It will come as no surprise to most of you that one of my favorite things about my frequently overwhelming travel schedule is all of the opportunities it affords me to eat delicious food. In the past 14 months I have been on 12 international trips, mostly for work, visiting Hong Kong, Ecuador, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, Ireland, Colombia, and Chile. Although right now thinking about it is sort of exhausting (particularly since I just got off a plane from Chile and I get back on one to Colombia in less than 2 weeks), I know how lucky I am to have these experiences.

I can tell you with certainty that none of these things are good for my waistline, but the three things I love the most about eating in Latin America are:

1. The juices (yes, please, I would like fresh passionfruit juice with every meal)
2. Enormous avocados served with everything
3. The soups

The third one was a little bit of a surprise to me – while I’d eaten plenty of Mexican food and Latin street food before I first traveled to Latin America, I had never even heard of all the incredible Latin soups out there before my first trip to Ecuador. I generally think of Latin America is a place with a pretty warm climate, which is why I never used to connect soup to Latin cuisine. Now that I’ve spent so much time in Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile, though, I can tell you that those high altitude nights can be seriously chilly… and a bowl of hearty, potato-based soup is exactly what you want to eat.

A while back I posted my favorite Colombian soup, Ajiaco Bogotano, a thick chicken and potato stew served with generous amounts of avocado and capers. Now, since there are finally fresh fava beans in the markets, it’s time for my favorite Ecuadorian soup: Locro. Locro de papa is an Ecuadorian soup based on the combination of potatoes and cheese – pretty much my two favorite food groups. I’ve had different variations of it in different parts of the country, but my favorite bowl was served in a tiny town outside the quilotoa lagoon, a gorgeous aquamarine lake in a volcanic crater in the Andes. I was actually miserable during my hike down into and back up from the lagoon, the only time I really suffered from altitude sickness, but I think that’s what made the bowl of soup waiting for me at the top so memorable. After two hours of counting my steps in sets of 50, holding back tears and barely able to breathe, sitting down at the long wooden bench and holding a steaming bowl of soup in my frozen hands was heaven. This bowl of locro incorporated lots of fresh fava beans into the usual potato-cheese combination, and now that’s how I like it best. Make it when you need a little bit of comfort on a spring evening.

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Ecuadorian Locro – Creamy Potato, Cheese, and Fava Bean Soup

Serves 4-6. Adapted from Laylita’s Recipes and The Kitchn. Serves 4-6.

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp achiote powder
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 2 c. water
• 2 lbs. fava beans in their pods
• 1 c. whole milk or 1/2 c. heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 oz. crumbled feta or queso fresco
• 2 avocados, peeled and sliced, for serving

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and achiote powder and saute until fragrant, another 2 minutes. Add the diced potato and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let soup simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are very soft, about 30 minutes.
2. While the soup is cooking, blanch the fava beans. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove the fava beans from their pods and blanch in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and run under cold water. As soon as the beans are cool enough to handle, use your thumbnail to split the outer, pale green skin from the bean and pop the inner, bright green beans into a bowl. Set the peeled beans aside.
3. When the potatoes in the soup are tender, use a potato masher to roughly mash the potatoes in the soup until soup is thick with just a few chunks of potato. Add the peeled fava beans and cook for 2 more minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the milk or cream, the crumbled cheese, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cheese will not fully melt into the soup but should remain slightly chewy. Serve with the sliced avocado.

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Here in Boston, we’ve reached that point in the year where the warm, crisp fall days have given way to truly frosty, windy mornings when even the brightest sun can’t entice you to stay outside. I’m sure we still have a few nice days left, but we’ve already had snow flurries twice, the winter coats are out on our coat rack, and I’m guessing that this is the last week for those leaves still clinging to the trees. I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect of hunkering down for the next four months, but one thing I do love about cold weather is the chance to invent and enjoy warm cocktails. On a cold day, there’s little that I find more enticing than the thought of a steaming mug of sweet, boozy cider or a honey-sweetened hot toddy.

I think my love for warm drinks (at least for the alcoholic sort) must have been born during the four months I lived in Prague – I have a very vivid memory of sipping from a glass of piping hot mead at the top of a snow-covered mountain, the steam from the hot drinks and food condensing on the windows of the small wooden cabin. It was a completely blissful experience, at least in my memory. Since then, I’ve been collecting drink recipes from all the cold countries I’ve been to, and I’ve been waiting to share a new one with you since our trip to Ecuador in March. I was first served canelazo, a mixture of cinnamon, naranjilla juice, and aguardiente, when we arrived at our hacienda near Cotopaxi. The altitude in Cotopaxi means that it’s appropriate to serve hot drinks at pretty much any time of day/year. I loved the sweet-and-sour mixture (and perhaps the quick effect it had at altitude), and finished not only my own glass but the extra one on the tray. When I returned to Quito later in the year for work, a co-worker took us up to El Panecillo, a hilltop with a giant statue of a winged angel and a beautiful view of the city. At several of the stands near the statue, they were selling cups of canelazo, and at a price of $0.50, I couldn’t resist ordering one before dinner.

The ingredients for canelazo are a bit tricky to find in New England. Naranjilla, which I mistakenly described as a clementine in my first mention of it, and as a sour orange in my second mention of it, is actually a herbaceous nightshade shrub – not a citrus at all. It does have a sweet-sour citrusy flavor and a bright orange exterior, hence the name “little orange.” Although I read that you can find its pulp in the frozen section of many Latin groceries, and I’m sure I could scrounge some up somewhere in Somerville, I wasn’t in the mood for a grocery store scavenger hunt today, so I used a mix of freshly squeezed orange, tangerine, and lime juice instead. I know that using those fruits may not make for a very authentic representation of the drink, and I’ve also used a much higher ratio of juice to cinnamon water than seems to be typical, but it’s still a bright, warming combination that’s worth giving a try. I did find the traditional aguardiente, a spirit distilled from sugar-cane and sometimes flavored with anise. If you can’t find it near you, either rum or cachaça would be a fine substitute. Now that I have the ingredients, plus a healthy supply of cinnamon sticks, I’m all set to make these babies throughout the winter.

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Ecuadorian Canelazo

Adapted from Laylita and Food.com. Serves 4.

• 3 c. water
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice, divided
• 1 c. freshly squeezed tangerine juice
• 2 limes
• 4 to 8 oz. aguardiente or white rum
• tangerine slices for garnish

1. Place the water, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and 1 cup of the orange juice in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat slightly and simmer the syrup for 30 minutes. The syrup should be heavily perfumed with cinnamon and a dark brown color. Add the remaining orange and tangerine juice to the pot and heat just until steaming, then remove from heat. Ladle the cinnamon-orange mixture into four heat-proof glasses. Pour 1 or 2 oz. of aguardiente into each glass depending on taste. Squeeze juice from half a lime into each glass, then briefly stir. Garnish with tangerine slices if desired, and serve immediately.

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This recipe for Pan de Yuca with Guava-Chile Butter is actually not something I’ve tried while in Ecuador, but when I saw the recipe in the Ecuadorian section of Jose Garces’ book The Latin Road Home, I wanted to give it a try. Although I can’t say from personal experience whether this is a particularly common recipe in Ecuador, all the ingredients – yuca, queso fresco, guava – are very typical. These rolls are a tasty little snack, salty and savory from the addition of an entire pound (!) of queso fresco to the dough. Served with the sweet guava paste, which is tempered by the deeply savory flavor of black vinegar and the spice of sriracha, it’s a new and interesting way to dress up your pre-dinner bread and butter.

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The Book: It seems that at least once a year, a cookbook that is more aptly described as an encyclopedia of a particular culture and cuisine is released. Gran Cocina Latina is a good example, as is The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, and to a certain extent even Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. These books are much more than just exciting cookbooks, they’re reference books for chefs and travelers and budding anthropologists that contain hundreds of classic recipes along with a thorough communication of the culinary culture and history of a particular region of the world. Often these books become instant classics, essential books for any cook seriously interested in learning about other cuisines. This season I have two books of this type in my review pile, and the first is about a very specific place – the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. Yucatan: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition, written by David Sterling, is the product of his decades of culinary experience living in the Yucatan while running a cooking school there.

Starting the book knowing nothing about the Yucatan, except that it looks like a nice place to go on vacation, I quickly realized I was in the hands of an expert. I was easily drawn into the narrative of this ideologically isolated peninsula, even when that narrative had nothing whatsoever to do with food. History, geography, biology – you’ll get a little bit of everything with this book. Of course, eventually it all ties back to food and cooking, and I don’t know if there was a single recipe in this book that I wasn’t interested in trying. The recipes are mostly traditional, yet still presented in a creative and intriguing way – combinations like Roasted Quail with a Puree of Squash Seeds, Chaya, and Habanero and Zucchini and Squash Blossom Stew with Tiny Corn Pancakes are representative of what people have eaten traditionally, but totally new to me. I should note that as much as the 60-page ingredient primer will help orient you to traditional ingredients, many will still be hard to find for American cooks. Beyond that, many of the recipes will be time-consuming for those not accustomed to cooking with the major base ingredients of the cuisine, as sourcing or preparing the spice mixes, flours, and fats that are traditionally used will add to the total preparation time. However, once you have a few of the key pantry items built into your repertoire, I imagine the recipes become less daunting – there’s just a bit of a learning curve.

The Food: One of the goodies we brought back with us from Ecuador was a bag full of fermented cacao beans. As part of our trip we learned about the entire chocolate making process, even roasting and grinding our own beans before making the freshest hot chocolate ever. We picked up a half pound bag of the beans for $2.50 in a little souvenir shop later in our trip, and now I’m wishing we had brought more home with us, as whole beans go for $20 a pound on Amazon. When I saw the dessert recipes calling for freshly ground cacao paste in this book, I knew we’d found a way to put our beans to good use. This Mayan Chocolate Frozen Custard is one of the most intense ice creams I’ve ever tasted. Using a whole host of traditional ingredients – Mexican crema, freshly ground cacao, cayenne pepper, and a hand-ground spice mixture called recado rojo that includes achiote, garlic, and vinegar – it has a ton of different flavors, and a somewhat gritty texture from the ground cacao beans. And preparing all the components really gave our mortar and pestle a good workout. I realize that this description might not make it sound all that appealing, but it’s a really exciting recipe that’s definitely worth stepping outside of your comfort zone for. If you can find whole cacao beans, use them – the smell of freshly roasted cacao being mashed to a paste is otherwordly – but otherwise, you can use cacao nibs or bittersweet chocolate.

Recipe Shortlist: Venison in Red Squash-Seed Sauce; Maya Succotash of New Corn and Black-Eyed Peas; Mashed Plaintain Croquettes with Pork Cracklings and Goat Cheese; Lobster Tails in Charred Chili Sauce; Guava, Marschino Cherry, and Sherry Frozen  Custard; Chicken and Potatoes Stewed in Oregano-Black Pepper Sauce; Honey-Drenched Yuca Fritters

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Yucatan: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition from University of Texas Press, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Mayan Chocolate Frozen Custard

Recipe from Yucatan: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition. Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

• 2 c. whole milk
• 2 TBS recado rojo (bought in a Latin grocery, or homemade)
• 2 c. creme fraiche (or heavy cream)
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. honey
• 3/8 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
• 5 large egg yolks
• 8 oz. fresh chocolate paste, recipe below (or bittersweet chocolate, chopped)
• 1 TBS vanilla

1. Place the milk and the recado rojo in a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Strain the milk through a fine-mesh sieve into a heavy saucepan, discarding the solids that get caught in the strainer. Add the creme fraiche, sugar, honey, allspice, and cayenne to the milk. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture has just reached a simmer, then remove from the heat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are pale yellow and frothy. While whisking the eggs, slowly pour 1 cup of the hot milk into the eggs in a thin stream, whisking vigorously to temper the eggs. Repeat with another cup of hot milk, then pour the egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture, whisking the milk as you do so. Still whisking, return the custard to low heat and cook just until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. It will still be fluid – about the consistency of a creme anglaise.
3. Once the mixture has thickened, strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding any solids. Stir in the chocolate paste or bittersweet chocolate until mixture is thick and chocolate is melted. Let cool, then stir in the vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Once thoroughly chilled, process according to your ice cream maker’s directions.

Fresh Chocolate Paste

Makes about 8 oz.

• 1/2 lb. of whole fermented cacao beans

1. Place the beans in a dry skillet over medium heat. Roast, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and skins are cracking, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat. As soon as beans are cool enough to handle, peel the skins away from the beans and discard the skins. Return any peeled beans that are still brown as opposed to a deep blackish brown to the pan for a minute or two, cooking until they are all deeply browned.
2. Place peeled, roasted beans in a blender and blend until evenly ground. Transfer to a mortar and pestle in grind to a fine paste in batches.

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On the road from Baños to the final destination of our trip, Cotopaxi, we made a quick but memorable stop in the market town of Salasaca. Otavalo is the most famous market town in Ecuador, known for it’s enormous Saturday market, but it’s a good two hour drive north of Quito, and since our route kept us South of Quito, we jumped at the opportunity to make a quick stop in Salasaca when our guide suggested it. The small town square has perhaps a dozen or so vendors, but the goods (and the prices) were amazing, and we promptly spent all of our remaining cash on thick alpaca blankets ($20 a piece), colorful woven hammocks ($26 for the biggest size), hats, and alpaca sweaters. The quality of everything we purchased is high, the colors beautiful, and the women selling us the blankets were lovely and appreciative of our purchases. After reading more about the Otavalo market after our trip, I’m glad we passed through Salasaca instead – whereas Otavalo seems to have become a tourist destination with all the accompanying tourist junk for sale, Salasaca provides a more authentic and more intimate market experience. Hacienda Santa Ana

An extra suitcase worth of blankets in tow, we finished our drive from Baños, through the town of Machachi, and up a very long and very bumpy road to Hacienda Santa Ana, a beautifully restored hacienda-turned-inn right on the edge of Cotopaxi National Park. Santa Ana was our highest-end accommodation for the whole trip, and we luxuriated in the thick down comforters, the large couches by the stone fireplace, and the general atmosphere of elegant coziness. It’s a small inn on a huge property that once belonged to the Jesuits, and the decor still reflects its rich religious history. Shortly after we arrived (well, actually, shortly after our horseback riding adventure which happened immediately after we arrived), we were greeted with a canelazo, a warm clementine, cinnamon, and aguardiente cocktail that will almost certainly be making an appearance on this blog the next time it’s cold and gray. This and other little touches – hot water bottles to take to bed with us, gorgeous period furniture, a plentiful supply of hot tea, and walking through the grounds to say hi to the llamas – made our stay at Hacienda Santa Ana very pleasant. My only caution about staying at Santa Ana: it’s a long drive back to town, so be prepared to eat all your meals at the inn. Dinners were satisfying and tasty but not particularly inspiring, sort of overpriced but not exorbitantly so considering the fact that it’s the only option. It wasn’t a problem and wasn’t a highlight for us. All things considered, I’d highly recommend staying at Hacienda Santa Ana. Horseback Riding at Santa Ana

When my mom was planning this trip (thanks mom!), the one activity I was adamant that she include was horseback riding. I rode for a long time as a kid, but these days my opportunities to ride are very infrequent. We booked our ride for the afternoon we arrived at Santa Ana, but delays in the mornings and threatening weather had our guide worried about our choice. But I insisted. So as soon as we got out of the car at Santa Ana, Patricio, one of the chagras working at Santa Ana, handed us our chaps and ponchos, and we mounted up. It was raining lightly as we headed down the road, but I was still on cloud nine, chatting with Patricio using only my practically non-existent Spanish skills, and clopping down the cobblestone road. Trevor and my family were really just being good sports by coming along, but I was glad we were all there. At the end of the road, Patricio let us through a gate into the fields, and we rode through one of the coolest landscapes I’ve ever seen, giant tufts of dry grass clumped around our horses’ feet and the ragged edges of Ruminahui volcano in the background. I loved it. Things got a little hairy on our way back down – Trevor’s horse slipped down a muddy hill and rolled on top of his leg. Amazingly, he was fine, but it thoroughly freaked out my brother who decided that he would be walking the rest of the way home. Quite the adventure. But I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Cotopaxi Glacier

The main event of our time in Cotopaxi was, unsurprisingly, climbing Cotopaxi, the 19,000 foot tall active volcano that would dominate the landscape were it not usually shrouded in clouds. I’m exaggerating a little – we didn’t summit the mountain –  but we did climb past the base camp and up to the edge of the glacier at 16,400 feet. Even after a week at elevations of 9,000+ feet, being at an altitude that high is really hard, and I’ve never felt my body turn so sluggish with such tiny movements. It’s overwhelming. It was also bitterly cold as we climbed through the clouds that were spitting hail and rain at us, but we moved slowly, drank lots of water, rested frequently, and pushed through. As we neared the glacier, the sun peaked out from behind the clouds once or twice, illuminating the fascinating landscape and the colors of the plains below, and even though my mind was foggy, the experience was amazing. After touching the glacier (or building a snowman on it if you were Trevor), we hurried back down, and after a quick lunch at Tambopaxi refuge, we all collapsed back at the hotel, much more drained than we had expected to be. I’ve always dreamed about serious mountaineering – climbing Kilimanjaro, McKinley, etc. – but this brief encounter with true altitude made me question if I’d really enjoy it. Quechua Farmers

On our last “tour” day we left Hacienda Santa Ana and made the long drive west to Quilotoa lagoon. On our way, we stopped at the house of two local Quechua farmers, to see their traditional lifestyle. The houses are really dugouts, covered with long sloped roofs of dried grass, and the Quechua raise guinea pigs and vegetables for local markets to make their living. Their farm, spread out over the sloping mountainside, gave Trevor and me serious farm envy, especially their huge onion bulbs and dark loamy soil. The family was very welcoming during our short visit, and the experience didn’t feel pretentious or awkward like others geared towards indigenous culture can. It was a brief stop, but very memorable. Quilotoa Lagoon

Quilotoa lagoon is a water-filled caldera about 2 1/2 hours southwest of Machachi. If you see it in a brief moment of sun, the water is a brilliant emerald green, but our encounters with sun in Ecuador were few and far between. The lagoon is stunning, and when you arrive, you can hike down the dirt road to the edge of the lagoon, where you can rent a kayak if you still have the energy. My family is pretty active, so we refused the offer to reserve mules for the trip back up (at $8 per mule, and you have to decide before you hike down), but oh man, climbing back up out of that crater might have been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Walking up the sliding sandy path, I was huffing and crying and counting my steps in sets of 50 just to get myself to keep moving. I don’t know if it was the altitude, or soreness from the previous day’s hike, or the fits of rain, or all three, but I felt pathetic, and the mules literally cantering past me every 20 minutes or so where like salt in the wound. It was a beautiful landscape, but my memories of the day are not overwhelmingly positive. On the other hand, Trevor and my brother and my mom were all totally fine climbing back up, so if you want to attempt it, go for it. Just trust your guide when he says that it’s not as easy as it looks from the top. After a quick lunch at one of the small hostels in town, we were back in the car for the long drive to Quito. If you’re planning a trip to Quilotoa, I’d recommend trying to fit it in on your way somewhere – we basically did an out and back, and it was a lot of time in the car. It looks like it’s about an hour off the main highway from Baños to Machachi/Quito, so if you’re headed along that path anyways, that would be the time to do it.

More from our Ecuador adventures…
Ecuador Travelogue: Quito
Ecuador Travelogue: The Amazon & Itamandi Lodge
Ecuador Travelogue: Baños

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Town of Baños

We spent the third leg of our trip to Ecuador in Baños, a small town nestled between mountains that’s a hotspot for adventure tourism and hippie expats. It has a laid-back party-town vibe, and it was definitely the most touristy stop on our trip, but not in an obnoxious way – it’s a town where tourism just feels like a lifestyle. There’s a lot to do in and around Baños: hiking, biking, rock climbing, rafting, ziplining, etc., and we only got a small taste of the town and the adventures it has to offer in our two days there, but I would definitely go back for more. Right after arriving we headed to the town hot springs, which were super-crowded and a little grungy, but with very hot pools and a gorgeous view of the waterfall running right next to it. I found the springs a little stressful because they were so busy, but for an entry fee of $2, it’s worth giving them a try. After a quick soak and a shower we headed to dinner at Casa Hood, where I was surprisingly excited to eat “gringoized” food – I had a plate of fried eggs with potatoes, black beans, salsa and avocado, basically my ideal meal at any time of day or night. They also had real espresso drinks and a smoothie bar – I was tempted to go back in the morning for a green smoothie, but figured the fresh fruit juice at our breakfast buffet was probably enough sugar for one morning. Trevor was still really sick at this point and sleeping in the hotel, so we didn’t linger for too long, but it was a fun little restaurant.

Hotel La Floresta

During our short time in Baños we stayed in Hotel La Floresta, a modest but comfortable hotel on the edge of town (it’s a small town). The rooms were simple but comfortable enough, and I liked our little balcony with its woven hammock. The hotel had an open courtyard design with a beautiful interior garden, and it was really pleasant to sit in one of the alcoves and chat – in fact, we did just that with a bottle of wine and a few surprisingly good local cheeses instead of going out to dinner our second night. Like everywhere we stayed, breakfast was plentiful and delicious, the fresh fruit juices and strong coffee (always served with cocoa!) being a highlight. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for reasonably priced but still comfortable accommodations in town.

Route of Waterfalls / Ruta de Las Cascadas

The highlight of our time in Baños, and perhaps even of the entire trip for me, was the bike trip we took along the Route of Waterfalls. It was a gorgeous morning, the only truly sunny day we had for the whole trip, and the views the whole way were absolutely breathtaking. The biking is a little precarious, since you’re biking along the shoulder of a busy two-lane highway for about 70% of the time, so it’s not for the faint of heart. I’m not a very confident biker, though, and I never felt unsafe – so I think as long as you’re expecting to be on a busy road, you’ll be fine. And when you’re off the road, on an old cobbled path that winds along the edge of the mountain, it’s amazing. It took us about 3 hours to do the whole thing, stopping frequently to take in the views of the numerous waterfalls you pass, and for a longer break to take a cable car across one of the larger gorges.

El Pailon del Diablo

At the end of the Ruta de las Cascadas you reach the big attraction – El Pailon del Diablo, a huge, beautiful waterfall that’s been built up with staircases and wooden bridges so that you can get right up close to the pounding falls. We spent about an hour hanging out at the waterfall, which is reached by an easy walk down a well-maintained path (and left by a not-so-easy walk back up). It was really an awe-inspiring sight, and worth the short trip from Baños even if you aren’t up for the biking portion. A little town has sprung up around the waterfall, and we had a late lunch at a little hotel/restaurant in town called Miramelindo – I had potato and avocado soup with chocho salsa, a fresh blackberry milkshake, and a giant burrito, and it pretty much hit the spot. After lunch, we threw our bikes and ourselves in the back of a canvas covered flatbed truck for a ride back to town, which was far more harrowing in my opinion then being a biker on the road.

El Virgen

We didn’t get to do much hiking while we were in Baños, but I did convince my parents and Trevor to get up early our last morning and hike the 600+ steps up to the statue at El Virgen. Two friendly stray dogs decided to join us on our walk and impressively made it all the way up and back down again without leaving our side. I’m not really a dog person, but these had to be the friendliest and least needy stray dogs ever. It made for a memorable walk. It’s not the prettiest hike, but it’s certainly a good way to get your heart pumping and there is a great view of the town and surrounding mountains at the top. If you want, you can continue your hike from the statue and loop around to some other viewpoints around the town, but we had to get back for breakfast and our next adventure.

Ziplining at the Canopy

On our way out of Baños towards Cotopaxi, we stopped for one last jungle adventure: ziplining at a place called The Canopy, which was about 20 minutes out of town and well up the mountainside, but doesn’t seem to have a web presence I can direct you to. Heights are not my strong point, but I convinced myself that I would at least try it – since there were 6 different segments of the route, crossing back and forth across the river with short hikes in between, I knew I could stop after the first two short segments, if I wanted. I actually felt really safe – the equipment and cables were seriously heavy duty and the guys helping us were really cautious and obviously knew what they were doing. Still, I didn’t love the short segments, so was pretty sure I wasn’t going to love the 500m segments, so I designated myself the official photographer while my family and Trevor finished the course. If you’re into ziplining, this is definitely the place to go – much more pleasant than the terrifying-looking one that we rode by on our bikes!

Papallacta Hotsprings

We actually stopped at Papallacta on our way from Quito to the Amazon, before we made our way to Baños, but the climate there was much more similar to Baños than the Amazon, so I’m including it here. Papallacta is a small village with natural hot springs, and there’s a very clean, very nice resort at the top of the town. We spent a few pleasant hours lounging in the pools, enjoying the tropical landscaping, and admiring the views of the surrounding mountains. It’s a really cool spot, and well worth the $7 admission fee. We also enjoyed people-watching: there was a really fun group of tiny old Ecuadorian ladies plus one little old Ecuadorian man who were just having the time of their life. If you’re driving along the road from Quito to Tena, or even looking for a day-trip from Quito, I’d definitely recommend Papallacta. The drive there is beautiful, too.

More from our Ecuador adventures…
Ecuador Travelogue: Quito
Ecuador Travelogue: The Amazon & Itamandi Lodge
Ecuador Travelogue: Cotopaxi

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Itamandi Lodge – Facilities

For our three day jungle experience, we stayed in the newly opened Itamandi Lodge, an eco-lodge on the banks of the Arajuno river. The lodge is only accessible by boat (specifically, by 30-ft long motor canoe), so we were picked up at the Arajuno bridge, fairly close to the town of Tena, loaded into the boat with our luggage, and whisked up the river. Itamandi is one of the more accessible lodges, being only 20-30 minutes from a road; other jungle lodges, including another property by one of the owners of Itamandi, require an eight hour boat ride to access. I have to say, it was unnerving enough being in an unfamiliar environment 20 minutes from a road – I can’t imagine being eight hours from one. The design of the lodge is very nice, well integrated into the jungle, with covered walkways everywhere to protect you from the frequent rainstorms, a large open dining pavilion, a beautiful long pool that uses a small amount of salt-water instead of chlorine for disinfecting, and spacious rooms with views of the river and lots of tropical hardwoods. We actually loved the pool, which was deep enough for diving and long enough for laps, and spent way more time in it than we anticipated – it’s really nice to be able to cool off after trekking through the sticky jungle. As far as eco features go, besides the pool, there was a big array of solar panels for energy, and the toilets and waste water systems were composting. There were probably other features, but I don’t get that into that stuff so I didn’t take note of them. The five of us were the only guests for the three days that we were there, so we had the undivided attention of all the staff, which felt both really luxurious and a little strange. That said, everyone on the staff was wonderful, friendly, and took excellent care of us, making our experience decidedly more positive than it would have been without them.

The property has only been open since November of 2013, so it did feel like there were still some kinks being worked out. The first issue we had was with our screens, which were full of fairly large holes – apparently the giant crickets like to eat the screens. When we mentioned it, everyone was very accommodating, and we fixed the problem with some duct tape, which was a perfectly satisfactory solution for us. The second night, there was a major rainstorm, and although it didn’t bother us much during the night, in the morning we noticed that the rain had actually ripped through the plaster in our room. Again, the staff was very accommodating and we moved to a different, leak-free room. We actually preferred our second room as it was on the second floor, and there was much more of a breeze moving through the room. Two things we thought the rooms could really use – a ceiling fan, for those desperately still and hot nights, and wall hooks, for the numerous wet things you’ll acquire during your stay. Hopefully they can fix some of the structural issues as they continue operating – otherwise, it might be hard to keep the jungle at bay. Even with these small issues, I would recommend the property to anyone looking for a semi-luxurious jungle experience in Ecuador – just think of it as something between “glamping” and a typical hotel, and you’ll be in the right mindset to enjoy it.

Itamandi Lodge – The Food

Since this is a food blog, after all, I wanted to call out some of the meals we had at Itamandi, as they were the best that we had on our trip. Alex, the manager, and Clide, our guide, were both kitchen whizzes, and turned out multiple three course meals a day just for the five of us. Breakfasts were standard fare – eggs, sausages, really tasty fresh tomatoes, fruit, yogurt, and juices – but very well prepared, and pleasant to eat by the pool in the fresh(er) morning air. Lunches and dinners were delicious, three course affairs. Some highlights were the coconut-sugar glazed chicken, yucca fries, tilapia prepared in a banana leaf, patacones (plantain fritters), hot cheese empanadas served immediately upon our arrival, and the exotic poached fruits for dinner – starfruit, tree tomato, pineapple, all served in a cinnamon syrup. Everything was delicious, and way more gourmet than we expected to find in the middle of the jungle.

Jungle Night Walk

Our very first activity upon arriving at Itamandi was a jungle night walk. We arrived in the late afternoon, and after our welcome empanadas and a chance to put our luggage away, we met at dusk in our long-sleeved everything, headlamps and flashlights in hand, and pulled on the ubiquitous Ecuadorian rubber boots to protect our feet and legs from bugs, snakes, mud, etc. We headed out on a trail that never strayed far from the lodge, but quickly became very close, twisty, and hilly. As we walked, our guides used flashlights to point out all the creepy-crawlies of the night: giant crickets, the super poisonous banana spider, a coiled drinking snake, fever ants, and lots of other really big bugs. It was really cool to see these creatures, but the humidity and darkness made me feel a little claustrophobic and slipping through the mud had me nervous that I would accidentally slip and step on something frightening. If I could have seen into the future, I would have asked that we do this on our second or third night, as I found it a bit intense for a first activity, but still, while I wouldn’t say I was enjoying it at the time, looking back on it is very cool.

Parrot Clay Lick

Our first morning, we met before dawn to head out in the motor canoe, hoping to catch sight of parrots and parakeets coming for a morning feast at a nearby clay lick. About 20 minutes upriver we got out of the canoe and hiked up another steep jungle path to the lookout blind. This particular clay lick was very small, only about one meter in diameter, and no birds had arrived yet when we got there. Clide, our guide, explained to us that we should sit and wait, so that’s what we did. This turned out to be an exercise in patience and listening, as we sat for 30 minutes, absorbing the different bird calls and noises we were hearing – it was actually really cool to start being able to parse out different birds, just from hearing their calls. We soon heard the parakeets arriving, although it took them a while to descend from the treetops toward the clay lick. The parakeets were a brilliant green color – but so were the trees, so it was a bit difficult to see them. Still, I got a couple of decent pictures before we headed back for breakfast. I’m certainly not a birding convert, but I’m glad we went.

Jungle Hiking

Between the intensity of the night walk and the long wait for the parakeets, I think we were all feeling a bit apprehensive about the next two days as we sat at breakfast that first morning. After breakfast, we were back in our jungle gear for a daytime hike, and we quickly cheered up as Clide led us along a more open hiking trail, the air moved through the trees, and a little bit of sunshine filtered through to us. This walk was really an awesome experience – Clide, who grew up in a local Quichua community, was super knowledgeable about pretty much everything in the jungle (he was telling us that he sometimes leads advanced treks deep in the jungle with scientists in search of poisonous snakes. Which is both terrifying and awesome). We saw cocoa trees and sucked the sweet-sour fruit off of the beans; we found a colony of lemon ants, which are so sour (I tried one, it’s like a warhead!) that nothing at all will grow near their colonies except for the one variety of tree they live in; we saw trees that “walk” by sending out new above-ground roots as they grow and trees that shed their bark every three months to prevent vines from growing on them; we tried sour cane, a bright pink stalk that grows out of rotting logs and tastes a little like rhubarb; Clide showed us how to braid giant leaves to quickly create waterproof roofing. We learned so much in the two hour walk – I didn’t want it to end.

Community Visits

Part of the Itamandi experience is learning about and interacting with the indigenous Quichua people in the local communities. In general, we found that Ecuador seems to be very concerned with supporting and protecting the broad range of indigenous cultures found in the country, which was really great to see. In the Amazon, the main tribe living there is the Quichua tribe, although the famed Huaorani and Shuar tribes can be found deeper in the jungle. We visited two different Quichua communities while at Itamandi. First, we went to the community nearest to the lodge to see the village’s kapok tree, meet some of the people there, and try their traditional foods. They prepared a range of food for us: three forms of maito, a method of cooking in banana leaves, one with mushrooms, one with river fish, and one with hearts of palm and grubs; roasted white cacao beans; more river fishes; caramelized banana; roasted grubs; and chicha, a fermented yuca drink. I stayed away from the grubs and the fish, but I couldn’t stop eating the roasted white cacao – it had an amazing nutty, smokey, crunchy quality. Trevor went all out and tried everything, although he paid for it later in the week. It was really neat to try the foods, and afterward we bought a couple of necklaces made from beautiful red and black seeds from the women. Although the interaction felt a little bit uncomfortable at times, it was a really unique and educational experience.

Later in the trip we visited a second community, which was a much larger town, accessible by road (not just boat, like the others), with a population of 3,000 people. While here we saw two different demonstrations – one of traditional pottery making and the other of chocolate making. The process for making pottery was really cool – everything they use to dye, glaze, and decorate the pottery is natural, from plant dyes to a certain black rock that is used to burnish the finished pieces. The designs and colors were really beautiful, so we brought home a couple small pieces from the adjacent shop. As for the chocolate, we started with a cacao pod, cracked open, and tried some more of the white fruit surrounding the beans. When cacao pods are harvested, the fruit-coated beans are left to dry in the sun for 5-6 days, until the fruit dries off. At this point, the beans are roasted until the skin cracks, then peeled, before the beans, now a very dark brown, are returned to the pan for a second roasting. The beans are then ground, and sometimes mixed with sugar. We got to participate in the whole process, and at the end we had a bag full of the freshest cocoa powder imaginable, with an amazing, heady, chocolate scent. We brought it back to the lodge with us, where Clide made us a very memorable batch of hot chocolate.

Amazoonico

On the second day, we went a bit further down the river and took a turn onto the Napo river, a much larger tributary of the Amazon. Our first stop on the Napo was Amazoonico, one of several animal rescue centers in Ecuador. The people at Amazoonico take injured or abused animals, frequently ones that have been kept illegally as pets, and attempt to rehabilitate them before releasing them back into their natural habitat. Some of the animals will never be fully rehabilitated, and those animals stay at the facility, living in somewhat natural, but still caged settings. It’s an interesting project, and our two Swiss volunteer guides gave us a really good tour (plus we got to see the troop of wild squirrel monkeys that hang around to steal food up close and personal). On our way out of the Amazon the next day, our guide told us that a local village had just recently captured a big boa up in the highlands, and asked if we wanted to stop and see it. We did, and even though Trevor was really sick that morning he opted to drape it around his neck. It was exactly the kind of situation that we had heard about at Amazoonico, which brought up the question for all of us of whether or not the villagers had the right to keep that boa, as part of their traditional lifestyle, or if it was the type of thing that should be reported to Amazoonico, where it would just live in a different form of captivity. Maybe we didn’t learn our lesson, but it seems like a somewhat complicated moral issue.

More from our Ecuador adventures…
Ecuador Travelogue: Quito
Ecuador Travelogue: Baños
Ecuador Travelogue: Cotopaxi

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As I’ve mentioned a few times (or as you may have noticed from my Instagram pictures), we just got back from an awesome ten-day vacation in Ecuador. Trevor and I tagged along on my family’s spring break trip, and not doing any of the planning or trip prep myself was a welcome change, and meant that pretty much everything we did was totally new and surprising. We spent time in four different parts of the country: Quito, the Amazon, Baños, and Cotopaxi. I left my computer behind, but I took lots of old-fashioned notes (and pictures!) on everything we did, saw, and ate, so I’m putting together a four-part travelogue, both for my own memory, and in case any of you are considering your own trip to Ecuador. First up, Quito.

Quito Overview

Most flights from North America to Ecuador seem to land in Quito, and many of the most popular travel routes start and end in the country’s capital. If you’re headed to the beach, you can also fly in through Guayquil, further South, but we were staying mainly in the highlands so Quito was our first stop. The Quito airport is brand new, having opened only a year ago, and it’s very clean and modern, but it’s a long haul from downtown – our transfer to the hotel took a little over an hour (on the bright side, it only cost $35 for a van). Although we only spent two days there, Quito seems like a city on the up and up. While it’s definitely still on the gritty side, there are some beautiful areas and everyone we spoke with was very friendly. Tourists seemed to be few and far between, which is quite different from every other major capital city I’ve visited, but a little refreshing. Most guidebooks and travel websites that I read had extensive warnings on safety: we didn’t have any issues, but I did feel a little uncomfortable (and extremely blonde) walking around some parts of Old Town, which was probably both caused and relieved by the extremely visible armed police presence. I think with normal safety precautions, you’re perfectly safe, but it’s definitely a city where you should stay alert and do your best to blend in. At 9,000 feet and with plenty of hills, just walking around the city is a workout – bring good walking shoes and take it slow to avoid passing out in the main square like my baby brother (he’s fine). While we were there (March), the weather was fairly cool and gray – jeans and a sweater were most appropriate during the day, although when the sun did show it’s face it was wonderfully warm.

Hotel Casa Gardenia

Kudos to my mom for finding the Hotel Casa Gardenia. Just up the hill from the historic center of Old Town, I think this little hotel was my favorite part about the city. Located in a historic house, it’s been completely remodeled by a graphic designer, and the result is a beautiful, modern, and unique boutique hotel. There are only seven rooms, spread out across three floors and connected by a central courtyard. Collectively, my family stayed in four of the seven rooms so we can vouch that they are all comfortable and well-designed. Rooms on the second floor seem to be the best as far as noise levels go – on the first floor the rooms are right by the breakfast area so it’s loud in the morning, and on the third floor city noise comes up through the windows – but we all slept well regardless of where we were in the building. There are comfortable common spaces on all three floors with beautiful panoramic views of Quito, and we made good use of them – two nights we had dinner and wine on the couches on the third floor, and during an afternoon rainstorm, Trevor and I snuggled up with a cup of tea on the second floor and watched the clouds move over the city. The hotel is small enough that the common spaces feel like an extension of the rooms, and I loved how welcoming they were. Everyone on the staff was lovely – friendly, accommodating, and helpful. We were especially grateful to be able to use the kitchen’s fridge and microwave to store/reheat our leftovers from dinner. Breakfasts were delicious and satisfying, with gorgeous freshly blended juices, made-to-order eggs, and lots of breads, pastries, and fruits. I would go back in a heartbeat.

National Basilica

We spent the whole morning of our first day exploring the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a neo-Gothic cathedral that has been under construction for over a century (and is still not quite finished). While I usually have a short attention span for churches, I had so much fun climbing around this one. Entry to the interior costs $1, and this part of the church is a little boring if you’ve been to many cathedrals, although the stained glass is extremely vibrant and worth a peek. The real highlight was climbing up in the towers, which are found at the side entrance and can be accessed for $2. We spent a few hours climbing up the different belltowers, walking across the ceiling, taking pictures, and stopping in their little gift shop (where I got a great, super-warm hat for $5). There’s also a small cafe inside one of the towers, if you need a mocha to recharge after all the stairs. We didn’t try it but it had pretty picture windows and looked very cozy. Both parts of the cathedral were uncrowded and really pleasant to visit.

Lunch at Vista Hermosa

During a brief hour of sun on our first day we had lunch on the rooftop deck at Vista Hermosa. The food there is solidly average, and definitely a bit overpriced for the area,  but in my book a visit to the restaurant is still worth it on a sunny day for the gorgeous views (the best way to go might be to just order drinks and nachos). I tried seco de chivo, a local goat stew served with big chunks of potatoes and avocado, which was hearty and satisfying but not particularly inspiring. If I ever get back to Quito I’m going to try and find a more distinctive version.

Wandering Old Town – Plaza de la Independencia, La Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus

The historic center of Quito was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1978, for being the best preserved city center in Latin America. We only went inside one building in this part of town – La Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus – a church with an interior that is covered entirely in gold leaf. It’s an impressive sight, but by this point we were all a little warn out from our wanderings that day, so we were in and out. We also wandered through Plaza de la Independencia right down the street, which has beautiful gardens and building facades, but was a little crowded for our taste. I think exploring this part of the city with a guide might be the way to go – I’m sure we would have enjoyed it much more if we were learning something on the way.

Takeout from Pizzeria El Hornero

I’ve never ordered takeout while traveling abroad before (unless you count room service, I suppose) – it has always seemed both overwhelming and like a waste of an opportunity to continue exploring my destination. That said, traveling can be exhausting, and having hot food delivered to your hotel’s door can be so nice after a busy day exploring. Plus, it turns out that local takeout can be just as interesting as venturing out to local restaurants. So although I was a little disappointed the first night when my parents ordered pizza from Pizzeria El Hornero, 10 days later when we were back in Quito I actually requested that we do it again. The pizzas are served with a super spicy salsa that makes the experience of eating them entirely different. I loved the tropical chicken pizza with this bright green sauce – it was one of the more memorable dishes of the trip for me. Plus, it was really nice sitting together in the third floor lounge of the hotel, eating casually and discussing our day in our pajamas. I might be a takeout convert.

Museo de la Ciudad

After 10 days exploring the jungle, highlands, and volcanos of Ecuador, we had one more day in Quito before our flight home. Everyone was kind of run down and mildly ill at this point, and not up for too much adventure. That last morning, we ventured out to the Museo de la Ciudad, and it was the perfect choice for a low key activity. The museum, which is housed in an old hospital, has a nice mix of art and history exhibits – we all wandered through separately, enjoying the life-size dioramas, artifacts, and paintings which were well arranged, and many of which were interactive. It was really cool to see exhibits of some of the traditional lifestyles after we had seen those lifestyles in person, and we were all pointing out the many objects, plants, and foods that we recognized from our trip. Walking through the courtyards is also pleasantly cool and quiet, a peaceful place right inside the city. Well worth the $3 entrance fee. On our way out, we stopped to check out the great views of the Virgin statue on nearby El Panecillo, and had lunch at the artsy, modern cafe right on the museum steps. Although like most restaurants there’s a traditional lunch offering (soup, chicken and rice, and a dessert) that’s very affordable, we all jumped at the chance to have sandwiches and coffee – after 10 days of traditional lunches, it was a nice change.

Souvenirs at Mercado Artesanal La Marisca

To fill the last few hours before our flight, Trevor and I decided to go out in search of some local art to bring home. We couldn’t find any parts of town which could be reasonably considered an art district, and the types of art being sold in some of the museums were out of our price range, so we wandered up to the Mercado Artesanal on the edge of New Town. It was the only time we crossed over into New Town, and I wish we’d spent more time there – it felt much more like a living city than Old Town, which made me feel a little claustrophobic and skittish at times. The market itself is arranged into covered rows of stalls, most of which are selling jewelry, woven products, chocolate, and trinkets, but there were a few stalls selling prints and paintings. We ended up taking home a big (like 3 feet long) original painting of Illinizas for $60 – our first real art! And despite the anxiety it caused me, I even managed to bring it home as a carry-on damage free. If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for souvenirs of all sorts, the Mercado Artesanal is worth a try – it doesn’t have the most unique or best priced goods, but it does have a large variety all in one place, and it’s fun to wander through.

More from our Ecuador adventures…

Ecuador Travelogue: The Amazon
Ecuador Travelogue: Baños
Ecuador Travelogue: Cotopaxi

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Ever since getting back from Russia, I can’t seem to get enough soup. I’ve been daydreaming about it: creamy sweet potato bisques, homemade chicken noodle spiked with chili oil, my mom’s El Cid chili with cornbread (for Sunday afternoon football watching), tangy tomato soup thickened with bread, and hearty bowls of Portuguese-style kale and linguica soup. I’ll take them all. Thankfully, soup is an easy, healthy way to feed yourself, so I can do more than daydream – I can make soup as often as I please. I find that making soup is the most intrinsic, relaxing form of cooking. There’s a rhythm to it, the chopping of onions and garlic, the sauteeing, more chopping, more sauteeing, adding spices, broth, root vegetables, stirring, simmering, smelling, stirring. When people ask me how they can start to learn to cook, I always recommend starting with soup. It’s wonderfully forgiving, and it’s hard to make a bad one. This soup – an Ecuadorian chicken and rice stew spiced with achiote, smoked paprika, and cumin – is no exception.

I really enjoyed making this last Sunday. Trevor had tickets to the Pats game with his coworkers, so I had a long, chilly afternoon to myself. I went running, caught up on reading, swung by the grocery store, and made this stew, all without feeling rushed or stressed. After four frenetic months moving, traveling, and adjusting to a different pace of life, the fact that I’ll get to spend the entire month of November at home, cozying up with Trevor feels like an early Christmas present. Last Sunday afternoon was the first time in months that I really felt slowed-down, and filling my house up with the rich, spicy smell of this soup just cemented that feeling.

As far as taste goes, this stew is a winner. It’s quite hearty, made thick and creamy by the addition of rice and potatoes, and just a bit spicy from a combination of smoked Spanish paprika, achiote paste, and a dash of hot sauce. The recipe, which comes from Jose Garces’ The Latin Road Home (I reviewed it here last year, if you’re interested – it’s a great cookbook), said it serves four, but I think this recipe makes a huge batch, at least 8 filling servings. Which means, not only is it delicious, but also economical for feeding a family. Give this one a try this fall, I think you’ll like it.

Ecuadorian Chicken and Rice Stew

Recipe adapted slightly from The Latin Road Home. Serves 8-10.

• 3 lb. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 TBS whole cumin seeds
• 2 TBS achiote paste (I used a Latin spice mix with achiote in it that I found at Wholefoods)
• 1 tsp Spanish smoked hot paprika
• 2 TBS tomato paste
• 6 c. chicken stock
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1 1/2 lb. fresh tomatoes, preferably plum, cored and cubed
• 1 c. long-grain white rice
• 2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 lb. frozen peas
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 c. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro
• hot sauce to taste

1. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, and sear the chicken pieces in batches. Cook thighs until skin is crispy and golden brown on both sides, flipping over once, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
2. Lower the heat to medium, and add the onion and red pepper to the pot. Cook until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin seeds, achiote paste, and paprika to the pot and cook, stirring, until spices are toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, then return the chicken pieces to the pot. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the rice, potatoes, and carrots, return soup to a simmer, then cover, and cook until chicken is falling off the bone and rice is fully cooked, about 40 minutes.
3. Uncover the soup and stir in the peas, oregano, parsley, and cilantro. Let peas heat through, then season to taste and serve with hot sauce.

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