Dia Deiz en Quito, Ecuador

Up early this morning. Taking a bus tour with the choirs from the choral festival. There are choral groups from Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia and Puerto Rico. We were told the bus would leave at 7:30 "en punto" which means exactly. It is currently 8:15! Remember what I said about time? We are going to a place higher up in the Sierra. Oh boy, I can barely breathe at this elevation. This ought to be interesting.

Well, it's 8:45 and we are finally on our way. drove 2 1/2 hours up and up along a very good 2-4 lane divided highway. A lot of places work was being done and the road was every bit as good as any in the U.S. We made a potty stop outside the city of Cotopaxi in a valley high in the Sierra. Leslie grabbed some TP off the roll we keep in our backpack. You need to keep some with you when you are out and about because many public bathrooms don't have any or charge you a small amount for some. Oh, and it is usually recommended that you throw your used TP into a trash can next to the toilet rather than flush it. The plumbing systems just don't tolerate the paper.

Anyway, Leslie is ready to exit the restroom but finds she couldn't get the door open. Some enterprising members of the tour just kicked in the door and she was rescued.

We continued on through La Ciudad de Latacunga. We continued on into another town where we suddenly pulled over on a side street and out of these little shops stepped girls holding trays of helados (ice cream bars) for 50 cents. There were all sorts of flavors. We each got a multi-flavored, layered one. They were conical shaped with a flat top, with an ice cream bar stick in it and wrapped in a plastic bag. They were made with fresh fruit and milk. Absolutely delicious! It is one of the best ice creams I have ever eaten.

A bit further down the road, near Cotopaxi, we pulled over at an overlook. We exited the bus and had to make a run for it across the four lane highway to get to an overlook. Small groups would dart out into the highway just ahead of oncoming traffic. Laguna de Yambo is a volcano caldera which we could look down into a couple of hundred feet below. Long ago it collapsed and, over time, filled with rain water. It was a stunning view. We could see tiny boats along the shore at one end. Pictures were taken and then everyone made the head-long scamper back across the highway and got back on the bus, happy to still be alive.

We finally arrived at our destination, Ambato, a four hour drive from Quito. We walked across the street from our drop off point and into the beautiful Montavalo Park in the center of town. It is a lovely, relaxing spot in the center of town. One block square, it is filled with flowers, statues standing in fountains, carefully manicured shrubs and plenty of benches for old men to sit and discuss, whatever old men discuss while sitting on park benches.

From there we walked a couple of blocks to El Bosque restaurant where we were served lunch. Our group was so big we had to eat in shifts which meant you had to get seated quickly if you were hungry or you waited for a free table. We found a table for two just adjacent to the bar. A potato cheese soup with a single short rib floating in the middle was served first followed by a plate of smoked chicken, rice, gravy and a too small portion of a delicious salad of tomato, onion, peppers and cilantro. Couldn't figure out what the dressing was, but the salad was the best part of the meal.

We were to meet back in the park in a half hour after we ate. 1 1/2 hours later we were finally walked down to the buses. We took off toward what we we're told was a market, but 10 minutes into the drive the buses pulled over. We waited and waited and finally after about a half hour about a dozen students climbed aboard. We figured they had been left behind and somehow caught up to us. I am surprised we didn't leave folks behind at every stop since no one took account of who was on any of the buses.

Our goal was much, much higher up at a small village called Quisapincha. The road going up was full of hair pin turns with thrilling views back down into the the city of Ambato. There is supposed to be a great market in Quisapincha, but we didn't arrive until 4:00, too late for the market. It turns out we were headed there for a very different reason anyway. The entire town, all 2-3 blocks long sells leather and that is about all you can say about it. If you love leather products this may be a good place for getting them inexpensively. The problem, is we're not much attracted to leather except for our shoes and belts, maybe a purse. These items were supposed to be cheap here and there were cheap items, but not in a style we have any appreciation for. Leslie liked some of the purses but said she doesn't pay that much at home. So, while a few people loaded back on the buses with a new jacket of hat, most bought little souvenir items like coin purses or wallets.

Back down the winding road to Ambato, this time at break-neck speeds, for this evening's concert. Just as we arrived back in Ambato we are pulling over again! At our bus window appears Eugenio pointing and mouthing the word Cuy and pointing in the direction of a row of small hole in the wall restaurants we had just passed. The bus parked, Eugenio climbed in and asked me if I would like to try Cuy? YES! and I followed him off the bus. We walked the 50 yards back towards these little food stalls, but I could smell the roasting meat long before we got there. In a moment we stood in front of an open air BBQ with whole Cuys slowly turning on a spit, their skins a glossy golden brown, looking like a miniature pig, the aroma, Ay, fabuloso!

We all stood around taking photos at first, but then Eugenio started pointing us in the direction of the mujer who was taking orders. "Un plato de cuy, por favor!" I said enthusiastically. The food was prepared with her bare hands. First, she opened a well worn, dented pot that held boiled potatoes. Reaching in she tossed a couple into a bowl, then, with a ladle, poured the cuy sauce (see recipe below) over the potatoes. Finally, she walked over to where the roasted cuys were awaiting their fate, picked up a fat looking one and brought it back to a well worn chopping block. The cuy was quickly chopped into pieces. Eugenio intervened for us and explained that she should give us the shoulder piece which, at least according to him, is apparently the best part. He was right as far as I am concerned. Oh my goodness! The skin was so crisp. Just like roasted pig skin, crispy, crunchy, caramelized, perfection! The meat was dark like dark chicken and it tastes somewhat like it. There wasn't a lot of it, but it deeply delicious and flavorful. If you are coming to Ecuador or Peru seek out a good cuy joint. Leave your ideas of that cute little pet guinea pig at home and indulge your primitive, carnivore side. Order un plato and dig in. As we walked by the cooks I gave them two big thumbs up and cried out, "Bravo!" They laughed and nodded in appreciation.

Arriving back in town we disembarked again and walked the three blocks to the Teatro Lalama, site of the evening's concert. It was a lovely theater, one of those old theaters built in the days of silent film and live traveling shows, whatever vaudeville might have been called out in Ambato, Ecuador. We got seats right in the center of the theater and relaxed waiting for the concert to begin. The choir from Mexico was my favorite. They looked beautiful in their all white costumes and had great voices, but as an ensemble they struggled with being in tune. The local audience loved all the groups and hollered calls for "otro!" (Encore) were heard throughout the theater. A standing ovation was also received by all the choirs at the end.

I was stunned by the behavior of the audience during the concert. Children were allowed to run up and down the aisles, people literally took cell phone calls and phones rang all over the theater. At one point, while a choir was performing, a member of the theater crew walked all the way up the aisle, up the stage stairs and walked across the stage to do god only knows what backstage. People got up and went to the lobby to buy food and then came back in and sat down, often forcing many in a row to stand up for them. Nothing like you would expect in a concert in the U.S.

With then end of the concert we headed back to the same restaurant we'd had lunch in bur dinner this time. This time we had a pork chop with rice, a carrot salad and potatoes followed by bunuelos for dessert, a kind of donut served with a syrup. Finally, onto the bus for the long and uneventful trip home. Most folks slept on the journey home. Good night!

The Ecuadorian National Sauce

Tomate de arbol--blanched, skins removed or purchase premade juice in latin stores
Garlic
Red onion, thinly sliced
Cilantro, chopped Chop or food process all ingredients and combine including tomate de arbol juice.

Cuy Sauce

Saute yellow onions until translucent. Add milk and chopped peanuts and salt and paprika. Whirl in processor.

Sorry I can't be more specific about amounts. These details were given to me by the mother of our host's wife Myriam. Her mother and father were delightful people and wonderful dinner companions when I tasted my cuy. In fact the cuy restaurant was her dad's favorite place!