surprise....

I had this nagging thought late one night - did I have seat assignments done on both flights? Hmmmm. I'm pretty sure I did that way back in December. I checked the printed out itinerary, and yes, I had. Nice. Now go back to sleep, Tami.

The next day went on as usual, but when I got home that evening, I still had this weird feeling I had better check our flights. Went online and typed in our reservation code. What???? Arriving in Quito? What???? Oh, there's Guayaquil, but what the heck - arriving late at night? What happened to arriving in the late morning? I was having a come-apart as they say in the South. Ken!!!!!!! He got on the phone with LAN, and of course there was 'nothing we can do, sorry."

For those of you reading this that have not yet traveled to Ecuador, or Latin American country, let me explain why this arrival time was so bothersome.

Reason #1 Traveling at night is a dangerous sport. I would rather go rock climbing and I am terrified of heights. Not only do busses get robbed at night, those drivers have a tendency, uh, to have a drink or three before their shift. They also have to dodge cows, pigs, rockslides, and all this on unlighted streets. So no thank you. I will travel during the day, and take pictures of the livestock roaming the streets.

Reason #2
We now have to spend the night in Guayaquil. More $$$ down the drain. This is really the pet peeve of mine. We do have reservations at Hotel Murali just a few blocks from the airport. So taking a taxi from the cooperative (taxi line at the airport) to the hotel will be fine, as we know where this hotel is, and if it were daytime we could walk, but alas....

Not everything is sour news though. Crap happens, it was just bothersome that the airline didn't notify us!! Glad we had time to make adjustments in our schedule. I cannot wait to embark on this journey, every step we take is one step closer to realizing our dream.

Our Route:
Our trip is extended by 1 day because of the flight mess. We are traveling up the coast from Guayaquil to Manta to Bahia, and back down to Puerto Lopez, possibly Montanita to visit friends, and then to Salinas for one night, and then back to Guayaquil. All of our travels will be by bus or taxi. We need to know if we can get by without a car, and this will also help our Spanish. Which sucks rocks, btw!

We have reservations at Hotel Murali, and from what I hear it will be a good experience. An expat friend recommended it, so glad she did, because I didn't want to take a taxi across town late at night. They will feed us breakfast the next morning, and we can then take our bags and walk to the bus terminal if the weather is nice outside. Off to the coast we go....

We are taking the executive bus (who knows which one, we will figure that out once at the Terminal Terrestre). We don't yet have reservations, but there are plenty of hotels in Manta, we will figure something out....living on the edge, love it (LOL)

I am very excited about the Bahia part of our trip, we will be staying in a nice B&B called Casa Grande. One of the expats made the reservations for us, which was such a help. I can't wait to dine at Puerto Amistad, the owner and chef is also from Alabama, and I look forward to hearing about his experiences living in Bahia. That, and enjoying fresh seafood and good wine.

We also have reservations at Hostel Mandala in Puerto Lopez., which is south of Manta. We will be there for two nights enjoying the beach. This will be the relaxing part of our adventure. In their pictures I noticed the mosquito netting over the bed. So no air conditioning, which is just fine by us, it will remind me of the Banana Azul in Costa Rica.

On our last night in Ecuador, we will be hanging out at Will's - Hostal Aqui, and enjoying the great food and friendship at Score Sports Bar. Wendy and I have a bottle of wine we need to consume! Oh, and their margaritas.....

The other nights we haven't planned out, we will fill in those blanks when the time comes.

Only a few more weeks.....getting super excited!!

Cheers, Tami

Booked for May but Ready Today!

Ken and I usually give each other gifts for Christmas that are useful - like our flat screen TV we've had for 3-4 years, our backyard 'wall' project, and our trips overseas. We are fairly practical people, and it just makes sense to spend our money on things that we both enjoy, instead of a bunch of knickknacks, just for the sake of 'giving gifts.'


One of the first things we decided upon our return from Ecuador...we wanted to return TO Ecuador. As soon as possible. So this year our Christmas present to each other is a trip to Ecuador! And.....drumroll..... our flights are booked for May 2012. This will be our 'let's look at the details' and also get a feel for areas of the coast we didn't get a  chance to check out so diligently as we did Salinas. Ya never know, we might decide the humidity and large bugs are to our liking (don't think so). 


Speaking of large bugs, last night my dear husband and 17 year old son Alec decided to have some fun with me and his 'friend-that-isn't-a-girlfriend' - yet. Ken brought out the big boys - these stupid large plastic roaches that look like the real deal. Complete with antennae and legs, and....they look real. Take my word for it. They are freaky looking, large things that, well, freak me out. Yes, I screamed like a little girl. Alec's 'friend' was more woman than me, she held her own, until they put one on her shoulder that is....


Anyhow, I really don't care for the gigantic cockroaches, the kind they have in Florida and most tropical places. I can deal with regular bugs, but those things give me the heebee-geebees. They jump at you, not away from you. Ugh.  So, for me, I think the Salinas area, with its dry desert-like dry (some say ugly/barren) terrain, fits me just fine. It has the ocean. It has sand and a few palm trees. I can live with that.

Fun Place for Expats

Many hours of research, and I mean many, many hours, went into the planning of our scouting trip to Ecuador. After lurking on many forums, yes, lurking, I started posting, asking various questions, from car rental to a fun place to hang out, to...well, everything. As a result of those many hours of research, we decided to focus on Salinas up to Montanita. Okay, so if you have read other posts on my blog, you already know this. 


But what you don't know: on several expat forums, people were talking about a fun hangout called Will's Place (the local expats all know it by that name), or Hostal Aqui/Score Sports Bar. We were invited through several of the forums to come by on July 4th for Will's 2nd Annual 4th of July party complete with a pig roast and fireworks on the beach. We thought, why not? Sounds like a blast. Might be nice to meet other Norte Americanos that have made Salinas their home, we can see what our future neighbors are like, not to mention ordering food without embarrassing ourselves with our very childlike Spanish!

Since we were traveling with my 17 yr old son Alec, and he is a sports nut and of course loves a good hamburger, why not pay them a visit? 


We were always greeted in a very friendly manner -

Our first night, after a really long day traveling from Guayaquil, we stopped by Will's Place and enjoyed a great meal, and I had a few margaritas :)

Kid's happy, everyone is happy...

It was full when I got it. Yes, it had jalapenos in it!

Wendy makes these awesome toasted ravioli - It was very filling and I will have this dish again on our return visit:

A few pics from their 4th of July party - 

chatting with Kimberly and Hector

They had a nice crowd, everyone brought a dish to share, and the roasted pig, mercy it was yummy!

Alec posting on Facebook how he is a party animal in Ecuador

Showing his Patriotism 

HUGE fireworks display on the beach. What a blast!

Bi-lingual staff, great food, cold drinks and furry friends to put a smile on your face - 
















Cheers,
Tami

Chowing Down in Coastal Ecuador - Part II

Food shopping in Ecuador is interesting. Supermaxi is just like our Publix or Kroger, although the location of some items is just plain strange. Yogurt comes in a bottle not little cups. And milk comes in a box, not a jug. And eggs are on a shelf. Not a refrigerated shelf. Okaaay then. On to the pics:

Even the kiddo had fun shopping

My milk in a box. Water in a bottle. And coffee in a jar :)

 Wash your veggies with this:

HiperMarket is similar to Super Walmart, they have everything there, and my husband and son lived for their fresh baked Pan de Pina (pineapple bread/roll), and other tasty goodies. The gals at the bakery counter recognized Ken after a few days, since he went there almost every morning! 

Gerardo Pinoagrote invited us to go with him to the LaLibertad Mercado - the best days to go according to Gerardo: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. If you are visiting the area or are new, please ask someone to take you to this market. It is well worth the visit! Gerardo took us to the vendors he uses, gave us great tips about buying, told us about preparing various fruits/veggies, who or what to avoid, etc. It was a wonderful morning!!

Chicken is sold with feet attached. I hear Star (from the YES Effect blog) loves chicken feet!

Plenty of grains/rice/beans:

Soda anyone?

Lots of fruits and veggies!

Shrimp purchased, 1 pound for $4.(we were so engrossed in the fresh seafood area we forgot to take pics-trust me, they had everything you could think of!) 

Here are pics of the fresh beef:

And herbs and spices galore:

Tumeric I think?

Our bounty:

The 4 tomatoes, 3 bell peppers, and 3 onions cost $1 total. The cilantro was 25 cents. Cucumber 25 cents. Pretty awesome huh!


So even though processed foods are very expensive, fresh produce and meat can be had for very little money. I am looking forward to my next visit! Who wants to join me?


Tami