Believe it or not I’ve been up since 2:30am after falling asleep around 10:30pm (I ended up doing my write-up and posts on my socials for the day and just stayed awake). The cooking class that we had scheduled for Thursday had been re-scheduled for this morning and we were going to get picked up at 8:20am. We got ourselves together and headed downstairs to be picked up on time.

Andres and his wife Silvia greeted us and we were on our way. He told us that there would be two other people joining us which we didn’t mind because we enjoy meeting new people and sharing experiences with them. We drove to the Old Town area and Silvia got out to pick them up. She returned with two girls from New Hampshire Christy and Erin. Silvia then continued to take the metro to meet us at the cooking class area while we went to the market.

My mom and I ended up paying another visit to Mercado Central with the rest of the group. There Andres gave us a drink concotion from one of his favorite vendors. Guanábana con mora is a soursop and blackberry juice and it was delicious (I was surprised how good it was because I don’t like either fruit individually-my mom said it would be really good if it had allcohol in it). We shopped around with Andres for the things that we would need to make the dishes for the cooking class today.

Once done at the market, we hopped back in the car and went to the location of the activity. When we arrived we saw Silvia and met an older woman named Magola (she said she is 75 years old and she looks amazing). Magola and Silvia were so nice in showing us how everything is prepared and used for each step of the process. There were many things that we learned (like oil isn’t really necessary with a lot of things just add water) and said that we would apply when we attempt to fix the dish at home.

Trying some of the ingredients was a good experience especially with the things we were unfamiliar with. For example we tried naranjilla which looks like an orange on the outside but is green on the inside and it was delicious. On the menu for today was the following: Canelazo (a cinnamon drink), Locro Quiteño (potato soup with cheese and avocado), Ecuuadorian Shrimp Ceviche and Homemade Aji (Ecuadorian Chili). Silvia was nice enough very early on to send us the recipes via What’s App as soon as we arrived.

We began first by making the Canelazo which tasted like a hot/mild apple cider but it was really good (plus there was a shot of sugarcane alcohol in it). We drank this as we prepped the Locro Quiteño and Ceviche. We enjoyed listening and talking amongst one another comparing and contrasting how Magola was showing us what to do with how we might do it at home. If you cook you know every ingredient is essential as well as the measurement. Of course one can do as they please for the recipe is just the standard.

My mom and I have noticed while here that soup seems to come with every meal and we’ve had a few different Locro Quiteños and they were all delicious. I’m not much of a fan of ceviche and I don’t eat shrimp so I had the vegetarian version with some beans. Hot sauce was made to go with the food (we noticed there’s always some on the tables in Ecuador) and adding that to the soup was a game changer…fantastic! It didn’t take long to get full especially with the soup and it being as hearty as it was. In addition to what was on the menu we also had some patacones and two different types of fruit.

Afterwards we all ate we thanked Magola and Silvia for the experience. We took some photos with them and then bid the girls goodbye. We stayed with Silvia to waot for Andres as they would drop us back off at our Airbnb. Old Town seemed quite busy today as the traffic in the streets were crazy. Once we arrived back at our Airbnb we washed clothes and began to clean and pack.

It became apparent that we’d definitely have to wear layers of jackets and we hoped we’d find a way to get our souvenirs in our bags (or at least a bag that’s small enough where Avianca won’t say anything). After a few multiple attempts we decided to continue the process after I returned from scouting for food. Finding my last meal here was daunting as the place I went to was closed and there’s not that much with a 5 minute walk.

I settled for the pizza/italian place next door and ordered chicken alfredo. Back at the Airbnb we ate and then continued the task to pack until we figured it out. Once we both were able to successfully close our bag we then focused on our “food bag”. I think we’ve got it, I pray we do. Ecuador a time has been had but it’s time to go home now, until next time.