Forget4Explore

Ecuadorian food has proved to be much better than we anticipated.  Well, at least here on the coast and likely because we are seafood fans. There have been some misses for sure and we are learning that we can prepare some pretty badass meals ourselves.  Here's a little sampling of what we've put in our mouths this past month. CEVICHE (2-6$) Shrimp and fish ceviche  If you don't know what ceviche is, it's raw seafood (except the shrimp) cured in lime juice, oil and spices and garnished with veggies ( mainly onion and tomato). The ceviche here is swimming in curing liquid. It's usually served with plantain chips that you crumble like crackers into soup. You can find ceviche in just about every restaurant. In this area, you can also find it on the beach. There are ceviche carts ready to mix you up a bowl from scratch right in front of your eyes. Ceviche a la concha (black clams) And you can't help but love that it's always served ...

Sorry, we've been MIA for the last while. We've  been on a forced technology detox. The t.v and Internet have been out for almost a week. Also, the boys have been sick... maybe sand isn't the best choice for your meal, or sucking on the soles of our dirty sandles, but hey what do I know? It's taken a lot of diapers, Advil and coffee to get through the last 8 days, but we survived. I'm happy to report that this morning we woke up at a relatively normal time, poop, fever and screaming free. Now if only the weather would cooperate. We managed to get out most days despite poo explosions. Our big excursion of the week was a walk to Montañita one afternoon. We "hiked" up the hill to a small church that sits on the cliff. We had a great view of Olón and the surrounding jungle. We also spotted whale spouts not far off shore. In Montañita we explored the streets, had some delicious empanadas and checked out the murals around town. Othe...

Luke blogging... Our life in Olon continues to be full of activities and new adventures.  The boys have discovered the beach and the many possible things to do there.  Vander runs into the surf as soon as we arrive.   Archie having a little less insulation plays in the sand and warms up in the sun before entering the water.  Arch has made much progress already though,  he will laugh and play in the waves now when before getting his feet wet was an ordeal. Saturday nights seem to be the night to really party hard here.  They had music pumping until 3 am.  We are thinking of joining the fun this Saturday night after the boys go to bed.  Despite the raucous Saturdays Olon is normally  a sleepy beach town.  Full of great people and tourists alike.  One thing we've found in Equador is that you do not get taken advantage of as a tourist as often as in other countries. Cab drivers are honest, the same fare applies to ...

Welcome to Olón, our home for the next month. It's a small town with a great beach. We walk daily to town and get our necessities for the day. Our first full day, we came to town for breakfast. We had eggs and such and the boys played at the playground in town, which they loved. Van seems to attract a lot of attention from the spanish girls. Maybe because he's smiling and waving at them constantly. We are slowly learning that it's best to eat out for the most part because it's super cheap, easier and much tastier than anything we whip up. We did cook up some langustines we bought off a local fisherman. We're pretty sure we got a little hosed for being white, but it was still only a dollar a shrimp. I sauteed them in butter with garlic, onion and lime juice. Simple, but when you have fresh ingredients, it doesn't take much. Later we hit up the beach. The weather has been overcast everyday. While it means that everyone at home will likely be much da...