Fruits and veggies are the way to go for the majority of meals. A cauliflower is 75 cents and feels as heavy as a bowling ball. Christelle commented that the veggies are very dense. Peter had never seen red in his urine after eating beets until now. Louis and Christelle are blood type B and their urine looks like blood. Peter and Angelina are type O and their urine looks like zinfandel. At first it could take up to a week for the urine to clear, but now it takes less time which is interesting. White carrots are steamed then mashed with garlic, parsley and salt, then served with quinoa and salad, or they can be turned into cakes and fried in a non-stick pan. The taste is not like mashed potatoes and not quite like carrots and is excellent. It is a little sweet. Zucchinis do not get mushy after being steamed and the skin is very tough as with bell peppers and many locally grown vegetables-all the better to protect from the bugs. Apples and pears are imported from Chile and cost 25 cents each. Bananas were everywhere for 5 cents each but the price has increased to 15 cents for 2 very recently. Plantains are currently 30 cents, up from 25 cents. Butter went from $2.45 to $2.90. We have seen many prices rise in the last seven months. Four years ago mangos were 4 for 25 cents. Now they are 4 for $1 in season and up to 80 cents each out of season. Apparently the same thing has been happening to the real estate values for several years. We have heard that $25,000 CD at a bank in Loja pays over 10% and it can be drawn upon every month.
There are no fast food joints in Vilcabamba. Our personal opinion of the restaurants in Vilcabamba is one of disappointment. We have experienced good meals at "Roots", "Pura Vida", "The Juice Factory" and the best meal at "Cafe Cultura", which is by far the best restaurant in town. But the rest has just not been that great. Obviously, a lot of people enjoy dining out from what we see and hear. We enjoy the meals cooked at home by Christelle with Peter chipping in with his few specialties. Our budget does not allow us to eat out much anyway, but we do take the kids out once a month to have a little fun. And Saturday is ice cream day and we go to town that night for French fries which tend to be a little undercooked. The quality of the potato is good to excellent-never frozen always fresh. Christelle is the French fry expert-she has been in love with them since she was a child and later had her own fryer back in France.
Farmers’ market is Sunday mornings. We usually purchase three baskets of fruits and veggies for $18-$20 that cover the kitchen table. Most vendors have all the same items. Prices can vary a little and quality between items can vary more. Locals have no problem selling food that is no longer good. We have discovered spider webs and worms in a container of walnuts and packaged cereal bars the kids receive at school that is supplied by the government. Rotten eggs, sour milk and moldy bread are just a few pleasantries that cross our path occasionally. The small stores in town sell all the same items that are available at the market for somewhat higher prices. They restock items wherever a space opens up and it is a scavenger hunt looking because many times the item is in a different place than the previous time. Store workers are very helpful. There is almost no diversity of food between the market and the stores. But, there is diversity between the local price and what is commonly referred to as the “gringo price”.
Extranjeros pay more and this is one reason why there is no pricing on the shelves. There is no way around it, a person just has to get used to it. We have experienced the “that is the old price” line more than once. Our first purchase in Vilcabamba was for drinks in a restaurant after our taxi ride from Loja. We ordered from a menu and it took a long time to get the check after we finished. We were told it was $4 and change when it had added up to $2.80 from the menu prices. “Those were the old menus” we were told. We left $2.80 with no tip, but were accosted before we made it down the steps. A heated discussion took place. Peter asked for the new menus. The manager told us that this is the price we would pay in the country we came from. Christelle let them know in decent Spanish that we are here because it is cheaper, if we want to pay US prices we will go there and she has travelled all over Latin America and never experienced this and they are "ladrones" (thieves). Christelle asked her if she wanted to call the police and the manager laughed. Months later, out of curiosity only, we were perusing the real estate flyers on the open door of a local company when the owner told us that “those are the old prices”. Many store owners do possess integrity and a few shops have prices on their products. These are the places we frequent the most.
Some people travel the one hour north to Loja for the markets (which are 3 times a week) for things they cannot get here and also for lower prices. We pass on this option but do travel there once a month or two for things at the “Supermaxi” that we like and cannot purchase here. It is a very nice grocery store that does not offer much lower prices than what is available locally. But "Supermaxi" has price tags, which is a rarity in Ecuador as is a receipt. After our first meal in Guayaquil after flying into Ecuador, the manager came over to tell us how much we owed-not the waiter. He could have been mistaken for Mafioso, and there was nothing in writing. His math did not add up to what was on the menu and Peter felt he was being muscled a little, but a correction was silently made with the tip. And most people do not tip or tip very little. What we learned about restaurants is if the menu is grimy or the bathroom is disgusting or does not have soap, we would be much better off not eating there.
Here is our limited understanding of the organic farming movement in Vilcabamba. It is just beginning to take hold but the rub is that the bugs are so tough that getting past pesticide use is difficult. We do buy a little produce from a local store that claims to be organic, but then some locals think that if they grow veggies in their backyard using very little chemicals that they are growing “organically”. Most people are not educated on the subject. On the plus side the locals are-to state it politely-frugal and will use the absolute minimal amount of pesticides possible. We have heard that pesticide use can be very heavy at sea level where the insects are a greater force to be reckoned with. We saw banana trees on the bus ride here that had banana bunches on the trees covered with blue or green plastic bags and have been informed that the contents are toxic. We occasionally find bugs in the produce we purchase-which we take as a good sign. Even potatoes and green beans can have worms.
Here is our theory on the nutritional value of the local foods. Until recently, the people here were generally very poor. Pesticide use was limited if used at all because it is almost futile and costs money which is in short supply. We believe the soils are very rich and contain a lot of the organisms that help assimilate nutrients and also create the good bacteria that is needed in the gut to ward off disease and maintain good health. It is our belief that the excessive use of chemicals in the farmlands of developed countries has led to soils that are more and more depleted of these vital organisms and the produce grown there is lacking the essentials. Our bodies feel as though we are going through a long, slow cleansing and rebuilding process. It is not necessary to get into detail about what has been coming out of our bodies, but we assure you it is very noticeable that the foods here are having a beneficial effect. And we cannot say enough about the tap water. It is sourced way up in the mountains of the Podocarpus National Park. It tastes great, is naturally soft and is said to contain colloidal gold and silver. A naturopath back in France told Christelle that colloidal copper, silver and gold is the trifecta for recovery, so we add copper to the water in our own rudimentary way. Store owners kept giving us lots of pennies and Peter had a dream that Louis was licking copper pipes while they were shopping for a water heater, so we figure it would benefit us to add copper.
We have heard that Incan warriors used to come here to Sacred Valley to recover and regenerate their bodies and souls. We feel that we are doing a little of the same in a very low stress environment with mild weather and wonderfully nutritious foods. We are taking an open ended break from the battle of modern society.
Louis and Angelina come out to help carry purchases in their backpacks. Thank you guys.
This person sells spices and herbs like cinnamon, pepper, "ahi peruviano" (a sort of mild colorful pepper), oregano, thyme, cumin etc.
We first thought this was soap! In fact these are blocks of brown sugar they cut up with a knife and add to drinks. They are cheap: 50 ct a block.
These are corn "humitas". They are like tamales but without a filling. They taste sweet.
This lady comes out every Sunday to sell tons of tamales and humitas.
These are "humitas". They are like a corn tamal but with no filling. They are good.
These are chicken tamales wrapped up in banana leaves. Yummy.
The local "Saraguros" sell nice looking vegetables.
Zapotes here are different from the ones in Guatemala. They have large pits.
Out in the street near the market, people sell their own fruit, here mangoes. 4 mangoes for a dollar.
This is the small indoor market where they sell meat and fish.
This is how much food we get for $20.
This is a "guaba". This funny pod sells for 25 ct-locals get it for 10 ct by the way. It contains large white seeds. We have a guaba tree in our front yard and we are getting our own pods every day when in season.
You only eat the outside velvety part of the seeds. It is delicious.
This is a "granadilla". You swallow all the seeds inside without chewing them.
This is a passion fruit. Same thing, you eat the seeds inside,
This is what white carrots look like.
This is raw cacao. We love eating small chunks of it.
Locals drink tons of sodas
and beer.
Check out this bunch of basil. So hardy.
This funny vegetable is said to cure cancer.
To conclude this post, we add a lovely worm dance video.
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