Tamera's Take: Auld Lang Syne, Cats, and Año Nuevo (Part 2)

Tamera's Take is about being here.

Are you ready?  I am.

Does anyone really know the words to Auld Lang Syne?  Or the tune for that matter?  I have to admit, I do not.  Of course I know the condensed version sung in the U.S. at midnight on New Year's Eve (Año Nuevo). The version everyone remembers at the end of the movie, It's A Wonderful Life. George and Mary Bailey.  Zuzu's petals.  The "every time a bell rings, an angels gets his wings" version.

One of my favorite Monigotes.

There is a little more to Auld Lang Syne.  Inspired by fragments of traditional songs from earlier times, the Scottish poem was written in 1788 by Robert Burns, with all of the melancholy and nostalgia that it still evokes today.

However it was not intended as a New Year's Eve song, any more than It's A Wonderful Life was intended as a Christmas movie.  Such as life, things have a way of finding their place and settling in. 

Three days ago, our friend Tamy took us on a tour of Portoviejo.  We were joined by two others, Bonnie and Luc, who we met at the Navidad Fiesta last week.

Bonnie and Luc arrived in Crucita a few weeks before we did. 

This was no ordinary excursion.  Nothing Tamy does is ordinary.  She puts a lot of thought and care into everything.  Our goal for the day was to view themed displays for the Año Viejo contest.  That was just the beginning.

The theme? Save It or Lose It.   I say Right on!

A map of the displays was in the local newspaper,
El Diario. With map in hand, the five of us were off for another adventure.

First stop was the home of Tamy's mother & father in law. Not to view a display, but for the first of many treats. Mangos!  Ripe, sweet and delicious mangos from their farm.

With map AND mangos in hand, the five of us were off (again).

Tamy drives us through the city of Portoviejo and some of the surrounding parishes.  She does not simply point out areas of interest.  She gives us details about the buildings, people, and economics.  But more importantly, she gives us the respective cultures of each area.  I am amazed at the diversity.


As with any city, there is wealth, there is extreme poverty, and there is prejudice between those "classes".  A product of all that diversity.  It is human nature I suppose.

Mamey Mata Serrano

If you really want to get to know a culture, you have to look past some of those things.  You have to look past your own comfort zone.  You have to set aside the things you know, to make room for the things you do not know.  If you can do this, you will almost always have an experience to remember.

Representing the Rural Life of Ecuador

Continuing on our tour, we stop at several displays to take photos.  I should mention that the judging of the displays took place on December 31st.  First prize is $3,000 USD, second prize is $1,500.

Photos of all 24 entries were printed in the Año Nuevo edition of  El Diario.  I think we saw about half of them during our tour.

Time for another treat!

Mamey Mata Serrano!  In Ecuador, this fruit does not occur on a large scale, but it is found in small farms on the coast, mainly in the provinces of Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and Manabi.

It has the size and appearance of a small cantaloupe. We live in the province of Manabi.


Tamy sees Mamey being sold at one of the street vendors and tells us that we "must try this".   We will hear that phrase a lot.  We are told that this fruit is in season for a very short time, and it is not available everywhere in Ecuador.  We happen to live on the coast.  Lucky us!

Portoviejo El Centro

Since we have already passed the vendor, we have to make a few turns to get back to him.  This is another opportunity to absorb more culture.  We drive through the fabric district.  I had been wondering where to buy material.  I am not sure why since I left my sewing machine back in the U.S.  We are told that the fabric district is safe during the day, but not at night.

Not our cat.  Our cat's local friend.

And...the electricity is out again.  This does not happen too often, but it does happen.

I am usually totally unaware of it unless I happen to be using WiFi at that time.

I was using Wifi to write this segment of our blog.
Now I am using Notepad so that I can continue.
As soon as the electricity is back on I will copy and paste.

A few extra steps, but it is all part of the way of life here in Crucita.

I also take the time to say hello to a white cat who frequently stops by to visit.

He poses for a photo.


We make our way back around to the busy street.  There are a lot of tall buildings - tall for Ecuador; many vendors set up all along this street; but NO street parking.

Tamy pulls up to the vendor and through the window asks the man something in Spanish.  I catch a few words.  Not enough to know exactly what she asks him.  But in her normal style, she turns to us and translates. She then goes on to explain that Mamey can be difficult to peel and cut away from the large seed. The man is doing it very skillfully and quickly.  Apparently if you do it wrong, the fruit will have a bitter taste.

A few cars honk their horns at us.  The man says something to Tamy and she tells us that he said "do not worry about them, it is fine to stay where we are".  We do.  It is not.

We are greeted by a police siren and flashing lights.  Apparently the No Standing law applies here as well as New York City.

Recognize Anyone?

Another circle through the fabric district and back to the vendor, where our Mamey has been peeled, sliced and put into bags for us to eat.  It appears to be about 3 or 4 pounds of fruit.  Total cost = $2.50 (50 cents per person).  It was rico (delicious).

I cannot begin to describe the taste.  I will not even try.  If you find yourself in Ecuador, along the coastal area, in December - you must try this!

After we take photos (fotos) of more displays, my husband asks Tamy about something he read in a blog about "the largest flea market in Ecuador located in Portoviejo", and does she know where it is.

Puzzled look.  What is a flea market?

We explain.

No. There is no flea market.

We are told that Ecuadorians do not sell used clothes, household items or furniture.  They give these things away to people who need them.  Silence from the gringos.  I cannot speak for the others, but for my part, this is another lesson on how things should be.  I will not forget it.

The mood is suddenly lifted as Tamy asks us if we like coconut milk  Now I have the puzzled look.  I thought it was called agua de coco.  It is.  But this is not.

Now you have the puzzled look.

Ecuadorians are concerned too.

Agua de coco is the clear liquid inside the coconut.  As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, the top of the coconut (husk on) is cut off so you can use a straw to drink the agua.  Coconut milk is white because it is made from the pulverized coconut meat.

A street vendor is selling ice cold coconut milk.

Yes.  Of course we want some.

Apparently this woman makes the best coconut milk in the city.  It is important to only buy from vendors who make sure everything is clean.  We are told this many times.   Our Ecuadorian friend will not be with us all the time.  We have to learn these things.  It is not offensive to walk away if you think a restaurant or food cart is not clean.  But do not mistake worn for dirty.  I cannot stress this point enough.  If you do, you will probably miss out on a lot.

That will definitely be your loss.

As we drink coconut milk, we turn a corner and find ourselves in Portoviejo El Centro.  This can only be described as THE shopping district.  Located at "9 de Octubre e/ Chile y Ricaurte" is the store Super Exito.  I promise, there is an address in that sentence.  I will explain how addresses work in another segment of Tamera's Take.

Superheroes everywhere.  Emelec!

Super Exito seems to be the landmark of this outdoor shopping and food extravaganza.  Take a cab or a bus to get there.  To experience and take full advantage of El Centro, you will have to walk it.

Lalo's in Portoviejo El Centro

In front of Super Exito are two restaurants that look like outdoor lunch counters.

They are identical except that one sells sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers (Lalo's); the other sells more traditional Ecuadorian food.

Flea Market - No, but yes.

Remember that "flea market" we asked Tamy about?  I think El Centro is what that blogger was trying to describe.  Yes, we found it, but no - it is NOT a flea market.

This is not a shopping day though.  Jason and I have already made plans to go back to Portoviejo El Centro on our own for a day of shopping and eating.  After we go, we will tell you all about it.

Electric Mosquito Racquet

At this point we have spent hours taking photos of displays for Ano Viejo; we have had mangos, mamey and coconut milk.  We have to find a restroom!

SuperMaxi is just around the corner.

SuperMaxi break done.  We could not leave there without buying a rechargeable Electric Mosquito Racquet.  I love this thing.

A lot of fun for $5.83 and no mosquitos. 

As we give out a few more coins to the Widows of Ano Viejo, we come to the final part of our tour of Portoviejo.  The World of Monigotes and Fireworks!  It is not called that.  But it should be.

Some coins for this Widow of Ano Viejo!

Thousands of paper mache Monigotes.  Thousands of Fireworks.  A landing strip between them.  You do not want fireworks sold next to monigotes.  Especially since the fireworks are constantly being demonstrated for potential customers.

Just think about it for a minute.

Paper mache.  Fireworks.  Paper Mache.  Fireworks.

Got it?  Okay.

These are not wimpy wambly wombly fireworks.  These are badda big badda boom fireworks.  All legal - here. 

Although we have already bought two monigotes in Crucita - the Pilsener Futbol Toro & Peppa Pig, we see Sylvester Cat and buy him for $5.00 USD.

Tamy has taught us a lot about the bargaining ritual, and I have observed her enough times that I think I got the best deal on our Sylvester monigote.  It turns out that I did.  Practicing a few more phrases in Spanish before we got there did not hurt.

Special Fireworks for Sylvester!

As Jason mentioned in New Year's Eve Part 1, we have to wear yellow underwear (bragas amarillas) for good luck on New Year's Eve.

You cannot buy them yourself.  Someone has to buy them for you. Jason and I buy for each other.

I would be remiss if I did not remind you that the Ecuadorian people are generally smaller than us Gringos.  Keep that in mind when shopping for clothing.  Enough said.

Fotos, fotos and more fotos.  Monigote and yellow underwear in hand.

Shoppers in El Centro.

On to Fireworks.

There is a very specific type of firework used to blow up your monigote on New Year's Eve.  You will need several for each monigote, depending on its size.  They are craft paper colored triangles with a fuse on one corner - four for $1.00.  We bought eight of them, along with some regular size roman candles (25 cents each) and mega size roman candles ($2.00 each).

The man we bought the fireworks from gave us a bunch of jumping jacks for free.

We are now as ready as we can be for Año Nuevo.   (That is code for come back for Part 3.  You will not be disappointed.)

Feliz Año Nuevo

After our trip to World of Monigotes and Fireworks, we intended to take the bus back to Crucita.

Tamy insisted on driving us home.  I should have known she had a surprise for us.

Bam Bam Dulceria in Rocafuerte.

But that story, my cyber friends, is for another day. 

We hope you all had a Safe, Fun & Happy New Year.  We did!

Questions? E-mail us!

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Happy New Year! (Part 1) - Grapes, Monigotes, and Magical Unicorns

Tradition.  Bob as Baby New Year.

2015 has been a year to remember.  That is for sure.  We all know the stress levels a person gets to when a life changing event happens.  Just one and you are in the land of heart failure.  My wife and I experienced our share of them in 2015.  Needless to say we were suffocating in a very real way.  We journeyed through hell to get here.

I will not go into all the details. We got all kinds of well meaning advice but the thing about advice is; you almost never know what you think you know.  In any event it was mostly given with the best of intentions.  We learned a lot.

We got a lot of help too and that will never be forgotten. Without that help, the final life changing event of 2015 might never have happened.  We might not have made our move to Ecuador.  That would have been devastating in ways I can only see now.  We did make it though.  We do miss our friends and family very much but we would not change anything. I would gladly go through it all again if the end result were the same.  Well, maybe not gladly but I would do it.

My Spidey sense is tingling!

The U.S. has its New Year traditions.  New Years Eve is what I like to call Amateur Drinker's Night.  Everyone tries to get as plastered as possible.  We make our New Year's resolutions. I guess getting plastered makes it easier to proclaim every way in which we will make our lives better and then, promptly forget them.  Lord knows I have done my share of "forgetting".  It is fun.  It is a way of letting off all the steam built up just trying to get through that year.  It is also a way of building yourself up for that next one.  We all know life is hard but we also all want to live it.  That takes courage all on its own.

At midnight the ball drops in Times Square.  We count down as one voice, "TEN, NINE, EIGHT", the excitement is palpable, "THREE, TWO, ONE!".  We all scream "HAPPY NEW YEAR!". There is a toast (lots really), champagne, kissing, hugging, tears of joy (or relief), and laughter.  There are fireworks and even gunfire.  Family and friends.  Hope.



New Years Day brings its own traditions.  In the South it generally starts with a few Goody's or BC powders. Large hangovers necessitate large coffees (I personally believe this is when the Bloody Mary is most important), and large breakfasts.  The most popular New Year's Resolution in the entire history of resolutions is generally uttered at some point in the morning; "I will never drink again!".  Coincidentally, it is also the most ignored.  Black Eyed Peas get cooked for luck through the new year.  I hate them so I do pintos with cornbread instead.  A pot of greens (I make collards) is cooked for wealth and prosperity.  I have found they both work as well as the Mark Zuckerberg Facebook giveaway but hey, it is tradition.

Shared!  I've always wanted  magical unicorn.

2015 resolutions,  This year I resolve to do everything differently.  I will improve my quality of life and learn new things.  I will travel and expand my horizons.  I will lose weight and exercise.  I will make new friends.  Check, check, check.  Check, check, check.  Check, check.

2016 resolutions.  More of the same please!

The traditions are different here of course.  I will change mine.  Not totally. Black beans instead of pintos.  Easy!  In Ecuador, we celebrate New Year's basically all week.   Christmas time is literally the beginning of summer here.  In Crucita it means the filling up of the town as people flock to the beach to begin their summer vacations.  The Malecon (translates to pier but here it means beach road as far as I can tell) largely deserted during the week when we arrived, is now a hot spot all week long.  Music is louder, people cruise the beach, drinking and eating establishments are full.

The gang' all here and yes, Freddy Krueger is too!

It is not an organized celebration yet. Vendors start making and selling monigotes.  These are paper mache effigies in the likeness of popular cartoons, famous or infamous people, and animals.  They represent the bad things that happened in the old year (Ano Viejo). You can get them everywhere.  All week long they become more prevalent on balconies, tied to cars, riding pillion on motorcycles, and in the backs of trucks. They are beaten, burned, and exploded at midnight on the last day of the Old Year to make room for good things in the New Year (Ano Nuevo).

People drink but they generally spend the evenings with their families and begin the actual festivities at midnight.  New Year's Day (00:00:01) is when the celebration begins.  Yes, effigies are beaten and burned and exploded with fireworks.  By doing this any bad "mojo" is taken from you and yours.  This house is clean.

12 grapes, 12 wishes, 60 seconds, GO!

Then there are the grapes.  Twelve to be exact.  One for every month in the year.  You must eat all twelve grapes beginning at midnight and finish them before one minute elapses.  Each grape represents a wish which also must be spoken prior to eating the grape.  Twelve grapes, twelve wishes, sixty seconds. Failure is not an option.

It is imperative you are given a brand new pair of underwear.  You wear yellow on New Years Eve to bring wealth. Red is worn for Love.  You aren't supposed to buy them yourself.  They must be a gift to work properly.

Men are supposed to jump over a raging bonfire twelve times for luck.  I will skip that.  They also throw coins in the fire for wealth and rice in the fire to bring an abundance of food. There is a fireworks show and we are assured they are not the little fireworks we see in the U.S.  I am not sure what to expect or what that means.  They have been shooting off "personal" fireworks all month.  Mortars and such are definitely legal.

Then there are the "widows" of the old year.  Since the old year is dead, men dress up as the old year's widow,  They walk around the town but they are not sad.  They are glad the old year is dead.  In Portoviejo they stop traffic and ask for change.  In the parish of Crucita they also sell small items (we bought Chiclets gum) for a pittance.  We are a fishing/farming village and the men look like men.  It is so funny to see them running around acting (badly) like women.

We bought Chiclets from this widow.

So here we are.  On the precipice of a new year.  It is exciting is it not?  I will give you some advice.  I give it with the best of intentions.  Should you find yourself on the edge, on a precipice, it may be best to jump.  Not always, not everyone, but for some, not jumping could mean the loss of something very valuable. The scary part is you may never even know.  So perhaps the good news is that life is full of cliffs, crags, peaks, and precipices.  There is always another place from which to jump.  Adios!

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