Yesterday, I accidentally attended a discussion about oil in the rainforest and totally misunderstood what I was seeing.
Ecuador
Salchipapas, Lauren Style
You’ll find Salchipapas on children’s menus, and as a bar snack, all over Ecuador (and Peru). There’s even a salchipapas stand on my street most nights! So what is it? French fries with sausage. Served with ketchup, mayonnaise, and/or a homemade salsa of tomatoes and red onions. It looks...
Eating like an Ecuadoran
Craig is on his way back to the States. He joked that when he gets to the office he’s going to hand someone $3 and ask them to get him some lunch… with soup, a steak, rice, fresh-squeezed juice, and dessert. I just splurged on a $4 lunch that...
Cotopaxi
My favorite hostel in the entire world is The Secret Garden hostel at the Cotopaxi Volcano about two hours from Quito, Ecuador. There is a Secret Garden in Quito as well, and transport between the two is the most direct and affordable way to get to Cotopaxi. Just call the...
The Amazon Rainforest
Tarantulas, shaman, anaconda, monkeys… the Jamu Lodge in the Amazon rainforest provided a fantastic adventure for Craig and I on his birthday. But complex issues surround the rainforest and its people. The people were given land here before Cuyabeno became a wildlife preserve: the result is that the indigenous...
Otavalo Market & Peguche Waterfall
The town of Otavalo sits about two hours north of Quito. It’s a Kichwa (local indigenous native) community, famous for handcrafts like weaving, sculpture and embroidery. People come from all over for the market, especially on Saturdays. There’s also some great hiking in the area, including volcanos, lakes —...
Rare Birds and Austrian Chicks
Guest post by Craig Smith It’s not everyday that you get to climb an active volcano, unless you live in Quito Ecuador. Just to the west of the city is Pichincha which last erupted in 1999 covering the city in 2cm (about an inch) of volcanic dust. Here is what...
Quick Contest!
Craig and I stopped by the little bodega at the bottom of the hill for a few supplies for tomorrow’s hike. Can you guess the total we paid for the items pictured? Two large bottles of water, two bananas, four mandarin oranges, and six eggs. If your guess...
Touch the sky
People of Quito
Quito’s historic district is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, nestled in the mountains of Ecuador. But the true treasure of Quito is the people. Wildly entrepreneurial, they operate a thousand tiny mom-and-pop (or often mom-and-kids) shops and restaurants in every corner of the city. Can’t afford a tiny storefront?...