Posts tagged ‘food’

Feb 17

Bali: The Food

We started our time in Asia with two weeks in Bali, one of Indonesia’s 70,000 islands and probably its most well-known (and most touristy). We hadn’t planned to include it, originally, but had the chance to meet some friends there so added it to the trip. We spent time in various places on the island, including the chaotic, dense, touristy south, the idyllic northwest coast, the rainy, mountainous interior, new-agey, artsy, Expat-filled Ubud (of Eat Pray Love fame, as much as they’d hate me saying it), and the laid-back coast of the Eastern tip. We spent plenty of time on the beaches, yes, but also wandered around temples and soaked in the colors and scents of the markets and trekked through the rice fields and spent many (many) hours driving on winding roads through villages and countryside. The heat and humidity were overwhelming, but we still tried to get out and do what we could, and of course that included eating.

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Jan 28

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The Best of South America

Our two months in South America were amazing, and incredibly delicious. I certainly like a bit more vegetable matter and a bit less fat in my life, but that’s not what I’ll remember from the eating and drinking we did on this trip. I’ll remember the interesting flavors and unique ingredients and new ways of combining and working with food. I wish I could be back in a kitchen sooner to start playing with all of the things that I learned, but it’ll have to wait.

To wrap up all of the writing I’ve done about our experiences in South America – and because a few of you have specifically asked for it – here’s a list of the best things we ate and drank during our time there. I know some of the items are kind of specific to our itinerary and experiences, but others are certainly able to be recreated. Know that I’m always happy to answer questions about places we went and things we ate (as well as the things we purposefully didn’t eat), should you find yourself going to these places.

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Jan 27

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Colombia: The Food

Our final week in South America was, by my measure, our best. Colombia was absolutely enchanting – beautiful, vibrant, sophisticated, friendly, and welcoming to an extent that it took us aback a bit. All the southern-moving travelers we met – literally all of them – told us Colombia was their favorite, and even with those expectations looming, it impressed.

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We made our way steadily north through the country, coming in from the south on a hellish 19-hour bus ride and making our way north to the Caribbean coast. We traversed the mountainous coffee region and hiked through wax palm groves and flew over river valleys and took a boat to an island off the coast – and tried to eat everything good along the way.

Jan 23

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Ecuador: The Food

We didn’t spend as much time in Ecuador as we would have liked – two days in Quito, four days in the jungle, and two days in Otavalo, a smaller town about two hours north of the city – but we were coming to the end of our trip, and knew we’d want and need time to get across the expanse of Colombia before heading home (especially because we had a plane to catch up on the Caribbean Coast on our last day in South America). And considering our four days in the jungle weren’t particularly notable in terms of food and eating, we really didn’t have a lot of experience with the cuisine of Ecuador. But we did what we could with the time we had, and between Quito and Otavalo we spent significant amounts of time at public markets, which gave us great insight into the diets and cuisine of the people in those areas.

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Jan 17

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Peru: The Food

We spent just under three weeks in Peru, including Cusco (Machu Picchu/Aguas Calientes), Puno (Lake Titicaca), and Arequípa, including Christmas and New Years. (You can see more about our time there on our travel blog – Brett just posted about Cusco/Machu Picchu yesterday.) It was an amazing few weeks and we finally felt like we were travelling, instead of just on vacation – partially because we were now a few weeks into our time in South America, but also because it felt far more adventurous and exotic than had Chile and Argentina.

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