Tags
Farming in Ecuador, Farmlife in Ecuador, Queso Fresco Ecuador, Wordpress Weekly PHoto Challenge Nostalgia
No thanks, I think I will shell my own!
Jama/Manabi/Ecuador
Catfish, lima beans, watermelon and fresh tomatoes; I often tell my friends that life in Ecuador reminds me of my childhood in the Mississippi Delta. As I walked through the farm town of Jama this past weekend, I pondered the differences.
Both countries have crape myrtle trees, but Ecuador also has a close cousin, the guava tree.
Guayava tree – (Guava)
Mississippi has blackberries; Ecuador has mora.
Mora
We have catfish in Mississippi, and we have catfish in Ecuador! Although there are no catfish ponds here on the equator, we have many shrimp ponds!
How Many Shades Of Green?
A small salt-water catfish. Is it a keeper?
OK. I’m not in Mississippi anymore!
This man whistles as he rides through town with his catch of the day.
Time slows down in rural Ecuador, and one learns to savor each moment. Seeing old fashioned scales takes me back to times when my sister Pat and I picked cotton by hand after school to earn ‘Christmas money.” In Ecuador, the scales are used for weighing cheese, shrimp, fish and staples for the kitchen. (And cotton is grown here as well!)
“Cheese Day”
The buyer and the seller record the figures in separate journals then compare their grand totals.
Shrimp harvest – buyer and seller keep separate records.
Dried beans, rice, flour and other staples are often scooped from bulk containers and weighed on the old-fashioned scales.
Chickens are universal!
What a Gallo! (Rooster)
Look who’s hiding beneath the table!
What? A turkey? Yes, turkeys are prized birds in Latin America!
…Yes, chickens are universal, as are swings!
Many of the vegetables grown in Ecuador also grow in the Deep South/Mississippi.
I never connected Lima beans with “Peru” until I saw the legumes here in Ecuador!
Shelling beans and passing time – just like those syrupy days of my youth!
Break time behind the scenes at the vegetable stand.
At ten cents each, the peppers add little to my financial or physical load!
Watermelons weigh much more, but the price is always fair.
There’s always a chance to buy ‘just enough.’
I rarely see Halloween-type pumpkins in Ecuador, but there are beautiful alternatives like winter squash.
Pumpkin Orange!
Fall-like colors brighten the sidewalk market.
Maria and family enjoy practicing counting in English!
Horses and mules were a big part of my early years on the farm, but Ecuador introduced me to the comical burros! The equine world is strong in the province of Manabi, and most every day I see someone riding a horse or a mule or a burro!
Cabalgata in San Vicente Ecuador
Silvana introduce Bob and me to the little village of Amacora. (Ecuador)
Visiting remote farming villages is like turning back the pages of time. (Santa Teresa Ecuador)
My friend Xavier drives an hour each Friday to pick up the cheese in the little village of Santa Teresa.
The horses bring the crates of cheese into Santa Teresa.
These images illustrate a basic-yet satisfying lifestyle that reminds me of a vanishing culture where I grew up in Mississippi. Thank you, WordPress, for the Weekly theme of Nostalgic…
Xavier at another area of the cattle headquarters.
Brothers Cesar and Xavier overseeing the corn.
Harvesting Corn – Jama Ecuador
Do children still play with marbles in the USA? They certainly entertain themselves easily here in Ecuador!
Remember When?
Yes, I remember when, and I am blessed to experience it a second time!
Have a good week, everyone!
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
With so many similarities to your childhood home, no wonder you feel such empathy towards Ecuador. Love the photo of the lima beans with the house in the background; somehow seems that the house is growing from the vine.
thanks so much! i love that you love that photo! that was a great memory, and that house often calls to me when i am on my friends’ farm!
oh your donkeys, the resting cat – and inspiring Ella Fitzgerald; Mississippi Delta has been a good training for to survive in Ecuador!
… and you motivated me to play a simple version of summertime:
https://soundcloud.com/fingerstyle_guitar/51-1
oh my.. i went to sleep after four, and now it’s after ten.. i hope hope hope that it plays.. otherwise it will be waiting for tonight!
thanks, amigo.. i can already ‘hear’ it in my mind’s ear!!!!!
you nailed it!!!! i only wish i had those images from my childhood as contrast. sigh. they’re burned in my memory, which is just as sweet!
when picking coffee this past weekend, i commented to friends that all we needed was the sound of the guitar in the distance! thanks for providing your soundcloud!
Lisa, I’m overwhelmed, what a beautiful, edcating, heartwarming post. You did a great job on this theme!
The afternoon shadows are my favourites, alhough I like all the photos, in the contrast.
Have a lovely time!
Fond greetings and a big hug from North Norfolk, UK
Dina
hey! here’s a belated thank you for your comment. sometimes i reply, and they don’t go through, only i am not aware until i go back and see the posts/comments.
i am glad you enjoyed the post. living here is very much like living in a set from long ago!
Photos are a perfect fit to the theme and love Ella’s “summertime”. We bake the squash then add a bit of brown sugar and butter, yummy!
Mary
have you ever had that squash in a ‘cream’ soup sin crema? wow, they whirl it with potatoes and carrots and cilantro and all those great spicy vegetables, and wow wow wow, it’s soothing and filling and good for you as well!
I especially like the fact that the children are able to entertain themselves without electronic toys!! Great blog, Z. Thanks.
yes, and few have cellphones and text messaging! it’s so sweet to witness how the young ebb and flow from storefront to storefront, much like mayberry rfd – yet obviously not! we don’t have andy and barney, but the tone is the same!
I’m SO jealous of your market photos! What a BEAUTIFUL DAY! Thanks for sharing with us!
oh yes.. the markets here are amazing. there’s no excuse to buy anything in a can when ‘fresh’ is right at your fingertips and for a low price!
Oh, what a charming post! Lovely photos and accompanying text brought me right in to my own feelings of nostalgia! Thank you!
i suspected that you’d feel quiet at home in this environment! i’m glad you enjoyed the post!
Lovely post Lisa and how cool to capture things in two completely different places and connect them. 🙂
thanks. there are also polar-opposite contrasts – like the exotic fruits and flowers! one day i will have to showcase that view as well.
Yes that would be wonderful! I’ve never been to the Delta land before. Would love to see what it is like.
What a neat post Lisa! Refreshing to see and experience the past and present together. Wonderful photographs!
thank you, mary! i always enjoy sharing images that reflect my true life here, and this one gave me the opportunity to do that! there are several more that i can hopefully share soon, but – sigh – the sluggish internet in the daytime makes it hard. i’ll be painting most of the day and will most likely work very late again tonight on the posts.
hope it’s a good one for you!
z
Haha! Love the smiling horse! Nice comparisons, too. We often compare Ometepe Island to the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. I’m heading home today. I can’t wait to get back to my little oasis of peace! Have a great day.
oh yes.. ometepe certainly fits into that same attitude and lifestyle.
have a great trip home. your mother will surely miss your doting attention!
Love the last photo although all are good!
thanks! there’s a companion image that will be coming out on the next post! i’m glad you enjoyed the post!
re: “Pending” on your post – i did that same thing last week.. thanks for confirming that we all do that! maybe one day wordpress will put that ‘publish’ prompt elsewhere! (then we will wonder where it went!)
I was wondering this weekend what happened to the buttons for linking, bold..etc, because on Sunday they were not there!
oh, you know I would have to respond to this post! Memories of fresh vegetables and shelling butterbeans and purple hull peas in the floor at Minnie’s house, sitting on lots of newspapers spread out like carpet with the vegetables cooling nearby…and the treat of getting a coca cola while we chatted and shelled was our pay/reward. I can see us in my mind like it was yesterday. And the mules…well, THAT, my friend, is a whole “nuther” story, huh? haha…luv ya girl 🙂
we had some great times, for sure. you would love the nostalgic life here. maybe one day you’ll find your way here, and we’ll push back those years and relive some of those memories!
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™.
That’s it. What time is dinner? I’m packing as we speak.
This looks like a beautiful country. And kids playing marbles instead of “Call of Duty” or “Zombie Shoot Em’ Up XLIII” or whatever. Not that I never play a video game but I spend time outside as well and I think all kids like me should. Even younger ones.
ha! this post should make you even more hungry!
yes, it is refreshing to watch the children who are happy with so little, compared to those in ‘first world countries’ who spend so little time communing with nature and enjoying the simple thrills of growing up gracefully!
thanks for your reply; you made me chuckle!
You certainly didn’t move far from home. 😉
Thanks for sharing your nostalgia.
(I think they still have marble game contests here in the US but I’ll be darned if I can find them)
you should get one started in your area!
yes, brer rabbit’s happy to be back in the briar patch! z
Ha! I’d have to pull a kid away from his video games first – and introduce him to marbles. I use to fry them. They looked right purdy, the did. 😉
Thank you so much for this tour! It was just what I needed today.
Patti
It is my pleasure to give you that tour! Thanks so much! Z
Your post certainly looks like going back in time to a much simpler life. What impresses me is how happy & content everybody seems to be, I assume because their life is less stressful. And no, kids in the U.S. don’t play marbles that I’m aware of. I think video games have replaced that.
Yes, a very relaxed atmosphere stil casts its magic over all who will slow down and enjoy it!
no marbles.. or tops?
z
Really thoughtful, and thought-provoking, photos. Thank you for all the effort it took to put this post together!
ah, it was a joy! i stay up late to do the uploading, which i am about to do now for another post! it’s so much faster late at night!
thanks!
You have made so many wonderful connections; we all have so much in common.
thank you! i’m working on a post about coffee and suspect that you’ll like that one as well!
z
Thank you for the great read! I love the burro photos, they always have a funny smile about them. I’ve always had South / Central America on my bucket list to visit. .. You’re going to make me move it up on the list =)
Ecuador certainly has a unique flavor – and wow, speaking of flavors, their food is diverse and amazing!
Thanks so much for your comment!
Lisa/Z
I wish I could see that man riding his bike, whistling, while carrying his catch. And everything. Ecuador must be such a good life for people and animals.
There were once two fishermen on bicycles. It’s always so sweet to hear the long melancholy whistle and look up to confirm who’s approaching. The second guy upgraded to a motorcycle, and he’s a constant there each day, but has lost part of the allure. His personality is totally opposite and is the one who posed with the fish.
Somewhere I have a recording of the whistle. I’ll have to try to find it and share!
Thanks! Lisa/Z
hi Lisa, I would be honored to reblogged especially by you,
because YOU are coming from the Mississippi Delta for your very self!
https://soundcloud.com/fingerstyle_guitar/mississippi-slow-blues
I hope, I’m playing as slow, as the river is floating at his end!
this post has two parts, so i’ll look forward to your suggestion for part two for tomorrow… the first post is about to head your way!
z
Ella’s voice makes a perfect background for your lovely images. I especially love the kitten and the rooster. BTW: I assume since you include FB and Twitter buttons on your site, it’s okay to share on those platforms?
thanks amiga
i’m assuming it’s ok to share through those options.. i’ll keep that as a positive way to share – through the links – unless someone tells us why we shouldn’t!!!
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look at you very creative post
I like it very much
saludos Amiga!
What a beautiful and sentimental post. You bring the world of your childhood and your life in Ecuador together reminding us of how similar we are.Places in the heart.
you are so right! thank you, amiga!
Reblogged this on artwithsuzanne.
I don’t know about marbles, but I do know that hopscotch and jacks still are around. I have a wonderful photo of a couple of boys from the “fringe of the family” who were part of the crew that moved up to Saskatchewan for a while in the early 1900s. They’re playing marbles in the dirt of what appears to be a town not so different from yours.
As for the market – it’s the time of abundance here, too. The figs have just come in, although the blackberries have finished. We’ve plenty of tomatoes, corn, yellow squash and watermelon now – and my kitchen is full of it! You’re right – no need to open a can when the fresh food is so close at hand! (OH! and I picked up some fresh, shelled blackeyed peas AND some Lady Cream Peas! Now, that should fairly shout “Delta” to you!)
hey
i can almost smell the unique aroma of all of those vegetables that spell ‘summertime’ in the southern part of the usa! oh yes, the figs – my father died in july, and on the day before the funeral, one of his dear friends was in the kitchen with us.. he brought in a big bowl of figs from the yard and said, your father would not like that these figs are going to waste..’ he,my sister and i sat at the counter and ‘peeled’ the figs.. every so often doc would poke one in my mouth – or my sister’s, and finally i said, ‘if my stomach is sick tomorrow, it’s your fault.’
now when i see a fig tree (they’re here too!) i think of that day…
last week i spotted some purple-hulled peas! i don’t miss having stained fingers – i laugh as i type that as i have so much paint on my nails from this week’s painting project, i may never get it all removed! we painted til 11 last night, but the iguana at the calo santo cafe now presides over a really cool room!
enjoy all of those vegetables and your long hours of summertime!
Fabulous photo tours you post!
That last photo is priceless, and the kitten is adorable!
thank you so much! nostalgia is everywhere here!