Saturday, December 31, 2016

Ecuador- my pictorial history VI: the jungle; Mindo

Leaving Baños, the trip to the jungle was only about an hour's drive.  We passed through the small town of Shell, named after The Shell Oil Company, who in 1937 built an airstrip and several shacks they used as a base for oil prospecting in the region.  They abandoned the town in 1948, having never  produced a single barrel of oil.  




We stopped at a monkey refuge, where we saw some exquisite simians as well as some exotic birds.
mad about something
While hiking to some falls, our guide treated us to some jungle remedies, and a facial using a special mud.  
random flower

Near the end of the day we stopped at a tiny village, where some children painted our faces, we learned how to chuck a spear, and we met the angriest little monkey I ever did see.The monkey is nocturnal, and the children thought it would be fun to wake him up to show him off to us.  The entire time we were there he just wanted to go back to sleep, trying to nestle against us, and every single time we moved he bit us out of tired frustration.  Bad monkey.



He might look cute, but this is one sleepy, mean little monkey





Mindo

On another day our travels took us to Mindo, a quaint little town known for a chocolate factory, El Quetzal (http://www.elquetzaldemindo.com/chocolate/), and a butterfly farm, Mariposas de Mindo.  


along a tour of El Quetzal:  cacao pod, roasted cacao seeds, and crushed cacao seeds 


cacao pod
inside the butterfly farm



very cool flowers at the butterly farm

these flowers look like pink swans

hangin' out




 Outside of Mindo, on the road to Quito, is the museum demarcating the 'middle of the world,' where the latitude is allegedly 0 degrees latitude, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.  I'm standing with one foot in North America, and one foot in South America.  The official or touristy 'middle of the world' is a HUGE *tourist trap* called Ciudad Mitad del Mundo.  DONT GO THERE.  IT'S AWFUL.  I'm not kidding folks, IT'S REALLY REALLY BAD!  A much more interesting place to visit is Museo de Sitio Intiñan (http://museointinan.com.ec/en/site-museum-intinan/), where you can perform various experiments (a.k.a. parlor tricks) relating to standing on the middle of the world.  Experiments that involve balance, equilibrium, and strength.  They're all really fun to do, and well worth the admission price, which isn't that bad.







Ecuador- my pictorial history V: Baños



Before we begin, a photo taken from our main window...

One of our favorite towns to visit, Baños, or Baños de Agua Santa, is a fantastic little town nestled in a valley below one enormous volcano looming overhead.  The volcano, Tungurahua, is one of the most active volcanos in South America.  I love to visit Baños, but I would not live there.

view of the pools at Luna Runtun, a spa/resort on the slopes of volcán Tungurahua, overlooking Baños

Luna Runtun pool; we stayed here once

the pool overlooks the valley
Tungurahua
Volcán Tungurahua
We were in Baños for nearly a week before we got to actually see Tungurahua; most of the time it is enveloped in clouds.

outside of Baños, a hike to Pailon del Diablo (Devil's Cauldron)
                                       A short clip of Devil's Cauldron falls....

part of the hike requires crossing this bridge

Not just in Baños, but most anywhere in the Andes Mts. you can see this cloud effect, where the clouds look like flames

The clouds are very busy; they are always in motion.  This entire scene changed in minutes.

Zip-lining or canopying is a popular activity in Baños.









Chimborazo, an inactive volcano; we passed by on the way to & from Baños

If you hike to the summit of Chimborazo, you are standing on the highest point on earth.  It is not as tall as Everest, but its position near the equator makes it the highest point.

Friday, December 30, 2016

Ecuador- my pictorial history IV: Popacuchu Fire & Sugar Café y Pastelería

Must start the show with a view from our main window... sunset.

Our plan after moving to Ecuador was to open either a bed & breakfast or café.  The bed & breakfast idea proved to be too expensive, so we went with the café.  We landed in Ecuador on July 31 2012, and opened our doors to Popacuchu Fire & Sugar Café y Pastelería on Jan. 23, 2013.  It caught on immediately; by the 2nd day the café began paying for itself.  The previous two years we won the "Best Pastries" and "Best Guilt Pleasure" categories in an annual "Best Of Cuenca" voting competition in a local expat website.

When we opened we had four employees:  three Ecuadorians and my step-daughter.  Two of the Ecuadorians were brothers, and their friend.  Within the first year their friend left, we hired the third brother for a short time, as well as a lady who lived down the street, a kid from the U.S. for three days, another Ecuadorian who lasted four days, and an Argentinian guy who started off gangbusters but ended up making our life hell.  He ended up taking us to court trying to squeeze money out of us after he quit, but his case was based on lies and the judge knew it, his lawyer knew it, so we won the case quite handily.

Throughout most of the second year it was just the Argentinian and the three of us (me, my wife, and step-daughter), and by September it was just the three of us.  My wife was the chef, cooking all of the pastries and food; maybe it would be easier if I just said, she cooked EVERYTHING.  My step-daughter was the prep-cook and also waited on tables, and I did everything out front, or in the 'front-of-the-house,' in restaurant lingo.  We lasted until July into the third year, 2016, before saying 'when.' We took our annual four-week vacation in mid-July, and never re-opened, selling the café in September.

The labor laws of Ecuador and the success of Popacuchu ultimately did us in.  While my wife researched the heck out of doing business in Ecuador, there were labor laws and changes to the labor laws that we didn't know about until after we had opened.  Figuring things out as we went along, it became clear after a short period of time that while we enjoyed having employees, we could not continue to hire them, and as they left for one reason or another, we learned to make due without.  In short, the employees have all the rights, while the employer has none, regardless of the worthlessness of the employee, and we just couldn't deal with that.  Trying to run the café with just the three of us became a nightmare; as our popularity grew so did our desire to kill each other.

We did make a few good friends while Popacuchu Café was open; I do not want to try and name everyone because I don't want to leave anyone out and offend.  But I already miss you Mike & Tammy and I'm going to miss you Daniel, Dave, Paul, Bob, and Marie!

Hundred of photos were taken on the couch, by our Turkish lamp.  Everyone loved this lamp!
The tiles on the side of the counter were hand-painted by Michelle; I received many offers to buy them.

full pastry case

My stepdaughter Melina, lovely wife Michelle, and me.




photo used for our website & Facebook page
my step-daughter
one of the original brothers; loved to eat!
Fernando, friend of the brothers, our best/favorite employee; moved back to the coast after 4 mos. to enroll in college


cinnamon buns




original creation of Michelle's

the Caramel Cloud, the most popular pastry

Truffle fudge (fudge dipped in chocolate)...(because fudge isn't sweet enough on its own)

Popacuchu Chocolate Fudge Cake w/Vanilla Cream filling, one of our best-selling cakes

Two key-lime tarts and a vanilla eclair


strawberry puff pastry w/vanilla cream
mint oreo cloud

the day the tax-man shut us down for 1 week, because we broke one of their stupid little rules

florentines gift box; florentines were our most popular item;  once a guy returning to Indiana bought 90 to take home 

strawberry mousse cup

truffle fudge variety gift box


And of course the post has to end with another view from our main window:
I love the way the clouds can hug the ground