Ecuador maybe the smallest Spanish country in South America, but it is one of the biggest in flavorful foods, hospitality and beautiful scenery. My first stop was Guayaquil, which is the largest populated city in Ecuador, (roughly 4 million). I had the pleasure of getting the exclusive tour of the city from my wife who was born there and some of her relatives who still reside there. From Parque de Las Iguanas (Iguana Park) to walking the famous Malecon & hanging out in places you wouldn’t find too many tourist it was an amazing ride, but the best part of the trip… well eating of course!! and if you’ve ever been to a traditional Ecuadorean home you might know that they're big on soups and stews. There’s one of my favorite dishes Caldo de Salchicha which is blood sausage in black pudding sauce, Caldo de Bolas, which is a soup with green plantain dumpling stuffed with meats & raisins and Guatita is a stew made with tripe just to name a few.

My next stop was a 2 hour drive to the coastal town of Salinas. I was very surprised on how different Salinas looked, it reminded me of Collins Ave in Miami Beach or the strip in San Juan, Puerto Rico, sandy beaches, blue waters, high rise hotels and Caribbean like weather, definitely a place worth visiting (Whale watching is one of the best natural attractions in Salinas). I cannot mention Ecuador without mentioning seafood, because of the countries geographical location seafood is a staple here, and one seafood dish worth trying is ceviche, which is made up of fish or shrimp, onions, pepper, squeezed lime and tomato sauce. It’s usually served as an appetizer or with rice but this I can eat by itself as a main course. Yummy!

Now some people have alarm clocks others have roosters etc but in the morning I would rather have the smell of bolon verde as my wake up call. The most commonly known breakfast in Ecuador, bolon verde is a mixture of green plantains, mozzarella and chunks of meat smashed in to a huge delicious ball and usually served with coffee and the best bolon spot is in downtown Guayaquil at lily's restaurant, just ask around.

If you ever thinking of coming to Guayaquil or Ecuador in general make sure to drop 10 to 20 lbs before hand, because there's a whole lot of eating to do.