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Falling In Love In Ecuador

On my first trip to Ecuador I discovered that the official currency of is the U.S. Dollar. A nice surprize, since I thought I’d have to find a place to exchange money at midnight in Quito. Not only could I use the dollar bills in my pocket, but just one of them would buy a three-course lunch at a clean restaurant. I fell in love with Ecuador immediately. I fell in love with my wife Ana a few days later.

Quito, Ecuador

I loved Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Centro Del Mundo, the hostel where I stayed the first few days, cost $4 per night, including breakfast. The walls had maps and all the information I needed on them. There were travelers from fourteen countries there during my stay.

I took a tour to the volcano Cotapaxi, and hiked up to the glaciers with three others, from Israel, France and England. I danced (Free Rum in the hostel on Friday nights), wandered the city streets, and took spanish lessons from a beautiful tutor. Ana was not only a great teacher, but soon became my tour guide and, eventually, my wife.

Riobamba, Ecuador

Riobamba is another beautiful mountain city. My hotel was $3 per night, this time in a private room with a TV. The manager had connections, and information on anything I wanted. He arranged for a guide to take me up Mount Chimborazo, which at 20,600 feet is the furthest point from the center of the Earth (due to the bulge at the equator). After climbing 4,000 feet of glaciers, I made it to the summit.

Banos, Ecuador

Back in Quito, I called Ana, and we made plans to go to Banos De Santa Agua, a town in central Ecuador, famous for its hotsprings. The bus was $3, a nice motel with cable T.V. cost $7 per night. The second day there, we ate out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, went to the hotsprings, bought souvenirs, went to a movie, went out drinking and dancing – and the entire day, including motel, cost $34!

In fact, the entire trip, including airfare, the fee for the guide on Chimborazo, and everything else, cost $1040. That was for four weeks. How I kept it so cheap is a subject for another article.

More Information on Ecuador

The mountain towns (Quito, Riobamba, Loja, Cuenca, Otavalo, Ibarra, Ambato, Latacunga) have wonderful climates. Highs are in the 60s to 70s fahrenheit year-round. Guayaquil and the coastal cities can be hot, but the temperature is moderated by the Humboldt Current, which brings cool water along the coast of South America.

If you like beaches, you have many options. In Salinas, for example, you can sit on a beautiful Pacific Ocean beach, while vendors bring you everything from beer to ice cream to chair rentals an music. For $20 you can rent a jet ski and have some fun in the waves.

The Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador, and tour information is available in all major cities (It’s cheaper to wait until you’re in Ecuador to book a tour).

Good meals can still be had for under two dollars in most cities, if you eat where the locals do. Hotels in most cities start at around $12 (less for a bed in a hostel). Cross-country travel by bus is cheaper and more comfortable than bus travel in the U.S.

The people of Ecuador are almost universally friendly, and speak one of the clearest, easiest to understand dialects of Spanish (A great place to learn). Ecuador is a safe, democratic republic, with a legal system similar to that of the U.S.

About the Author

Steve Gillman hit the road at sixteen, and traveled the United States and Mexico alone at 17. Now 40, he travels with his wife Ana, whom he met in Ecuador. Read their stories, tips and travel information at: http://www.EverythingAboutTravel.com

Falling In Love In Ecuador by Steve Gillman

The Wonderful Wildlife of Southern Spain

 69, 70,71, 72. I am trying to count the Griffon Vulture’s as they glide effortlessly on their 2m. wingspan over the top of the mountains opposite my home.

Earlier I was checking the damage to our vegetable patch as the wild boar were here again last night and they seem to have taken a shine to my husband’s carrots!

I glance up as I hear the screech of a Booted Eagle letting his mate know she has nothing to fear from the carrion eating vultures as their constant circling takes them further and further down the valley searching no doubt for some unfortunate Ibex or goat who tried one leap too many.

The wildlife here is phenomenal nd the variety of birds seems never ending. Last night we could hear the hooting of the European Eagle owl at the valley bottom and at the sametime were lulled back to sleep by the beautiful singing of a nightingale perched somewhere outside our bedroom window.

After living here for over 14 years I am still amazed by the diversity of wildlife. I am still in awe at the glimpse of a yellow flash through the undergrowth as a Golden Oriele goes about it’s business love to watch the comic Hoopoe hopping frantically about chasing insects and the sound that I can only describe as gunfire as the many varieties of woodpeckers seek out grubs. I am especially intrigued by the vast array of birds of prey soaring effortlessly over our home, many of which I still can’t identify.

The setting is one of wooded valleys and majestic mountains with large swathes of wild flowers in the spring and many varieties of fruits and nuts in the summer, autumn and winter.

I find a net and remove an unwanted guest, ( a salamander) from the pool and then put on my bathers and have a dip.

Where is this paradise I hear you ask? Well it might surprise you to know that at the weekends I travel 20 minutes with my husband and all his Karaoke equipment to the bustling bars of the Costa del Sol where he works.

Yes, we live in Andalucia. the Real Spain. Less people, less traffic and over 70% of all European wildlife- a veritable paradise indeed.

About the Author

Article submitted by Ruth Polak the owner of www.costadelsol-vacationrentals.com A web site specializing in holiday villas and apartments on the Costa del Sol and in Rural Andalucia. You will also find lots of information about Spain and Andalucia, in particular.

The Wonderful Wildlife of Southern Spain by Ruth Polak

The Dominican Republic The Real Truth

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at loverboybachelor@yahoo.com

The Dominican Republic The Real Truth

A carribean paradise or a haven for corruption.

White sandy shore lines and beautiful reasonably priced all-inclusive beach resorts.The Dominican Republic can offer you the best vacation of your life.

If you plan to get outside of your hotel room a good tour guide can be worth the money.

For a retirement destination it can be risky because the economy is very unstable and the dollars yo yo has left American products at about 10 times the their prices in the United States.When the dollar started going up from about 19 to 1 to 57 to 1 you could see the merchants in the stores and supermarkets raising there prices every five minutes. But when the dollar dropped from 57 back to 27 to 1 the stores owners didn’t notice and just sat in there offices and forgot to lower the prices. The Dominican people are close to starving to death because of the prices of food in the stores. Which also equates to extremely high prices for a person vacationing in dollars or living in dollars in the Dominican Republic. The tourist can get around the gastly prices by simply staying in an all-inclusive resourt. I had a stomach ache after eating my favorite peanut butter and fried banana sandwhich and went to buy a bottle of Pepto Bismol that cost $1.98 back home and I had to pay $15 dollars. That gives you an idea of how prices are set.

For a bachelor looking for a girlfriend or wife, there is no place better. The Dominican Republic has many available beautiful women. And I don’t say beautiful lightly. The Dominican Republic holds the crown for Miss Universe. Amelia Vega was crowned Miss Universe in 2003. To avoid the wrong girl again the bachelor looking for that special girl needs that special tour guide who is also a professional matchmaker. These beautiful girls are readily available but you have to know how and where to look for them. Again you have to have the right professional guide for the job. See the resource box listed below.

Getting around . You will need the military version of the Humvee. I couldn’t imagine any worse roads in the world. You can go into the most exquisite areas in the Dominican Republic where their wealthy live and you will find mud roads with deep holes in the roads. The wealthy have no respect for their communities. Trash , Dominicans aren’t happy if they don’t have some trash in the street. Even in the most exclusive areas.

The people. The nicest people in the world. They are kind, friendly and beautiful people. They seem to love Americans.They have an American raised and educated President. He was born in the Dominican Republic but raised and educated in New York.

Safety, In my opinion one of the safest countries on earth. Less violence against their own people and tourists than most places you might want to vacation or retire.

Theft issues. They will steal your shirt off your back if your not looking. However, very little armed robbery. Again it’s a very safe country if you use common sense as to where you go.

Bank safety. The government seems to be more honorable than most countries. When A local banker stole 2.5 billion dollars from a local bank the government stood behind the bank and paid back the money, but in pesos. You wouldn’t get your money back if a U.S or Western Country banker stole that much money.

Corruption. The banker stole 2.5 billion and walked away as free as a bird. He is flying around in his helicopters and cruising in one of his private yahts in the French Riviera right now. While the poor people can’t even buy a green banana to eat. Why? That’s the Dominican system. If your going to steal… steal big. You can walk away as free as a bird. Steal a Papaya and you could be gunned down in the street. Both events actually happened in the Dominican Republic. Moral of the story. Steal 2.5 billion dallars and you walk. Steal a papaya and you can be shot dead. You can buy your way out of anything in the Dominican Republic with 2.5 billion dollars. But if you don’t have 100 pesos for the papaya you could be in trouble.

Not to worry, the International Monitary Fund is repacing all of the money, no questions asked. They swept the whole scandel under the rug and have committed to return all the stolen money. You decide if the IMF is promoting corruption. The American Embassy screamed about the scandel. But the IMF is standing behind there decision to replace the stolen money and they are not demanding that the banker be held accountable for the crime.

But lets look at the over all picture. Would I recommend the Dominican Republic for retirement or a vacation . You bet your life I would. I love it. I am a 56 year old bachelor and the young women think I am Elvis Presley come back to life. Admittedly I have a stong resemblence and my name is Elvis and I was born in Mississippi and I later lived in Menphis. However, if you bachelors don’t know how and where to look for the nice girls you can and will go home empty handed without your Miss Universe. I couldn’t possibly pick one wife out of all these beautiful women so I decicided to keep just keep them all for myself. But one day my vacation will come to an end and I will take my Miss Universe bride home to live in Graceland. I’m coming home. The King. Elvis King. Since I can’t write songs any more I decided to write articles. Elvis.

Elvis King specializes in finding that special dream girl or girls for the lonely, older man. His one on one Bachelor Dream Tours are becoming so popular that soon only the wealthiest will be able to go on the Bachelor Dream Tour do to the waiting list and popular demand. Email him at loverboybachelor@yahoo.com

About the Author

Elvis King was born in Mississippi and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He is a retired actor and singer. Not to be confused with the other Elvis. Elvis Presley.

Email: loverboybachelor@yahoo.com

The Dominican Republic The Real Truth by Elvis King

Spanish Food – How To Make Spicy Gazpacho Soup.

Home-made soups are so good for you – all that nourishing stock and chock-a-block full of vitamins and minerals.

But … who on earth could face boiling bones for hours on end during the scorching Spanish summer weather, not to mention preparing the soup once the stock is made? I don´t think it would tickle anybody´s fancy to then have to tuck into a piping-hot soup!

For this reason, the Spanish came up with their wonderful, ice-cold soup – gazpacho – beautifully colorful, packed with goodness, cheap and simple to prepare, no cooking and … most important of all, an absolute delight to drink.

Traditional gazpacho originates from romantic Andalucia – that large, exotic southerly region of Spain which is home to such extensive Arabic influence.

The chilled, raw soup was originally made by pounding bread and garlic with tomatoes, cucumber and peppers but, nowadays, your electric blender renders this effortless! Olive oil endows it with a smooth, creamy consistency and vinegar adds a refreshing tang – just what you need when life gets too hot to handle!

The spicy soup should be served in true Spanish style with small bowls of accompaniments – finely chopped peppers, cucumber, onion … even hard-boiled eggs and croutons, if you feel up to it! Guests will then sprinkle what appeals to them on the soup.

Traditional gazpacho is tomato-based, with most Spanish families having developed their own, unique recipes. However, nowadays, you will also find gazpacho recipes that have nothing to do with tomatoes – white, almond-based gazpachos, fruit-based gazpachos, etc.

Do you suffer from insomnia? Could be that drinking gazpacho is the answer, for in Pedro Almodovar´s 1987 film “Mujeres Al Borde De Un Ataque De Nervios”, various characters help themselves to the soup and promptly fall asleep!

However, don´t fall asleep just yet as you haven´t read over the recipe!

Ingrediants for 4 servings:

- 4 ripe tomatoes – 1 onion – ½ red pepper – ½ green pepper – ½ cucumber – 3 cloves garlic – 50 g bread – 3 dessertspoons vinegar – 8 dessertspoons olive oil – Water – Salt/pepper – ¼ chilli pepper (optional)

Garnishings:

- 2 hard-boiled eggs – ½ finely chopped onion – ½ finely chopped red pepper – ½ finely chopped green pepper – ½ finely chopped cucumber

Method:

1. Break up bread and soak in water for 30 minutes.

2. Skin tomatoes, remove seeds and stalks from peppers.

3. Peel cucumber, onion and garlic.

4. Chop onion, garlic, tomatoes, peppers and cucumber.

5. Place in electric blender.

6. Squeeze out excess water from bread and add to blender.

7. Add oil and vinegar.

8. Blend well.

9. If necessary, add sufficient water for soup-like consistency.

10. Pour into a bowl with ice cubes.

11. Fridge for a couple of hours.

12. Serve in bowls, with garnishings in separate dishes.

Gazpacho is best enjoyed sitting in the shade, looking out onto an azure sea, blue sky and golden sun and sands!

About the Author

Linda Plummer is webmistress of the site: http://www.top-tour-of-spain.com which provides a wide range of information regarding Spain and the Spanish language.

Spanish Food – How To Make Spicy Gazpacho Soup. by Linda Plummer

Spanish Food – How To Prepare Boquerones.

Whilst on your travels in Spain and pausing to take a breath from site-seeing, you have surely experimented with “tapas” at a welcoming bar.

If this is the case, it is more than likely that you have come across the small, tasty filleted fish, preserved in olive oil, sliced garlic and chopped parsley, and highly popular throughout Spain. This delectable dish is usually known as “boquerones” but, depending on the area, can also be called “anchoas”.

Boquerones are small, fresh anchovies. Accompanied by crisp, fresh Spanish bread, a glass of ruby-red wine or refreshing Asturian cider, they are a delight to eat. Moreover – as with many traditional Spanish dishes which comprise the renowned Mediterranean Diet – they are extremely healthy.

Like its friend the sardine, the anchovy is an oily fish, packed full of proteins and minerals, protecting against heart disease, and “good” for cholesterol. What´s more, in many areas of Spain – in particular the Mediterranean coast – fresh anchovies are extremely cheap.

On first coming to Spain, I happily enjoyed many tapas of boquerones, completely unaware of one fact … all those little anchovies I had eaten were not cooked! For a moment, I deeply regretted asking my Spanish neighbor, Carmen, how to make them!

Fortunately, Carmen went into immediate action and saved the day! She frog-marched me to the local fishmongers, bought a kilo of the little fish, took me home and showed me “her way” of preparing them. They were so delicious that I quickly recovered my passion for boquerones and have been enjoying them ever since!

Methods for preparing boquerones tend to vary slightly from family to family. However, the basic principles are always the same. You first have to clean and fillet the fish, which is simple enough, but rather tedious until you get the hang of it.

Next, you soak the fillets, either in white wine vinegar or a mixture of half vinegar and half water. The vinegar will clean and bleach the fish and also soften any remaining little bones. Some people sprinkle the fish with salt; others (myself included) feel that the fish is salty enough already.

The fish has to be left for a good few hours soaking in the vinegar. Again, this tends to vary, with some Spaniards leaving them overnight in the fridge and others just waiting a couple of hours. Also, some families change the vinegar/water-and-vinegar mixture once during this process, whilst others don´t bother.

Once you have thrown away the vinegar, the bleached fillets are covered with a good quality virgin olive oil, which will preserve them. You can add as much, or as little, sliced garlic as you wish, plus freshly chopped parsley.

So … here is the actual recipe.

BOQUERONES

Ingrediants:

- 1 kilo fresh anchovies. – White wine vinegar. – Virgin olive oil. – Garlic. – Parsley. – Salt (optional).

Method:

1. Top and tail anchovies.

2. Slit along underside and discard innards.

3. Open out fish.

4. Remove central bone by lifting from tail end upwards.

5. Rinse well.

6. Place a layer of anchovy fillets in a shallow dish.

7. Sprinkle with salt (optional) and pour on plenty of vinegar.

8. Repeat with another layer, changing direction.

9. Leave to soak in vinegar for a few hours or overnight.

10. Pour off vinegar.

11. Very gently rinse fillets.

12. Cover fillets in virgin olive oil.

13. Add slices of garlic and chopped parsley.

It is so pleasant to find something in life that is a delight to the senses, affordable, healthy and does nobody any harm (apologies to any vegetarians out there and, also, the little anchovies …). So … do make the most of fresh anchovies whilst you are in Spain and enjoy!

About the Author

Linda Plummer is English and has lived on the Costa Blanca in Spain for 20 years. She is webmistress of the information- rich site: http://www.top-tour-of-spain.com with its FREE monthly newsletter, “The Magic of Spain”.

Spanish Food – How To Prepare Boquerones. by Linda Plummer