I forgot to mention that we did watch the Packer game Sunday. Tod and Jeremie (Jeremie configured everything while Tod complained it was taking to long) have it setup so Tod can turn on his SlingBox/NFL Ticket on a computer from here, connect the computer to our TV in Ecuador and we can watch anything available on the TV in Dallas. Crazy right? Anyway we enjoyed watching the Packers beat the 49ers right from the comfort of our Ecuadorian casa/home.

Monday we were on a mission to check out the local “Cake Factory” (not sure why the sign is in English, nobody there spoke a word of English). Sandra said this is a great place for coffee and breakfast, she was correct. The problem is, like most of the places in our neighborhood it does not open until 9:30 AM during the week and 10:00 AM on the weekends. Who the heck ever heard of a bakery / coffee shop that does not open until the morning is almost over? Oh well, it had great reviews and we had no choice, so we waited until 9:30 for coffee.

Next stop, the Panificadora or Bakery which is a great place to get fresh bread. There is a photo below and if you notice the green garage type door next to the bakery it is another shop that is just not open yet. It is strange, during the day the streets are busy with pedestrians and open shops. At night or early (Ecuadorian) mornings the streets are deserted and just look like rows of garage doors.

The photo of the fruit stand is not the greatest – the sun was in the wrong place – but you get the idea. These little fruit and vegetable stands are all over the place and the prices are great. I scored big time at the stand a few doors down the street. They had Guanàbana (not sure if there is an English translation) for $4.00! And not just one, they had several of them. I asked how much and was sure I did not understand what the shopkeeper told me when she said “cuatro dolares”, I repeated it back to her and held up 4 fingers and she nodded, “si cuatro dolares”. I am sure I could have bargained down but I was in such shock I just picked a ripe one out and put it in my bag. This was still expensive for Ecuador but not compared to the $25 they cost at the exotic fruit stand in Puerto Rico.

I wish I could send a case to Kristen, a friend from my Puerto Rico days. She loves Guanàbana so much that if there was only one at the stand we would save it for her. The taste is sort of a combination of strawberry and pineapple with an after taste of maybe coconut or banana – it’s hard to explain. Most of the local people cannot stand all the seeds so use it to make juice or a type of ice cream. It has a high content of nutrients and antioxidants. It’s high in vitamin C and several B vitamins but believe it or not all the nutritional value has nothing to do with why I like it so much. I just plain old love the taste!  So as you see below, I made Tod take the photo below of me holding my prize Guanàbana!