local

Mainly Manners

Posted on December 6, 2022 by twowhotrek

Ten years ago, we lived in Ecuador for a month.  Leading by example, the good people of Cuenca taught me to take a moment to simply greet everyone.  When eyes meet, say “Hola”.  The custom reinforced my US Southern Mother’s tutelage on good manners, or as her French father used to say “Les bonnes manières sont importantes”.  

As we approach the next round of seasonal holidays, when the news of the day and politics of the moment can make or deepen the loved ones divide, start the time together on solid footing.  A genuine “Good Morning” or “So Good to See You” is a positive way to start the day!

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Categories: background, blog, Cartagena, Colombia, customs, local, manners, traditional, traditions, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cartagena Cart Conveyors

Posted on May 3, 2018 by twowhotrek

In our last post, we covered the many delectable delights one can find while wandering the streets of Cartagena’s Historic Center.  Throughout the area, many vendors use carts to sell fruits, vegetables and other food items.  Because of the variety of offerings, we decided to focus now solely on those carts. Continue reading →

Categories: background, blog, Cartagena, carts, Colombia, dining, food, food preparation, fruit, local, people, photos, travel, vegetable | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Street Eats

Posted on April 29, 2018 by twowhotrek

 

Food vendors in Cartagena

It’s hard to go hungry when walking through the Centro Historico of Cartagena.  In addition to the many excellent restaurants in the city, vendors are selling food on the street almost everywhere you go.  Many of these folks use push carts to sell their wares.  Here’s a look at some of the different foods we saw. Continue reading →

Categories: artisan, background, blog, Cartagena, coffee, Colombia, cooking, dining, food, food preparation, fruit, local, making, people, photos, preparation, restaurants, traditional, travel, vegetable | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s for Dinner?

Posted on April 25, 2018 by twowhotrek

Food options in Cartagena are either familiar or awaiting discovery. Ceviches are typically made from fresh fish like sea bass or snapper and marinated in lime juice, onions and cilantro.

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Categories: background, blog, Cartagena, Colombia, cooking, dining, fish, food, food preparation, local, photos, preparation, restaurants, travel, vegetable | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cartagena Clothing

Posted on February 10, 2016 by twowhotrek

Staying cool in the heat

Clothing should be practical and aesthetically pleasing. In Cartagena, the available options meet that criteria and more. Here, clothing flows and the textures and patterns make it fun to wear.

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Categories: art, artisan, background, bags, blog, Cartagena, clothing, Colombia, dresses, hat, local, making, manufacturing, people, photos, preparation, shirt, travel, weaving | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Something Fishy This Way Comes . . .

Posted on August 9, 2015 by twowhotrek

What do you get when you add salmon to a salted water pot of boiling potatoes and onions? If it’s South Haven, Michigan at National Blueberry Festival time, an amazing Fish Boil, Lake Michigan style! With over 40 years of fish boil experience, the South Haven Steelheaders (SHS) chapter of the Michigan Steelheaders and Salmon Fisherman’s Association, created a tasty treat for multitudes of hungry guests, including Two Who Trek, on August 8, 2015.

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Categories: community events, dining, festivals, fish, food, food preparation, local, Michigan, people, photos, preparation, restaurants, service club, vegetable | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some Cuenca scenes

Posted on February 24, 2013 by twowhotrek

Two Who Trek take an overall look at the city

As we prepare to wrap up our posts about Cuenca, we realized that we haven’t shown much about the day-to-day life in the city.  Today we will look at some common city scenes.

Cuenca is actually the short name.  Its true name is Santa Ana de los Cuatro Rios de Cuenca, named for the four rivers that run through the city.  The word Cuenca means “river basin” in Spanish.  Continue reading →

Categories: andean, archeological, background, blog, Cuenca, ecuador, food, inca, local, markets, mountain, photos, ruins, travel | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ceramics in Cuenca

Posted on February 19, 2013 by twowhotrek

People of the Americas have a long pottery-making tradition, predating the European arrival.  The oldest known ceramics were found in communities along the Ecuadorian Pacific coast and were made 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.  The time-honored process is still essentially the same.  Dig up some clay, mix it with water, form it into objects and fire it in an oven or kiln.

In the studio of Eduardo Vega, today’s ceramic pottery is functional and exquisitely formed.  After studying in Europe, Vega returned to Cuenca and developed a unique style, deeply rooted in Ecuadorian history. Continue reading →

Categories: andean, art, artisan, artistic, blog, Cuenca, ecuador, local, making, manufacturing, photos, pottery, tallar, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Cuenca celebrates Christmas

Posted on January 19, 2013 by twowhotrek

UPDATE – 1-23-2013 — Two Who Trek attended a presentation yesterday and found there are many more Christmas-related celebrations.  For example, Cuenca holds a Christmas parade that is over 8 hours long.  Plus there is the Festival of the Wikis (no, not information sources.  In this case it is a native word for tears) that starts three days before and ends three days after Christmas.  Daily celebrations occur on the twelve days following Christmas.

Please consider this blog post as being just what Two Who Trek have seen during their stay.  It is not meant to be a complete listing of all the Cuenca celebrations.  If we provided that, WordPress might run out of server space!  Now the original story:

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As Two Who Trek wander through the streets of Cuenca today, the city seems a little less festive.  That’s because the Christmas lights and displays have been stored for another year.  But when we first arrived, we marveled at all the decorations Cuenca had throughout the town.  Continue reading →

Categories: blog, celebrations, Christmas, Cuenca, displays, ecuador, festivals, local, photos, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A side journey to Olivet and Marshall

Posted on December 12, 2012 by twowhotrek

Two Who Trek does a lot of international travel, but we also journey in the states, too.  Together we’ve been in about 30 states; separately, one of us has been in 46 states.  But today’s story is about a short voyage last Sunday.

We trekked on I-69 to the small town of Olivet, Michigan, to hear the Olivet Community Schools “Holiday Musical Celebration”.  The concert is different than most school performances that we’ve heard before.  For starters, all the different grade bands, except for the fifth grade, are arranged on the floor of the huge high school gymnasium.  Continue reading →

Categories: blog, local, Michigan, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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