ecuador!

if you follow along on my instagram or facebook, you'll know what an amazing time i had in ecuador.

my husband got to go last year while i was 8 months pregnant, with a 20 month old toddler, so this year, it was my turn!

i tried to take more than just foodie pictures, and if you disagree, i understand :)

enjoy!

our first breakfast. fresh bread, fresh jam, fresh juice, fresh fruit, fresh coffee. what could be better?

our first place.

rock slide!

the mist coming in the valley

the entrance to a little coffee plantation we toured.

stunning view! 

and baby coffee seedlings!

a coffee cherry!  delicious!

a little mountain stream and ancient bridge across it.

hiking to see the tilapia farm

beautiful doors of cotacachi!

lunch break in the middle of the ecuadorian jungle

a self-imposed travel delay this time...a farmer drying his fresh cacao beans...right on the road!

ecuadorian lunches are the biggest meal of the day.  

and always include the most delicious soups you've ever tasted!

fresh strawberry juice

all the wood is local and gorgeous.

we stopped in the open air market in bahia for a snack before heading out for the day.

1. fresh peanut butter

2. beautiful colors

3. fresh fish

4. a sweet vendor

5. spices

6. and, always, saint mary. even in the market.

driving up the beach in bahia, on a misty, foggy day

still absolutely breathtaking.

another fresh breakfast!

this one included fresh yucca bread...which i will be trying to replicate immediately.

sorry.

lunch that day.

fried plantain chips with cool cucumber salsa and a warm, queso of some sort.

boiling-in-the-little-cauldron-peanut soup.  

hands down, the best dish i had in ecuador.

spicy shrimp with tostones and fried eggs

we toured a cattle ranch, owned by one of our friends down there

...and an amazing, 100 year old, colonial style house on the bay.

gorgeous.

makes you dream of running a b&b out of it.

view from our b&b.

ramon, here, taught me how to make his fresh ceviche, from the back of his beach truck.

our friend, xavier, took us to his chef friend's house, one night.

gourmet appetizers and massive peruvian entrees, plus wine, for ten bucks a head. 

can't beat it.

the ecuadorians know. their. bread. 

rivals the french.

flora.

treasures.

the beautiful cathedral in cotacachi

the equator!

*sorry that looks odd, one of those pictures is iphone, one is real camera.*

since everyone juices everything down there, they like to invent new ones.

xavier's mother kindly invited us for the afternoon at her casa and served this amazing mix.

lemongrass, ginger, carrot, lime.  

ah-ma-zing.

the best road snack ever.

mote.

another score!

sumac is run by a solo chef that specializes in $8, 4 course, gourmet dinners.

win.

the indigenous market in otavalo.

volcanoes everywhere!

sampling some of that fresh bread.

just beautiful.

san francisco church in quito

the convent

the president's palace!

the basilica

where else can you climb up in the rafters of an ancient church?!

see that vaulted ceiling? yep, that's what i was just walking on top of.

the virgin, who watches over quito from her mountain

ecuador, you have my heart...

but next time, this cutie that surprised me at the airport, is coming with me :)