Iguana Park in Guayaquil, Ecuador

In Lima, Peru there is a large central park in the Miraflores district called Parque Kennedy. In this park lives stray cats. There you can see the cats laying in the grass, cuddling up to people sitting on park benches, kids chasing and playing with the cats. Volunteers feed and care for the cats. In Guayaquil there is a central park called Parque De Las Iguanas. In this park live Iguanas of various sizes. You can see them run around and lounging in trees. They mingle with the pigeons and if you're not careful, you may get pooped on by one up in a tree. Here are some pics for your viewing.

Recipe for " Salsa De Tomate De Arbol "

Empanadas are deep fried or baked pastries filled with meat or cheese. In the local grocery stores you can buy the empanada dough already made. They are flat and all you have to do is fill it with your choice of ingredients and then deep fry or bake till golden brown. I made some with farmers cheese, sliced red onion, salt, pepper and a dash of oregano. I also made meat ones with ground beef, peas, carrots, onions, salt,pepper, and a dash of oregano. They use oregano in a lot of dishes in Ecuador so it is a familiar flavor. Personally, I think what makes the empanada taste good is the salsa that you dredge over it before taking a bite. The best sauce we had was from an empanada place in Cuenca in a little stall near Parque Madre. It's a very popular place and we found them to have the best empanadas in all of the city after taste testing numerous samples. Empanadas are $1.00 and to make it a complete snack or meal you must have it with Morrocho, a warm drink made from corn, milk, cinnamon. Here is a recipe for Tree tomato salsa. You can eat this salsa with anything and make it taste good. I am hoping we can find tree tomatoes or "tamarillo" in the US near our home. If you've never had tree tomato, it is tangy and sweet, grows on a tree and has a very tough skin.

Here are the 6 ingredients to this recipe:

5 or 6 Tree tomatoes peeled
1 bunch of Cilantro
1 large Red Onion sliced
1 Jalapeno or Chili for zip sliced
Salt
A dash of White Vinegar

Stick tomatoes, onion,and pepper in blender and pulse till slightly chunky, add cilantro and blend to chopp. Add salt and a splash of vinegar for taste. Enjoy!

Healthy Food , Exceptional Value- El Nuevo Paraiso

This was another one of our favorite restaurants in Cuenca. It's a vegetarian restaurant locate in Plaza San Blas. The food is so healthy and so cheap!If you are in the Cuenca area for a visit or if you live there, you must check it out. Here's some photos for your viewing:

This is the smoothie menu. Lot's of good stuff!

Can you see how big this yogurt and fruit sundae is? It's a lot bigger than Asher's head. We usually split this between 3 or 4 of us. It is loaded with melon, strawberries, pineapple, mango, papaya, their special yogurt and icecream all for $4.00.

This is one of the menu items for $2.80

Another plate on the menu for $2.80

El Nuevo Paraiso has 4 different locations but the one we went to is located in Plaza San Blas, Calle Bolivar 2-52 Y Manuel Vega.

Or check out their website for more info and photos. www.paraisovegetariano.com

One of our favorite vegetarian restaurants- GOOD AFFINITY

We have a few favorite restaurants that we frequent for "almuerzo", which means lunch in Spanish. Lunch in South America is primarily the largest meal of the day, with a light snack for dinner. Most restaurants have a set price for lunch and a set menu. Typically, lunch is anywhere between $1.50-$3.00. It usually consists of a bowl of soup, fresh squeezed fruit juice, the main plate and sometimes a dessert. One of our favorite places to go for almuerzo is called "Good Affinity" which is a vegetarian restaurant owned by Taiwanese expats. The food is so tasty and healthy and only costs $2.75 for 4 vegetarian sides on your plate, soup and juice or homemade soy milk for $2.75. They also offer noodle and rice dishes,veggie burgers, spring rolls and yogurt parfaits for $1.50-$3.25.

Good Affinity is located on Av. Ordonez and Av. Americas. They are open Mon-Sat 11:00a.m.-3:00p.m.

This noodle dish is loaded with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and carrots. The soup had pasta, cilantro, cabbage, potato,and carrots, along with a glass of homemade soy milk all this for $3.25.

Cheap healthy, hearty, quick meal- QUINOA WITH VEGGIES AND EGGS

This is a quick and healthy meal that costs us about $5.00 in Ecuador to throw together. It's loaded with vegetables and quinoa which is high in protein and fiber , so it fills you up without the fat. This can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

QUINOA WITH RAW OR SAUTEED VEGETABLES AND EGG- SERVES 4
----------------------------------------------
INGREDIENTS:
1 LB. BAG OF QUINOA COOKED TO PACKAGE INSTRUCTIONS(I usually boil 2 cups quinoa with 3 cups water with the lid on the pan)
Season quinoa with salt, pepper, oregano, cumin and crushed garlic cloves.
1 GREEN PEPPER SLICED
1 RED BELL PEPPER SLICED
1 MEDIUM SIZED ONION SLICED
1 LARGE TOMATO
4 TO 6 RED SKIN OR FINGERLING POTATOES BOILED OR BROILED
1 CUP FRESH OR FROZEN COOKED PEAS
1 CUP COOKED CORN
1 BUNCH OF BROCOLLI
TONS OF SPINACH, KALE OR CHARD
4 GARLIC CLOVES CRUSHED THEN CHOPPED
5 SPRIGS OF CILANTRO
2 AVOCADOES
4 Eggs boil or fry; whatever you desire

2 TABLESPOONS OF COOKING OIL

I PREFER TO USE ORGANIC COCONUT OIL AS MY COOKING OIL BECAUSE OF IT'S HEALTH BENEFITS, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S NOT READILY AVAILABLE HERE IN SOUTH AMERICA AND IT COSTS A FORTUNE IF YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON IT. IT WAS SURPRISING BECAUSE YOU WOULD THINK THE CLIMATE WOULD RENDER COCONUTS BUT COCONUTS GROW IN TROPICAL CLIMATES AND SANDY SOIL. YOUR BEST BET WOULD BE EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL TO SAUTE THE VEGGIES, I JUST STARTED USING AVOCADO OIL WHICH IS ANOTHER HEALTHY OIL.

Heat oil in pan and sauté onions till soft, then add garlic.
Add all veggies and sauté for a few minutes and until spinach or greens are tender.
Place quinoa in a bowl, top with cooked or raw veggies, snipped cilantro , sliced avocado and egg.

Serve with hot sauce, salsa or chimchurri if you want to do it South American style.

Hosteria Dos Chorreras

We took a daytrip with a bus full of expats from the United States, all retirees except for us. It was a short 40 minute ride to the beautiful Hosteria Dos Chorreras on the edge of the Cajas National Park. This piece of property was purchased 30 years ago to start a rainbow trout fishing farm. With the inception of the farm came the need for lodging and accomodations. The hosteria has rooms for rent, a restaurant and a store. The property was beautiful and lunch was great. We all had grilled trout from the farm. I am not a fan of farm raised fish, but after seeing the farm and the natural environment, I felt fine with it. This lunch was a bit of splurge for us at around $12 per plate but it was worth it. I only say splurge because a typical lunch in Ecuador runs around $2.00 and that's what we are used to paying. Here's some photos of the picturesque Hosteria Dos Chorreras and here is the link to the website if you'd like to check it out. www.hosteriadoschorreras.com

We go to see the Cuenca Symphony Orchestra for FREE!

Since we have been in Cuenca for 4 weeks now, we have had the pleasure of going to see the Cuenca Symphony 3 times now, for FREE! This is truly a blessing because back home, we have to pay around $50 per person if we want to see our city orchestra perform. With five of us, it adds up and so it has not been a luxury we have been able to indulge in. The performances have been exceptional and we are so grateful to be able to enjoy such a treat. We were really disappointed last week when we arrived to see the performance and the auditorium was completely full and they were not letting anymore people in. Our 3 year old cried because he was really looking forward to going to the symphony. He asked if he could get ice cream to make him feel better. The next performance is next Thursday, we may be able to post a video clip in the near future.

Photos from the central flower market

These long stemmed roses cost $3.00 for 24.

Free architectural walking tour

Cuenca, Ecuador became a Spanish settlement in 1557. The city center is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Trust Site due to it's many historical buildings. The city lies in the sierra of the Andes mountain and sits around 2500 meters above sea level, with four rivers running through the city and mountains on all sides. This geographical position along with it's historical background makes it a wonderful background for some beautiful photographs. The streets and sidewalks downtown are cobblestone or tiled. Every few blocks you may find a plaza with a fountain. Many of the colonial structures have endured with their original craftmanship , some being restored to withstand time. I took a walking photographic tour with my boys as an extra curricular assignment. We walked and snapped anything that was interesting. This was free and it was fun. Here's a few of the photos I took.

Cheap food

Part of saving money when traveling is cooking alot of our meals at home. We do enjoy going out a couple times a week to experience authentic Ecuadorean food, but we also enjoy experimenting with Ecuadorean recipes as well. One of the best things about Ecuador is that it is home to many fruits and vegetables due to the ideal climate. We have been really taking advantage of easy access to locally grown organic fruits and vegetables. There are several "mercado's " in the area that are indoor and sometimes outdoor food markets. Each stall is owned and operated by a separate vendor selling fruits, vegetables, raw meat as well as dried goods like rice and quinoa.

These bags of tomatoes, avacados and onions, were $1.00 each. As you can see there are 10 onions in one bag, 10 tomatoes in the other and 5 medium sized avocados in the last bag. They were bagged, ready for purchase. What a steal!

I got ALL of these fruits and vegetables for $8.60! No joke!!!!!!!

Avacados,mangoes,papaya,plantains,bananas,tomatoes,carrots peas and green peppers oh my!

Our temporary home away from home

We've been in Cuenca, Ecuador for a few weeks now and feel quite at home. We are enjoying the pleasant weather, the beautiful mountain views of the Andes and immersing in the culture of Ecuador. As budget travelers, one of the most important decisions we make is concerning housing. Since we planned on staying put for awhile, we decided on a short term apartment rental. Because Cuenca, Ecuador has become one of the most popular retirement destinations as well as being a must on the tourist circuit, it was very difficult to find a rental to accommodate our budget. Typically you can find a short term furnished rental between $250- $500. When we were here a year and a half ago, we had no problem renting an apartment and we paid $500 for the whole month. This time around there was nothing available in our price range at the time we needed it. Needless to say, we had to go with what we could get and ending up spending a little bit more than we wanted to again. We ended up finding our rental on Airbnb.com. I highly recommend it as your first resource when looking for short term rental. The site is secure, trusted and easy to use. Owner's of properties have listings online with photos and amenities as well as price per night, per week and per month. You can communicate via email with the owner to ask questions or even call them. You reserve the property of your choice by paying for the full rate by credit card. We've used this site several times and have been very satisfied. The apartment we are renting is a colonial style duplex in a quiet residential area. It's in a great location and the duplex has an electric security fence and an alarm. Although Cuenca is considered a safe area it's still nice to have the peace of mind. It is Ecuadorean owned and the hosts are very hospitable and accommodating. Here's the link to the website and listing of our temporary home if anyone is interested : https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1252433?guests=4&s=0QAb

We negotiated with the owner on the monthly rate and ended up paying $900 for the month, which comes out to be $30 a day. Once again, for a family of five traveling, it's almost impossible to find a hostel at that price, so we took it. For our second month in Ecuador, we did find an even cheaper rental, but I will share that in the near future.

28 hours on a bus and we finally made it to Cuenca, Ecuador

The next stop on our itinery is Cuenca, Ecuador. We hopped on a bus and traveled north on a 15 hour bus ride. The bus company we feel has the best service and safety for the money is called Cruz Del Sur. The buses are clean, have a bathroom, and the seats recline "semi- cama", which is like a recliner chair. They also show movies and give you a hot dinner. It's very similar to traveling by plane, except it takes a lot longer. We paid $36 per person. We did look into flights to Cuenca and the best deal we found at the time was around $250 per person. Since we are budget travelers we decided to torture ourselves for a total of 28 hours via bus. We stopped in a town called Piura which we had been to before. We didn't love the city enough to pay $100 for a 2 star hotel for the night, so we kept going. We arrived in Piura at 7a.m. and got on the next bus at 9:00a.m. This bus was not as fancy, but it was fairly clean and comfortable. The tickets cost us $13 each person and took us over the Ecuadorean border in 8 hours. Ok, so five more hours to get to our destination. We arrive at the bus stop in Loja, Ecuador at 5:30 p.m. check the bus schedule to see when the buses to Cuenca are leaving. Unfortunatley, the last one is leaving in 10 minutes. We buy our tickets,which cost $4 each, grab dinner to go and literally run to the bus and jump on. We finally arrive to Cuenca at 11:00p.m. It's nice to be on our feet and off the bus. Which we never had to ride a bus again!

Miraflores, Lima

We flew into Lima, Peru and stayed for a month. We rented a short term apartment off of a site called apartmentclubperu.com. They offer nicely furnished apartments in good, safe locations. We paid about $1600 for the month, which included all utilities and services. This came out to around $53 a day. For a family of five traveling, it was difficult to find a decent hotel at that price. It was a little more than we like to spend but, the plus was that we could cook our own meals and save money this way. We stayed in Miraflores, which is the upscale neighborhood overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Miraflores boasts high rise apartments and condominiums, restaurants, cafes, shopping, parks and a beautiful mall built into the side of a cliff. It is an ideal neighborhood which Peru has groomed to be one of their most attractive tourist destinations. We got to live like locals for a month and discovered little nooks and crannies we had not seen during our last visit. It was nice to enjoy the average 75 degree weather, walk along the waterfront, sit in green parks and indulge in fresh caught seafood.

This seafood platter we really enjoyed at a restaurant called "Sofia" in Chorillos, Lima. It was around $12.00 and was fresh caught by the owner that morning.( This a restaurant Anthony Bourdain went to so, we just had to check it out. We really like Anthony Bourdain and have gone to a lot of the same restaurants he has gone to in different countries. We call it the Anthony Bourdain food tour.)

This is a photo of Lima's skyline and the fishing boats on the Pacific Ocean.

People relaxing on the beach under colorful umbrellas.

Christmas in Lima was surreal!

Pelicans hanging out at the outdoor fish market.