Wednesday Snapshot: A Memorable Meal, Ceviche de Ostra

Nothing makes a meal more memorable than spending it wondering if each bite will be your last. Is this the sweet salty kiss of death? Carter and I had watched the oyster ceviche cart cruise up and down the beach in Canoa, Ecuador for two days wondering if sucking down unrefrigerated raw oysters in the hot sun was a good idea. After we observed several repeat customers and next-day survivors of the delica-sea, we decided a two day trip to the nearest passable medical facility was worth the risk. Some compare eating raw oysters to a game of Russian roulette; I compare it to sex.

Ceviche de ostra as we experienced them were booty-licious. The oyster shells were the size of a woman’s hand. Javier used a hammer to bust them open, then he cut the oyster into small pieces, never removing the creature from its shell, squeezed the juice from half a lime, added a small spoonful of diced tomatoes and red onion, a bit of jalapeno, then a sprinkling of dried and fried corn kernels. Using the shell as a bowl, he mixed it up and handed it over to two scared, salivating gringos. Briny, limey, crunchy, slimy, raw and dangerous-- we were hooked.

Wednesday Snapshot: Cuenca, Ecuador

Let’s start the New Year off by calling a spade a spade, or a panama hat a Montecristi. Since the 1800’s, Ecuador has had to endure the world mistaking its greatest export for that of another country. The panama hat is, and always has been, made in Ecuador. Recognized by Spanish entrepreneurs as a timeless accessory, it was exported to the States and Europe via Panama. Due to this passport stamp, its origin was mistaken, and thus it was named. The myth was further entrenched by the men digging the Panama Canal. They were seen in photos wearing these light and extremely durable hats to protect themselves from the brutal rays of the tropical sun. President Theodore Roosevelt famously wore this palm frond woven hat at the construction site of the Panama Canal, and solidified its fate as the panama hat. Montecristi is the name of the most famous hat making town, and how the hat is known to connoisseurs.