Nomadic Texan

Okay so I am not really a “little” piggy. I am a rather large piggy for my height. That is one of the reasons I keep coming back to Cuenca is to help myself lose weight. Each time I visit I lose ten to fifteen pounds. This is obviously a result of walking everywhere I go and significantly more than I do back home.

It is also a result of “The Amoeba” that exists and all Ex Pats meet about ten days into their visits. I have lost about 8 pounds and a notch on my belt, so I am well on my way! Saturday in Cuenca is “Market Day” and the locals come to Cuenca, shop and try to secure their food, supply and trinket needs.

I started walking around after my fabulous Thai dinner and wound up on Presidente Cordova, on the south side of the San Francisco Market area. It is basically an entire square block with booths and small paths, that lead every which way through the maze of cubicles dedicated to various and sundry items. I am always fascinated by what you find at these markets. I was not disappointed this past Saturday.

Aisle Between Booths at the San Francisco Market

This ia typical photo of one of the booths in the middle of the square and as you can see the stall is offering a variety of merchandise. Of special note was the amount of children’s backpacks being sold at a majority of the booths. I guess as school is about to start again, they must be a popular item.

Booth in Middle of the Market

Along the North side of the square and actually across the street is a set of booths that retail mainly clothing products made by local artisans. You can find a great poncho, shirt, scarf, bag or hoodie, if you can locate the appropriate size. This is an issue at times. The thing I like about the entire market is that you shop knowing the first price quoted is the “Gringo” price and if you don’t barter you are crazy. That is half the fun in my mind and the vendors seem to relish the practice.

Saturday Markets for Woven Goods and Various Apparel

As you leave the San Francisco Market square you come upon the Flower Market section and I could spend hours looking at their crafts. Sometimes I do actually spend a large amount of time, as their talents are very impressive. I always seem to take massive amounts of photos and cannot walk by this market, which is open daily, without at least one photo.

Flower Market at the Sanctuary by the New Cathedral

As I left the flower market and went across the street I noticed that several booths lined the side of the New Cathedral and were selling various items. The first one made me wonder if I had taken a wrong turn. This was my first time to see a Ecuadorian dressed up like an American Indian. He was playing the pan flute, which were also being offered for sale, along with CD’s of their music!

Ecuadorian Dressed Up Like an American Indian

As I strolled along the wall I encountered many more vendors and tried to capture as many different wares as were being sold. It was impossible and I could only capture a few that I will share with you now. As you are keenly aware, I am a “Hat” freak and really, really like to collect hats. I found many that would suit my tastes, but I also have to remember that I have three and a half more weeks to make a choice!

A Hat Vendor

I was drawn to this booth as a result of the tiny figurines and the intricate artwork displayed in their dolls. It was amazing and so detailed. One can kind of get a picture of the size by comparing the items to the hand in the photo. This was directly beside a booth of ceramic cars and trucks modeled after the wooden toys in the US built in the early 90’s. I asked the clerk how long it took to make the ceramic vehicles and he told me 30 minutes each. I couldn’t believe it.

Small Doll Replicas

It was strange to be back in a time zone and see these wares at the incense and globe booth. For a minute I thought I had traveled back in time and landed in the 60’s. Then I woke up! Really found this strange, but Ecuador did legalize small amounts of Ganja recently.

Lampshade and Incense Vendor

This pottery booth contained a wonderful collection of hand painted ceramic wares and drew my attention immediately. If I actually resided in Cuenca, I would lay out the few dollars needed to purchase some of these vases. They have no shortage of flowers that can be used to fill the vases and I can look at fresh flowers every day of my life. My wife Kim, said one of the reasons she married me was a bouquet of roses I sent her after our first date. She told me many years later she was hooked at that point. So guys buy your lady flowers!

Pottery Vendor.

Again my “Hat” fetish was drawn in to play and I had to stop and look at these of higher quality than the first booth. I could look at hats all day. I tend to buy hats with broad brims, but am open to a Fedora style and may make that step this trip.

Upgraded Hat Vendor

I hope you enjoyed the photos and I encourage you to dedicate at least a half day (and make it a Saturday) to shop at these markets. You will find great bargains and wonderful souvenirs that you can either share with friends and family or keep yourself. Saludos mi amigios!!!

One of my passions in life is very unhealthy, completely degenerate in nature, filled to the brim with sugar, butter fat and other high caloric ingredients, but I can’t help myself. I am addicted to it. I love sampling the many flavors and I love the various methods of serving it. At home in the US, I cannot purchase it without gobbling down approximately what is considered three or four servings (at least).

I usually make do and hold my urge to feast on the entire package and devour it in one sitting. I am so unlucky, because in Texas we have what is arguably the best in the world for sale in every grocery, convenience, drug store, mass merchandisers and warehouse stand alone membership venues like Costco and Sam’s Club. It is frankly a losing battle and if one does not have a strong disposition you will suffer the consequences. That is simply the enormous expansion of your waistline or what becomes a middle tire effect.

Mixx Heladeria with 80 Flavors with Jim and Connie Joliff

Obviously by now you have deduced I am speaking of ice cream. It is so hard to shop at my local HEB and pick and choose from all the wonderful fruits and vegetables offered and try to stroll by the Blue Bell ice cream section, without grabbing two or three half gallons. Yes I said half gallons. In the old days when all three sons were living at home and playing athletics, it was nothing to go through five or six half gallons a week.

Growing young men need their calories and proteins because of which many tend to invest in performance supplements for sale along with various diets. Furthermore, most of the fat tends to burn off in the Texas heat, along with a hundred degrees plus at their particular sport’s practices. Of course Mom and Dad needed excessive butterfat to enable us to do all that screaming for our sons prowess or at the officials, which usually dominated the yelling. Somehow our referees, umpires, etc were always below standard, or at least that was the case when we were losing!

Mixx Flavor Creations

My weight would fluctuate enormously with the advent of late spring and the high temperatures. How else would one cool down? Thank God I realized by the end of summer that I had to cease my ingestion of massive quantities of ice cream and behave normally again as the cold seasons arrived, or else I would have looked like a Goodyear blimp.

As I aged each year it became harder and harder to shed the excess weight, punctuated with a little syrup and more than likely whipped cream. Kim gravitated toward flavors like Butter Pecan, Vanilla and and anything with Carmel flavor. I was infatuated with Banana Pudding, all things Chocolate and many of the seasonal short term offerings.

Mixx Flavor Options

Over the years we cut back and started only eating ice cream on holidays and other celebrations. It was not easy to let go of my midnight cravings. I started measuring my ice cream scoops so that I could keep a count on how much I was having on a weekly basis. I pined away my fifties knowing I could not continue this charade. Then it happened. I visited Ecuador. A country full of organic fruits, vegetables and untainted food supplies like we have in the US, with all the GMO’s and preservatives.

I quickly noticed that there was a Heladeria on almost every block. Most were the run of the mill shops and served a gelato style ice cream with basic flavors and all serve a soft style, as rule. We talked with a few local Ex-Pats and they recommended Mixx Heladeria run by a Canadian genius.

Mixx Choice of Serving Methods

This place has all types of flavors, including Mojito, Red Bull, Amaretto, and tons of fruit and tasty creations. The sign on the front says 80 Sabores. I am guessing that is correct. Once you walk in, it takes a while to decide which flavors you want to try. There are so many that are appealing. You also then get to decide what vessel you want the ice cream served in, a waffle cone, a waffle dish, or a normal cone.

Then, you get to decide if you want it dipped in chocolate! My word it is tasty. I have attached several photos for your pleasure and I am sure in a few days when I am back to Cuenca, I will head to Mixx and start testing the various new flavors. Somehow with all the walking in Cuenca I manage to eat ice cream and lose weight at the same time. Now that is my kind of experience!

Mixx Flavor Creations