Tuesday, Jul 5 , 2016
Our internet guy was a no show today. After he was an hour late I Whatsapp’ed him but he never read it. I received no communication from him the entire day. Our landlord is also switching over to Puntonet, and called him as well…no answer, no call back. Curious. Hopefully tomorrow I will here from the dude.
Heidi and I met Pam and Eddy for lunch at an Italian restaurant. We had the lunch special which was an Italian twist on the Ecuadorian almuerzo. It came with juice, soup, a main plate, and dessert, but the main plate was meat filled ravioli. It was really good.
Afterwards we went walking with Pam and Eddy for a couple of hours around a part of town closer to us, and not in El Centro. Today was a sun filled day which is almost the first decent walking around day we have had in weeks. They showed us all their favorite restaurants, coffee shops, banks, and shops in that area.
In Ecuador so many restaurants and shops seem hidden and do not have great signage. Many commercial businesses are actually part of a home and can be tucked away right in the middle of a neighborhood. There is no rhyme or reason where any business is located. It is definitely not like the US with strip malls everywhere, and everything you need in them.
The trick and challenge are to learn where things are, and the only way to know that is get out and walk the neighborhoods to see what they contain. It was a lot of fun actually. We found one store that had washable, material bath mats, a whole bunch to choose from at reasonable prices. It’s the little things that cause you to jump up and down with excitement here.
We also passed an indigenous woman selling fruit in her wheelbarrow. She had Chirimoya which is a fruit we have been wanting to try. It has a green skin with a black scalloped design and is about the size of a softball. Inside it has a creamy flesh which many people scoop out and eat. Because of its flesh it is described as a custard apple, but the flavor is like a mix of banana, pineapple, papaya, peach, and strawberry.
Pam says it needs to be mixed in the blender with OJ or it doesn’t taste good. We will try it as a stand alone and decide from there. The large brown seeds inside it are definitely off limits. I guess they contain a neurotoxin and are poisonous if crushed open. I feel bad for the first few people who found this out.
Heidi continues to perfect her bread baking abilities in the high altitude of the Andes. She made this loaf of jalapeno cheese bread and it tastes great! Wish you were here to try it.
Chau
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