Los Jordan Polings Vamos al Ecuador

It's beginning to look a lot like mango (season). Everywhere we go. Take a look at the back of the truck Just buy one and take a suck First, the chupa mangoes. My fruitiarian family has been anxiously awaiting mango season since before we left California. Green mangoes are sold from street carts year-round in Ecuador, served sliced or shredded with lemon and salt. They are a decent snack, but they are no substitute for a juicy ripe mango. I have been practicing patience for months, believing firmly in waiting for the season and teaching my kids not to buy overpriced mangoes that are inevitably disappointing. Paul, on the other hand, is of the mindset that every mango has the possibility to be scrumptious and that trying now and again allows you to probe for that possibility. Plus, he adds, the worst mangoes we get here are almost always better than the best ones we get back home. December , we were told repeatedly.  Ecuadorian mango season starts in December.  But, here it is ...

                                    We are living a scene from a children's book we have often visited in our imaginations. The story, by a wonderful children's author, Kate DiCamillo, is in a trilogy of short stories about two best friends, Bink and Gollie, who are phenotypically and behaviorally opposites yet love each other deeply. In one story, Gollie decides she needs a change of scenery, so she closes her eyes and spins a wheel of possible travel destinations. When the arrow lands on "The Andes Mountains," Gollie takes off to South America. Shortly thereafter, Bink knocks on Gollie's door looking to play. On the next page, Gollie is pictured just on the other side of her door, climbing a snowy mountain peak. "I cannot talk right now!" she yells through the door, "I am high in the pure air of the Andes Mountains!" source: https://www.binkandgollie.com/ On Sunday morning, we dragged oursel...

                                        The people of this region are river people. They live banked by rivers. They are expert river crossers -- leaping across stones and/or haphazardly placed bamboo planks -- and experienced river readers. They know the history of their rivers, of the bridges that  have been built and swept away, of the times the river grew so big that  trapped  folks  for days. And while the town is technically located in Cotopaxi Province, we are quite literally on the border of  Los Rios  Province (The Rivers Province). Last week, as families gathered for  Finados , our Ecuadorian family got a bee in their collective bonnet with an urge to fish the little river that crosses through their land. They said it had been years; for me, it had been decades. For Paul and the kids, it was their very first time fishing in Ecuador. Mind you, t...