Tuesday, July 4, 2017: No red, white and blue or fireworks for our Fourth of July celebration - we saw whales instead!!
Then we moved on south to Olon, a nice little town just north of the surf capital of Ecuador, Montanita.
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We had planned a five day stay at Pacho's House, in the middle of Olon, only a couple blocks from the beautiful beach.
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Just outside our room was this great little balcony area with a table and chairs - where I was able to work on this website for a few hours... what a view when you're trying to work!
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Pacho's House was right next door to the church... the tower which was lit at night was breathtaking. What a beautiful place.
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After an almost steady diet of fish, seafood, and more seafood... we were looking for a slight change. And we found it at La Pirata, and Italian restaurant owned by an Ecuadorian/Italian couple, with a great young Italian chef!
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I had a beautifully handmade pasta with an Alfredo sauce that included small pieces of ham - and Doug's handmade pasta was a special mixture of vegetables, tomatoes, and whatever else... the chef told Doug "trust me, I will prepare a dish you'll like" - and Doug did, and enjoyed every last bite
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On our last night in Olon, we returned to enjoy dinner at the Rasimar - a neat little restaurant owned by Barcelona trained Chef Kathi... we enjoyed her food on our first visit to Olon in 2015, and were greeted with hugs and kisses for returning old friends!
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When not in the kitchen cooking, Kathi can always be found chatting with her customers. Not sure which is the bigger draw - the food or the Chef herself!
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Not sure how we missed getting a photo of MY food - I had a very delicious Pescado Encocado with vegetables - but you can see how large a portion is served... yes, those are the Pyrex glass pie plates we remember our mothers baking a whole pie in!
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Some customers had a special celebration dinner scheduled that night - and we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy the musical entertainment they scheduled. A group who played Cumbia music (a traditional style in South America), along with a lovely young dancer!
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Sadly on Sunday, July 9th, we had to say goodbye again to Olon, and to our super host - Pacho. We truly felt we made a lifelong friend, and we left him in his favorite reading spot on the front veranda - this time with a Spanish-English dictionary, trying to learn English....muchas gracias, Pacho, por todo! Nos vemos otra vez muy pronto!
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