ECUADOR Beach and Market days

Friday has arrived and after a very lazy Thursday at home, we made plans to drive south to Santa Marianita which is a small village south of Manta about 20 minutes.  The road is windy and rolls up and down but is paved and easy to navigate.  Along the way, we see how the rural local people live and it is very interesting.  Many live in small brick homes on steep hillsides with fenced areas that run down the steep hill.  I would assume these areas are for goats or chickens.  We didn’t see much animal life but were happy about that because it was quite sunny and they wouldn’t have a lot of protection from the sun.  We would dip into a valley, then rise up and out to a stunning view of the aqua and blue Pacific Ocean.

Santa Marianita has been referred to by “Little Canada” becasue there are many Canadians who winter in this small beachside community over the winter months.  Here you will find some of the best kite-surfing in all of Ecuador.  There is a steady wind and the waves are quite favorable for this sport.  We even saw a sizeable Canadian flag blowing in the wind !!

Along the beach we found many little restaurants offering fresh fish and local menus.  We stepped into one and enjoyed a fresh fish meal with a couple of very cold beers as we enjoyed the stunning view of the beach and the ocean.  After an hour on this patio, we concluded that we have to make a couple of trips a week here for lunch or dinner and the uninterupted views of the Pacific !  The setting is just so perfect !

This meal was $5.00 and I couldn’t eat all of it.!

After lunch we enjoyed a long walk along the beach letting the waves swoosh in and wash over our feet.  Once again, we are mesmerized by the warmth of the water here !  Satisfied and refreshed, we drove through the village one more time and drove back to our city home.

Saturday has arrived and Joe is off to golf with the boys at Montecristi which is just south of here 20 minutes.  Jan and I decided to go to the Central Market (Mercado Centro) to stock up on our weekly supplies of fruit and vegetables.   All the farmers bring in their produce to this market which is on the second floor above a huge meat market.  I can tell you I want on that escalator fast and to get to the top because I do NOT like the smell of the meat market which is on the main floor!!   For less than $10 here is what I came home with today.

At the market, I learned that you hand the merchant $1.00 and ask him for whatever that $1 will get you.  In this way, you receive far more than you would if you gathered a quantity of something then asked “how much”.
I was delighted to find fresh pureed warm peanut butter at the market!!  I had been craving peanut  butter and could not find it in the grocery stores.  Voila - here it is at the market ... and it is warm because it has been ground from warm roasted peanuts !!

The vendor in this photo is scooping my peanut butter ‘order’ into a small plastic bag.  I had to squeeze it out of the bag into a container once I got home.

The bananas here are tree ripened (rather than being in a refridgerator truck for days and room temperature ripened) and you can just imagine how sweet they are !!  And the flavour is amazing!  I stocked up on more Dragon Fruit which has become one of our favorites here in Ecuador.  The peppers are full of flavour and tonight I think we will enjoy a stir fry of onions and peppers !

When you buy onions in the markets or grocery stores here, they are always peeled.  Here is a vendor peeling his red onions for display and sale in his stall.

That’s it for this blog.  Time to settle in on the balcony and get my nose into a good book !

Until next time...