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Circling Back to El Borrego

Mexican Restaurants

Recently, I revisited a couple of places I hadn’t been to in years. All the visits kind of just happened by accident. Like my recent revisit to El Borrego, which I hadn’t been to in over 9 years! And it was just by happenstance. You see, I was craving some Bun Mang Vit from Tu Thanh so I headed on over….I understand that the place opens at 9, so I dropped by at 930…and they were closed! Looking for another place….I drove west on ECB….but places were either too busy, or I just wasn’t feeling like it…you know what I mean, right? Anyway, I was just going to head up to the 15 and onward home. But, when I passed Fairmont I noticed that there was an open parking space close to El Borrego! What are the chances of that? Plus, it had been so long since I’d had the barbacoa de borrego from the place…it just seemed like fate.

So, I walked on over and had a moment of analysis paralysis looking over the menu board.

Man, remember when those quesadillas were $2.75? Anyway, I was kind of hungry so I went full on borrego…”ewe know what I mean” right? (sorry, couldn’t help that) I ordered the Mixiote ($18.99).

I noticed that El Borrego now had outdoor seating, taking the space of the former lot next door and in the rear of the place. I asked Rodnia, whom I still remember from those past visits when they started having outdoor seating and she told me “over 8 years ago”! Sigh…..yes, it’s been forever since my last visit.

I also asked if they were dog friendly and was told that they used to be; but ended up having a dog attack a customer and two dogs getting into a fight, so no longer allow it. Bummer!

Soon enough my food was delivered to my table.

First thing I notice was that the meat is no longer wrapped in parchment, though I don’t think it makes that much of a difference? The meat was falling apart tender, though after having the same dish at El Hidalguense in CDMX and Aqui es Texcoco, I find it quite mild in the smokey, chile-aromatics department.

Still, it pleasantly gamey, the corn tortillas were adequately
“maizey” and held up well, even after skimming thru the mixiote sauce/drippings. Of course, lime is a must, along with onion and cilantro.

I preferred the salsa roja, it added more zip and spice; than the salsa verde.

And it made for quite a filling meal; with leftovers.

It was nice to reconnect with an favorite from days gone by. Though I do think El Borrego has been surpassed with regards to barbacoa….I beileve I’ll get those quesadillas next time!

El Borrego Restaurant
4280 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Tues 10am – 4pm
Wed – Sun 8am – 4pm
Closed on Monday

Now I gotta figure out what is going on with Tu Thanh!

Pho Real (Lemon Grove)

Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Recently, before the warm up I was in Lemon Grove and decided to get some pho. I saw the sign for this shop and decided to stop by. Pho Real…….

Okay….very “punny”, eh? It was just after 9am; so Negro Durazo next door, which Cathy has posted on several times wasn’t open yet.

The interior is spacious, fairly modern. The menu board was filled with boba type drinks. I was the only customer in the place.

I decided to order “Special” Combo Pho, medium size…..of course there’s no “small”, only medium and large bowls ($15.50) . And since I was hungry I also got the Garlic Butter Wings ($11.75).

I quickly started noticing some of my pet peeves when the basil and sprouts arrived.

You see why, right?

At least it wasn’t overly discolored…….

And it got even more “interesting” when my bowl arrived.

You can quickly see how defatted and thin, the rather cloudy broth is.

It also had that “San Diego sweetish” and very salty flavor I’m not fond of, that is present in many versions of pho here. Very little beefiness….basically what I call the “wave broth”…you know, it’s like they waved a beef bone over the soup to impart flavor.

And when I “dug up” the noodles…..with all the stereotypes in play……you know what I’d find, right?

Yes, the banh pho was in a huge clump at the bottom of the bowl. Well, at least the noodles weren’t mushy, nor were they cold.

So perhaps things were slightly looking up?

The flank and brisket were really chewy and strangely, also lacked beefiness. The tripe though, was nice and crunchy and the one small piece of tendon quite soft and buttery.

You know, I’ve done over 150 posts on pho over the years and this is probably the most cliched, stereotypical bowl of San Diego Pho I’ve had! Or perhaps I’m just getting too picky?

I was nearly done with my pho when the wings arrived.

Look at that giant drumette. Like the pho, I thought this was rather mediocre. The batter was mushy and lacked crispness or crunchy texture. The sauce was a bit too sweet for my taste.

Worse of all….ready for this one? Most of the meat had that blackness that I find annoying.

Usually, I prefer the “flats” to the drumettes, but in this case the meat of the wings were really chewy, like jerky. Take a look at the flat below…..

And what was that round piece of chicken? Anatomically, what part of the chicken wing is that?

This meal had me wondering if I’d been pranked, as it seemed that all those things that I find annoying about pho were present here? Was this pho real for real? Perhaps this might be the one time that I find a “punny” name of a pho restaurant to be totally appropriate! Of course, I’d add a question mark at the end of the name.

I’m glad I took all those photos to show that I’m not exaggerating things.

Perhaps this was just an off day? If you’ve visited, let me know what you think?

Pho Real
6966 Federal Blvd.
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
Current Hours:
Daily 9am – 9pm

Taste of Hong Kong Revisited

Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

Recently, “FOY” Kenneth contacted me regarding a recommendation for a sit down Cantonese style dinner. Of course, our “usual” immediately came to mind. But that got me wondering how some of other Cantonese style restaurants along Convoy were doing. And then, having returned from one of our road trips with JJ, was wanting some Chinese food. Yes, can’t you hear it? It’s Opportunity knocking.

We thought we’d check out Taste of Hong Kong since we hadn’t visited in quite a while. Since our last visit, the owners of ToHK had taken over China Max, though I don’t think for the better. And I understand the chef has left as well…so I thought it would be “interesting”.

Now this parking lot, like many along the Convoy corridor can be a total mess during busy hours…and lets not get into the lack of street parking. On this day, the lot was empty. Leave it to our dining during an “off hour”.

As always, the folks working here were “all business”. One thing I quickly noticed is that the prices seemed lower than that of our last visit to Noble Chef. Oh, and one more condition for the visit. The Missus told me I couldn’t order my favorite dish from here; the Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings, sigh…..

They were hanging up some roast duck when we were seated, so of course we needed to get some.

We started with the Marinated Pork Intestines ($19.99). Which looked good when it arrived.

The sauce had a nice balance of soy-sweet-sour. As for the intestines; well, it was super chewy….like s-u-p-e-r chewy. In the end, it was better to give those dentures a break, swallow it, and hope for the best.

Of course we had to order a Salt Fish dish for the Missus. She went with the Salted Fish, Chicken, and Eggplant ($21.99). Now the last time had this dish, it was lacking in salted fish, not this time though.

Decent amount of salted fish, very savory, but not overly salty. The eggplant was cooked perfectly, molten and buttery in texture. Good amount of chicken as well. I think this is the Missus’s current local version of the dish.

Instead of going with some salt and pepper pork chops or chicken wings; we went with the HK Style Fried Prawns with Chili and Garlic ($26.99).

Nice and crunchy, the you could make out the sweetness of the shrimp, even with the salty-peppery garlic seasoning. The shrimp was a bit tougher then I prefer, but I enjoyed the flavors.

And of course we had a half Roast Duck ($23), last time we ate at Noble Chef it was $28 for a half roast duck, so we were interested to see how this would turn out. Well, it turned out to be pretty positive.

While not as strong in the five spice department, the skin was light and crisp; the fat had been wonderfully rendered, and the meat tender. As an added bonus; all that fat and juice from the duck……guess who was making duck fried rice with that? The size of the duck was on the larger side as well. Decent savory-salty-sweet balance as well.

So, it looks like we’ll need to return to get those Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings, right? And try out some other dishes. But before that; I think we’ll need to give Eastern Dynasty a revisit. Sometimes, it’s good to get out of your routine and try some different items. I need to thank “FOY” Kenneth for doing that for us!

Taste of Hong Kong
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 230pm, 430pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 230pm, 430pm – 930pm

Easy Blue Cheese Dressing – aka what I make when the Missus says She wants “a wedgie”!!!!

Recipes

During our road trips to Mammoth and Tahoe (yes, we took several), the Missus started enjoying Wedge salads. Which was news to me since She had always scoffed at the use of iceberg lettuce…but I guess time changes everything, right?

So, a couple of months ago, out of the blue (cheese), the Missus tells me She wants “a wedgie”! Say what?!? I think something definitely got lost in translation there. Shades of Sam Woo the “Killer Whale”! What’s even worse is that I knew what She was asking for…and no, it wasn’t a “wedgie” ok? She obviously wanted a wedge salad. So, over the course of about six weeks, I made over a dozen of those things. Now of course, She’s moved on, but I thought I’d better write this recipe down in case She wants a wedgie ahem, a wedge salad again one of these days.

Anyway, this is what it started looking like.

You remember the Missus’s preferences regarding Her veggies from my Tahini-Lemon Dressing post, right?

And then of course, this is what the salad looked like at the end of two weeks…….micro greens and sliced smoked duck breast…..and even more crumbled blue cheese topping the salad.

And then of course, She needed some “extras” to make it a “complete” meal.

A couple of notes; you’ll notice that the Missus wants lardons on Her salad; so I filter out the rendered bacon fat and add that to the dressing. Also, Maldon Smoked Salt does make a difference as well. As for the blue cheese; I try to go with something on the more pungent side of the scale. The mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk are all whole fat and organic.

Blue Cheese Dressing – makes approximately 1-1/3 cup of dressing

3 ounces Blue Cheese – and more to top the salad
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup Buttermilk
2 Tb rendered bacon fat
1 Tb fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tb Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp grated garlic
Fresh ground black pepper, granulated garlic (optional), and Maldon Smoked Salt to taste

  • In a mixing bowl, crumble and mash blue cheese with buttermilk until it resembles curds
  • Add Sour Cream and Mayonnaise and mix well
  • Add lemon juice, vinegar, and grated garlic and mix
  • Taste and add black pepper, smoked salt, and granulaed garlic (if desired)
  • Refrigerate for at least an hour before using

Quito – Zazu Restaurant

Ecuador, Ecuadorian Restaurants, Fine Dining, Latin American Cuisine, Memorable Meals, Travel

I usually try to plan at least one memorable meal when travelling internationally. This strategy has really opened our minds…exposure to different tastes, creativity, culture. From the first time back in Lima at Astrid & Gaston, to Tamarind in Luang Prabang, and Azurmendi, Osteria Francescana, and Maido. We may not have enjoyed every dish; but it sure does open your eyes and mind. Heck, I even forgot what is our favorite restaurant, Suzunari in Tokyo, which we’ve been to three times!

When it came to Quito, I actually picked Zazu, before booking our stay at the JW Marriott. It seemed to be in walking distance. I thought having a nice meal before we flew out the next morning would be fun. And it seemed like just a 15 minute walk from the hotel.

The doorman at the hotel looked quite worried as we started to exit. He asked us where we were going and I told him. He asked if we wanted a taxi and we said we’d be walking….he looked quite concerned. He asked us to wait and brought over this serious looking young lady; turns out she is the head of security here. It became clear that they were worried about our safety, which I really appreciated. She handed me a “safety card” and we promised that we’d be taking an Uber back. I had researched visitor safety in Quito, which was relatively safe in comparison to other areas. And it was still fairly light out.

We found the restaurant with no problem; the staff were quite friendly and we were guided to our table.

As we’d often do; we went with an appetizer focused menu; 1 ceviche, 3 apps, and 1 main.

I tried the Quito Mule, which is presented deconstructed and you can adjust it to your taste. It was very refreshing with a touch of smokiness.

First up was the Ceviche Mixto. The leche de tigre for this version was made with Aji Amarillo.

This also came with camote – sweet potato, starchy, sweet, and earthy. The shrimp was the best of the seafood, plump, sweet, and tender. The leche de tigre had some complexity, not only the sour-citrusy-fruity tones, but also some smokiness. We were told that the aji amarillo was roasted in the wood fired oven before adding it to the marinating liquid.

No, this is not bone marrow….it’s actually the Beef Tartare, which is served in a bone.

Wonderful presentation; but quite ok tartare, nothing special; the beef was more chewy than I prefer. The most interesting ingredient in this was the addition of pungent, almost horseradish like Mashua.

Of course we had to have Cuy, right? After all, I do love me some cuy. Of course, this was quite fancy…..

I swear, that cuy could have passed for mild roasted duck! Loved the crisp skin and the beer jus was lovely. The cuy had been confit; so it was so tender! The mini tostadas were also delicious. What threw me off were the little pastas, which were filled with peanut cream…which tasted like peanut butter!

Next up; the Suckling Pig Taquitos; these were so tasty and the texture was fabulous as well.

The “porky pig” had been confit as well, so wonderfully tender and swiney. That dollop of avocado cream, a hit of smokey spice from chipotle, and the pico de gallo balanced out the richness. The crisp and rather light wrappers were excellent as well.

For our main to share; we went with the Catch of the Day; which in this case was Seabass.

The fish was perfectly fried; the coating crisp, very moist and tender, though the flavor nothing to write home about. It was the aji manaba, very distinct, slightly spicy, mildly fruity, good acid that really made things interesting. That black garlic aioli was a bit too sweet and overkill.

It was a fine dish; though not as interesting and tasty as the apps….which is why we’ll often have an entire meal of starters!

Service was excellent, very professional and warm.

A good example of how wonderful the folks working were happened as we were heading out. We’d gone ahead and requested an Uber….which did a strange thing. The pick-up point they set was basically half way back to the hotel? What the heck? The host came over to check on us and told us to cancel the Uber; it would be better with a taxi….they then went and called us a cab. The host even waited with us for the taxi and spoke to the driver just to “check” and make sure he knew exactly where to take us! Outstanding service!

Zazu Restaurant
Mariano Aguilera 331
Quito, Ecuador

We got back to the hotel and one of the security persons came over to check on us! Such great folks here!

We went to our room and packed a bit. We had already arranged a driver to the airport for the next morning. Our flight to San Cristóbal Airport wasn’t until 11, so we would have breakfast in the lounge before heading to our next stop! Can you figure out our next stop?

Where on the road were we?

Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

Would you believe we just got back from our 11th road trip this year? Yikes! I guess not being able to take those international trips because of the squirt really got us going huh? And yes, I’m like 6 road trips behind!

Anyway, this last one for the year was a short one, we actually went back to a familiar locale…we were just there in March.

But we thought JJ might enjoy the holiday festivities and he did.

Of course the Missus said we had to stop at Her favorite in the area.

And as for dinner; I went to a place that I had really enjoyed with JJ on our previous visit for drinks.

But this time we had the food which we really enjoyed!

JJ really enjoys this village; though it was a bit too crowded when we arrived. But he did make some new “frens”…..

Our next stop we had visited in in September and really enjoyed. Also, dogs can enjoy the beach before 10am and after 5pm…..

On days when the place isn’t busy; it’s so very relaxed and chill.

You could hear the waves crashing on the beach from our room.

On our last visit; we found a restaurant we really enjoyed and it was just as good this time around!

The actual main street is basically two blocks long; but it’s an enjoyable, relaxed place to stay!

Our last stop, was in an area recommended to me. The Missus enjoyed the shopping; folks were really friendly, and there were some nice walks.

We had one mediocre dinner; but our second dinner was pretty good.

So I think we’ll be returning.

Thanks for stopping by and let me spend this evening “juggling” things around…..

And I’ll be back tomorrow with a new post!

Super Mario’s Mexican Food

Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

Back in 2022, I noticed that Palomino’s “#3” was going thru a “management change” on one of my shopping trips to Nijiya. Then around September, I noticed that the name of the place had changed to something like “Super Mario’s”? I wasn’t the biggest fan of this location of Palomino’s…in fact the last time I visited was in my pre-blogging days.

And yet, something about the place caught my attention. Perhaps it was the hours. The place opens at 6am during the week! But mostly, I think I got caught up in the signage.

Not the birria….but the menudo. For some reason, I was craving Menudo and thought it would work for a nice pre-Nijiya shopping breakfast. So, on a Saturday I arrived before Nijiya opened and decied to try the Menudo.

The place looks about the same as it did when it was Palomino’s. Except for the prices. Menudo was $15.86. Anyway, the woman working was quite nice and I placed my order.

And then headed over to the salsa bar for some salsa roja. The woman kindly warned me that it was “muy picante”.

I had a seat and the woman nicely brought my Menudo to the table instead of calling me to pick up my tray! It came with the usual fixins’.

Man, those corn tortillas were hefty and held up nicely to the Menudo; I could only finish two of them.

As for the Menudo.

While not as rich and “funky” as the version at Birrieria Y Menuderia Guadalajara, this was better than what we last had at Talavera Azul. Nice kick with some salsa added; acidity from the lime. It could have used a dose of Mexican Oregano in my opinion.

Decent offaly tones and my goodness all the lovely tripe! Prepared nicely, slightly toothsome…varying textures.

With some large chunks of tendon as well.

I wasn’t able to finish all of it and ended up taking about half home with me.

I wanted to have the Missus try it….but She had Her doubts. She finally gave in and thought it was pretty good. I told Her about the other menu items and She wanted to try the Albondigas. So, on my next shopping excursion to Nijiya, I placed a takeout order of the Albondigas ($15.98) and decided to try some tacos, going with the regular size (they have mini tacos for $3.34) Lengua ($6.50) and Al Pastor ($5.98). I did find the prices of the tacos to be on the higher end in my opinion.

Once shopping was done, I got some salsa and carrots, picked up my rather hefty bag and headed home.

Like the Menudo, the portion size for the Albondigas was pretty large.

It filled up the soup bowl with a lonely meatball waiting for attention. This time, the Missus wasn’t able to finish the tortillas. The arroz wasn’t very good, quite dry, and too mild in flavor.

The Missus loved the pickled carrots and those peppers. She made good use of the limes as well.

She thought that the soup was decent, lighter on the tomato side of things than She’s used to, but decent savory and pungent tones. Not as rich as other versions, but passable. And those giant meatballs were good as well. The meatballs had some binder, but were quite tender, with nice savory tones.

She even enjoyed the slices of zucchini.

As for the tacos. Well, they were quite large and full of meat.

Sadly, I didn’t care for them….neither did the Missus. Other than the tortillas, it missed the mark.

The Lengua was strangely bland; missing that rich, bovine flavor.

And because the flavor was very mild; all that cilantro basically took over the taco.

The Al Pastor was actually an Adobada. The pork was really tough.

It lacked that touch of savory – sweetness and depth of flavor and was really in need of a bit more spice and the light smokiness of a decent Al Pastor. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting what we get in CDMX, but this just didn’t do it for us.

All in all; we’ll stick with the Menudo and Albondigas, which, to be perfectly honest, was better than expected. Good thing too, since my recent visits to newer places has been kinda depressing.

I’m glad to have a place to grab a bite to eat before Nijiya opens. Now…we gotta get back to Birrieria Y Menuderia Guadalajara!

Super Mario’s Mexican Food
3860 Convoy St. Suite 10
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 6am – 8pm
Sunday 7am – 8pm

Loco Moco from Ipo Hawaiian BBQ

Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

This is going to be a “one off” post. You’ll soon see why.

I was in the Poway area recently and was looking for an early lunch. I thought about checking out the new location of HFS, but it was just not poke weather, and I had already tried out Pho Tan in that strip mall. I recalled that there was a “Hawaiian BBQ” place in the mall near North Park Produce, so I parked and took a look. And yes, the place is named Ipo Hawaiian BBQ.

It was on one of those rainy days and I was just wanting a loco moco so I walked on in.

Hmmm…..looking at the menu…

Teriyaki – Garlic Shrimp…….Pineapple-Orange Chicken….Tornado Potato? Fresh Coconut? Seems like what someone “thinks” food “back home” is like?

Anyway, I ordered the Loco Moco, $18.55 from the nice young lady. She kindly gave me a cup for water. Taking a look at the cup, well, it was interesting….

And then looking at the condiments……

No Tabasco….but LKK Soy Sauce…no Aloha Shoyu or even Kikkoman!

And then the loco moco.

It just didn’t look right, that really tarry-dark-black gravy.

The best item on the plate was the mac salad, which still needed salt and had too much mayo.

Still, it was edible.

The rice had furikake sprinkled on it, a plus; but it was cold and on the chewy end of the scale.

That gravy was super thick and had a weird bitter-sweet flavor.

Even worse was the burger patty, just look at it.

While decently seasoned, it was almost burnt, super chewy, and dry.

At least the eggs looked fine, until you actually put that fork into it. It was over cooked and had that “fishiness” that I don’t care for.

There were a couple of stray eggshells in there for (not-so) good measure.

You know, I hate wasting food; but between that gravy, the leather-like burger, fishy-overdone eggs….well, I just couldn’t bring myself to finish this.

There’s a part of me that feels bad about doing this post and perhaps if Ipo was closer to home I’d give it another try. But doing a 45 mile round trip and spending about twenty bucks it’s just not worth it to me. Though perhaps “FOY” SD Julie might have a recommendation for what to get here? Or perhaps one of you out there might know what I should try?

Funny thing; if I recall correctly, “Ipo” means something like “sweetheart” in Hawaiian…based on this loco moco……

Ipo Hawaiian BBQ
12370 Poway Rd.
Poway, CA 92064
Current Hours:
Daily 1030am – 830pm

Banh Mi Express Revisited

Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

After my last, rather mediocre revisit to Banh Mi Hoi An, I was wondering how some of my “old favorites” were doing. A few days later I found my self driving on Clairemont Mesa near the I-15 and decided to grab something for lunch. It had been a while since I’d visited Banh Mi Express, so I decided to grab a Banh Mi.

Interesting thing about Banh Mi Express; much like Banh Mi Hoi An they’ve decided to forgo the Vietnamese names of the offerings. I guess it’s the customer base?

This had me wondering how the Pate “Meat Loaf” (aka Cha Lua), now priced at $8.49 (previously $7.75 in April) would be. The woman working was very mellow and sweet.

As for the Banh Mi?

The bread was yeasty, a bit denser than I recall, but enjoyably crusty.

Unlike my previous visit; there was a good amount of pickled veggies this time around. Unfortunately, like my previous visit; there’s still no cucumber. **** I stand corrected – the cucumber detective is correct; there is a thin slice right above the cha lua! Nice slice of jalapeno, which was kind of mellow and a decent amount of cilantro.

Unlike Banh Mi Hoi An, there was a generous amount of funky-earthy-savory pate, which really “drove” the sandwich. In fact, in this case it really got close to too much of a good thing!

Still, I’m not complaining! Still among my favorite Banh Mi in San Diego.

Banh Mi Express
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 4pm
Saturday  8am – 3pm
Closed on Sundays

Ecuador – Lago San Pablo, Inti Watana – Calendario Solar, Cascada de Peguche, and Otavalo Market

Ecuador, Travel

**** No food in this one; so if you’d like to return tomorrow…..

I had another private tour scheduled for our second full day in Quito. This time we’d be heading North to Otavalo. Like on our previous day, we had a light breakfast in the Executive Lounge of the JW Marriott.

We enjoyed the view from the lounge as it seemed that the clouds and weather was constantly changing in Quito.

Our guide arrived right on time and then we were off. We took a short coffee/bathroom break in the town of San Joaquín.

Which seemed to be at the crossroads of two highways.

And then we were off to Muelle Flotante de Cachiviro on the shores of picturesque Lago San Pablo, the largest natural lake in Ecuador. The lake is resides at the base of Imbabrua Volcano.

A lovely little town with a “muelle flotante” a floating pier.

There was a curious pooch who followed us around.

The view from the pier is stunning.

We were told that even though Imbabura Volcano has not erupted for over 7,500 years, it is not considered “extinct”!

In spite of residing in the shadows of a non-extinct volcano; things were so peaceful and calm here.

Though we were told that just up the road was an area very popular with ex-pats who have started moving here.

We were given some bizcochos and Queso Ecuatoriano, basically stringcheese to snack on.

The next stop was one we really enjoyed. We parked and walked thru a city gate.

This is the village of Peguche, which is famous for weaving and the music; though there were two other things the hamlet is known for.

The Quichua (Kichwa) are the largest indigenous group in Ecuador. Those people, like the Incas whose influence spread into the area in the 15th century celebrate Inti Raymi which celebrates the Sun God (Inti). And to be able to determine dates, there’s Inti Watana; the solar calendar.

It’s pretty amazing!

There’s also some neat acoustics going on as when I stood in the middle and whispered, you could hear me clearly anywhere in the structure!

From here, it was a nice walk to our next stop.

We were told that next to the market in Otavalo, Cascada de Peguche (Peguce Waterfall) is the second most popular stop.

This is where; during Inti Raymi, one would “cleanse your soul”. In fact, it is something that is still done today and access to the falls during Inti Raymi is limited to locals.

The falls are 60 feet high. Can you imagine “cleansing your soul” here?

We returned to the village where things were very quiet on this day.

And there was a reason for this. It was a Saturday. And though Otavalo’s Plaza de los Panchos is always busy; Saturday is market day , when all the indigenous craftsmen are present. It really didn’t seem overly busy.

And the Missus enjoyed shopping.

And even bought a couple of things…..

After which we headed on back to Quito. We had decided to get a light lunch in the lounge of the hotel.

Where we could take in that ever changing view of Quito.

We had dinner reservations at a highly regarded restaurant, so we thought we’d save our appetite for dinner.

Stay tuned!