spaswinefood: Our culinary road trip through the Ecuadorian Highlands

Amadeus, Ewok and I at The Middle Of The World © Spaswinefood

Ecuador is known for its awesome exotic fruit, great fish and seafood and the extensive varieties of corn and potatoes. The coastal and Amazon areas provide great growing areas for fruit. The Andes however, provide great growing areas for corn and potatoes. If Argentina is all about beef then just maybe, Ecuador is all about corn (maize). There are so many fabulous Ecuadorian dishes made with fresh corn and/or potatoes.

After clearing customs at Colombian/Ecuadorian border we headed south to Ibarra in Northern Andes. We did a quick overnight stop at Hosteria Aruba in Ibarra. Then is was onto Quito. We spent a wonderful week in Quito visiting with our Ecuadoran friends (Miriam and Juan Francisco) and their extended family. The whole family accepted us immediately. Ewok (dog) loved visiting, hanging out in the garden while Amadeus (cat) slept. Thanks for treating us so well!!! The food was fabulous!! As you will see one Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a great barbecue.

A Sunday Afternoon Barbecue

Barbecuing chicken © Spaswinefood

. . . . . . . almost ready © Spaswinefood

Wonderful corn (choclo) !!!! © Spaswinefood

Table 1 © Spaswinefood

Table 2 © Spaswinefood

Table 3 © Spaswinefood

Juan Francisco offers some good Chilean wine © Spaswinefood

Wonderful Ecuadoran fresh fruit for dessert © Spaswinefood

After leaving Quito we went to Baños (Ambato) in the Central Andes. In Baños we stayed at Hosteria Monte Selva.

Breakfast at Monte Selva © Spaswinefood

Dining at the Swiss Bistro © Spaswinefood

Cheese fondue © Spaswinefood

We continued our drive south through the Central Andes to Aluasi where we took the train ride through Nariz del Diablo. After the train ride it was onto Ingapirca ruins where we camped for the night.

Ingapirca ruins are the only Inca ruins in Ecuador © Spaswinefood

From Ingapirca we headed south towards Cuenca. All along the highland route we often saw people wearing beautiful ponchos.

Colorful ponchos along the route © Spaswinefood

During our drive south through the Andes in a number of towns, we saw pigs roasting (hornado de chancho) at roadside eateries.

Pig Roasting © Spaswinefood

Hornado is often sold at roadside restaurants and at markets © Spaswinefood

Our first stop in the Southern Andes was at Azogues. Azogues is in a high Andean Valley north east of Cuenca. Since we always enjoy visiting local markets, we just had to visit the Azogues market. As we headed toward the market the streets were lined with vendors.

Karla and Gary buying fruit © Spaswinefood

Man at Azogues Market © Spaswinefood

Vegetable stall at market © Spaswinefood

Meat stall at market © Spaswinefood

Women selling vegetables © Spaswinefood

Women en route to market © Spaswinefood

Azogues Market was delightful. The displays were so colorful. After touring the market we headed south and stopped later for lunch at a pleasant roadside restaurant.

The meat option © Spaswinefood

The vegetarian option includes corn and potatoes © Spaswinefood

After lunch we drove onto Cuenca and Baños Cuenca. In an earlier posting on Ecuadorian hot springs I reported on these towns.

Market on the plaza in Cuenca © Spaswinefood

After four days in the Cuenca area we continued south in the direction of Loja. Saraguro, an agricultural town is a must stop on the route from Cuenca to Loja route. Saraguro is known for its stunning landscape, captivating culture, weaving and jewelry. We stopped for lunch on the plaza in Saraguro.

Restoring the church in Saraguro plaza © Spaswinefood

Dining at a restaurant on the plaza in Saraguro © Spaswinefood

Cui for lunch at a traditional Saraguro restaurant © Spaswinefood

John had cui (guinea pig) for lunch. Cui is a common food in Ecuador.

As we journeyed through the Andes John often prepared great meals for us at camp. One Andean staple that he often uses in his cooking is quinoa.

Quinoa stuffed peppers and caprese salad © Spaswinefood

When we left Cuenca he headed south to Loja then onto Zamora where we visited the Podocarpus National Park. The Podocarpus National Park is one of the jewels of Southern Ecuador. The park gets its name from the podocarpus tree, the only native conifer in the Ecuadorian Andes. There in the Andean cloud forest you can see many different birds such the toucan and other animals such as spectacled bear, mountain tapers and pigmy deer. The elevation in the area ranges from 900 to 3, 600 meters.

While in Zamora we stayed two nights at a bird sanctuary Copalinga Cabañas. Zamora's lower elevation gives it a tropical climate. For anyone interested in birding this is the spot.

While in Zamora we took lunch one day at a local restaurant in town.

We also enjoyed a number of meals at Copalinga Cabañas. Then one morning we had this great breakfast.

After leaving Zamora we headed through mountains back to Loja where we headed to Macara, near the Peruvian border.

The above photos captures only some images from our travels. We totally enjoyed our culinary journey through the Ecuadorian Highlands. Our stops included Ibarra, Quito (Miriam and Juan Franciso), Baños (Ambato - Monte Selva Hosteria), Ingapirca (camped at ruins), Baños (Cuenca – Dana Hosteria), Cuenca (camped at Yucayana Cabañas), Zamora (Copalinga Cabañas) and Macara (camped at Ecuadorian Military camp). In Quito Miriam and Juan fed us too well, we got to try wonderful local food (awesome fruits, corn and more).

I invite you to join me in my travels in Ecuador and elsewhere at Spaswinefood.

Sharon

November 2010

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Friday, November 12, 2010

Our culinary road trip through the Ecuadorian Highlands

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