Se Vende = For Sale
The town is mostly made up of indigenous people, and is in the Imbabura province, about 95 km NE of Quito. It's known for it's fabulous Saturday market; and since we might have to work most Saturdays, it seemed an appropriate first excursion
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The People, The MarketThe people were generally 4 to 5 feet tall, with younger people being taller. Maybe the altitude caused that? Less oxygen might favor littler bodies. The market was extensive, too big for us to walk all of it, especially considering the high risk of sensory overload.
Autobús
We had a pretty easy time with buses, but the fare was inconsistent. On the way there, it was 4.60 from the station, and on the way back it was 2.00 from the station. We had to make a pit-stop part way coming home, and the next bus we flagged down took us to Quito for .25. Many people caught the bus from the side of the road, and since they run fairly frequently, that is a pretty efficient way of doing it. Our first two buses had movies playing, and the last television seemed to be out of order. Comfortable seats, too(but the later you board, the more likely that you will have to stand).
Hotel/HostelWe stayed at two different places, the first a hotel. The second a hostel. We had our first non-electric shower. The water pressure and temperature was consistent, which was something new for us. The second place was pretty fancy(albeit inexpensive), with a beautiful garden and hammocks throughout the courtyard.
Chicken Foot SoupChicken foot soup is considered a delicacy, I gave mine to Bert anyway. Clearly, it tried to escape his clutches by heaving itself out of the bowl... but was too slow.
ParadeWe managed to catch a parade while we were there. It literally began with the paraders pouring out of one of the church doors. Bert uploaded a video he took of the parade here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbYPT33svUc
This guy was walking around growling at people, one scary clown!
Cheap Food!This meal cost us 2.60, and came with a 12 ounce soda.
Fin.
What is the food on the plate? The chicken foot thing is popular through out South America according to the "Bizarre Food" show on TV.
ReplyDeleteMaybe lack of NFL size is altitude but also diet, not enough proteins and fats to get big, of course not everyone would see that as a value. The Ethiopians/Kenyans are small live at altitude, as are the Sher-pa's in the Himalaya's. Maybe with your heart and lungs working so hard you don't put on fat, boy I ought to move there!!
Are you guys going to be teaching on Saturdays? What days will you have off?
I miss you!!!
Yay an update I was waiting for one & w/ so many pictues, I'm having a bit of sensory overload myself. i think that cactus/flower looks awsome, does it have juices like aloe or something bizarre looking. I couldn't tell what was for sale was it just the cement wall??? Anyway miss you guys much should let me know when you get a skype account, if you plan to use g-mail, or if you can still do it.
ReplyDeleteDad- eileens plate is the one pictured, it had shrimp, chicken, pork, veggies and egg noodles, mine was just as big but had half a chicken, rice with shrimp, chicken, and pork mixed in. It was far too much for any one person to eat, but we tried! I'm pretty sure it was this meal that did a number on my stomache, resulting in a sprint from the bus short of our destination, luckily we were passing through a small town and found a place with facilities.
ReplyDeleteCheese- not sure what was for sale there, probably just the empty lot. Probably going to be setting up a skype account soon. More pictures coming soon, Eileen took 176 pictures yesterday, there is so much to photograph here it's a little overwhelming. We miss you too.
Cheese- So I opened up a leaf from the cactus/flower and inside was a membrane that broke apart like foam along with a lot of moisture. I need to read up on the plants here... there are so many that I haven't found any info on that one yet.
ReplyDeleteI think the lot behind the wall was for sale, but tried to make it look like the whole mountain was. :). Will definitely update you on the skype. I miss you too!
BigBert - We've noticed our appetites waning here- and attribute it to both the altitude and the heat. There are not a lot of fat people here... and Bert and I are both loosing weight. We're not sure of our schedule yet, but will let you know when it's confirmed.
Bert- I think you might have felt better after the meal if you hadn't eaten your entire plate plus all my meat! ;)