We have dined in many restaurants in the last eight months...succulent, impossibly juicy steaks in Buenos Aires, fresh ceviche in Peru - made with fish caught mere hours before - so spicy it nearly made me cry. Chicken and rice in Bolivia every day! But the true taste of South America is to be found on the streets. In every village, and every city, in every country on the continent, on most streets, the evening brings out ladies with grills, fryers, barbeques or juicers, and they cook and sell their delicious food to hungry customers.
In Bolivia, 60 pence gets you a home made hamburger with fries, made by my friend the Burger Lady. I visited her every night I was in La Paz. In Peru, skewers of cow's heart, surprisingly tender, sizzle away as a crowd of people salivate. In Chile, they spoon unhealthy amounts of guacamole on your hot dog. In Argentina, choripan - chorizo hot dog with chimichurri - is the order of the day. In Huanchaco we ate street food practically every day. Walking down the beach to the pier where the ladies with their carts congregate became a ritual in our lazy beach days. Everything was fried. Except the corn. Chips, chicken, strange things made from pumpkin drizzled with fig honey. A full menu on the pavement. As you wait for your food you chat with your chef, and, more often than not, as you sit on the kerb, munching away, when you finish you go back for more. This is true dining.
Saturday 7 May 2011
Impressions Of Ecuador
We got stuck in Huanchaco. After trekking in Huaraz, we decided to relax on the beach for a few days before heading north to Ecuador. But, as they say, The best laid laid plans oft go awry. One or two days revisiting the sleepy fishing village, lounging on the beach, eating fresh fruit, drinking rum punch and hanging around with our old friend Veronica and our new friend Edgar turned into a week of eating fresh fruit and drinking rum punch and swinging in hammocks. Then two weeks had passed by. Then, our anniversary approached, so we might as well stay a few more days, and celebrate one year of wedded bliss (and the nuptials of our future King) somewhere we know and like. So, a two day detour turned into a three week vacation.
Sadly, staying in Huanchaco for so long meant we had to make up time by speeding through Ecuador, to spend our last few days in Colombia, on the Carribean coast. You can't see it all! So, we spent three days in the country in the middle of the world, mostly seeing said country through bus windows. But, even three days in a place can give you a sketch, a flimsy impression, of what that place is like. And these are my impressions of Ecuador:
Chicken. South Americans are fond of their poultry, but Ecuadorians LOVE chicken. Our feathered friends have no chance of survival here! Every street, every corner has a restaurant (I use that word loosely) selling chicken. KFC is ubiquitous, and you can even get chicken, rice and beans in KFC, but asides from that there are thousands of other chicken outlets. some examples: Senor Pollo (Mr. Chicken), Mas que Pollo (More Than Chicken), Super Pollo (super chicken), Mundo de Pollo (world of chicken), and so on ad nauseam.
Bananas. For hours on a bus in the South of the country, gazing out of the window, banana trees stretch to the horizon, on both sides, the road cutting a swathe through this man made jungle of fruit. A true banana Republic, the scale of which has to be seen to be believed. It is more bizarre because this happens almost as soon as you cross the border with Peru. the North of Peru is a stark, dusty desert, and suddenly Ecuador is a verdant green, fertile paradise.
The Equator. The country takes its name from the invisible line that bisects it, and visiting the Equator, the centre of the world, was a strange experience. Like a child I leapt over the line, that by the Mitad Del Mundo (centre of the world) monument is not invisible. Jumping from one hemisphere to the other, bounding from winter to summer and back again. Silly, but fun!
So, that's what I know about Ecuador. I would have known much more, and had more stories to tell, if I hadn't got stuck in Huanchaco. But, as Edith Piaf sang, je ne regrettais rien!
Sadly, staying in Huanchaco for so long meant we had to make up time by speeding through Ecuador, to spend our last few days in Colombia, on the Carribean coast. You can't see it all! So, we spent three days in the country in the middle of the world, mostly seeing said country through bus windows. But, even three days in a place can give you a sketch, a flimsy impression, of what that place is like. And these are my impressions of Ecuador:
Chicken. South Americans are fond of their poultry, but Ecuadorians LOVE chicken. Our feathered friends have no chance of survival here! Every street, every corner has a restaurant (I use that word loosely) selling chicken. KFC is ubiquitous, and you can even get chicken, rice and beans in KFC, but asides from that there are thousands of other chicken outlets. some examples: Senor Pollo (Mr. Chicken), Mas que Pollo (More Than Chicken), Super Pollo (super chicken), Mundo de Pollo (world of chicken), and so on ad nauseam.
Bananas. For hours on a bus in the South of the country, gazing out of the window, banana trees stretch to the horizon, on both sides, the road cutting a swathe through this man made jungle of fruit. A true banana Republic, the scale of which has to be seen to be believed. It is more bizarre because this happens almost as soon as you cross the border with Peru. the North of Peru is a stark, dusty desert, and suddenly Ecuador is a verdant green, fertile paradise.
The Equator. The country takes its name from the invisible line that bisects it, and visiting the Equator, the centre of the world, was a strange experience. Like a child I leapt over the line, that by the Mitad Del Mundo (centre of the world) monument is not invisible. Jumping from one hemisphere to the other, bounding from winter to summer and back again. Silly, but fun!
So, that's what I know about Ecuador. I would have known much more, and had more stories to tell, if I hadn't got stuck in Huanchaco. But, as Edith Piaf sang, je ne regrettais rien!
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