Left Quito and headed for the Quilotoa Loop - small villages tucked in the Ecuadorian Andes. Made it to Quilotoa - where there is a volcanic crater lake. Rode horses around the crater and had a great time despite some altitude issues (3800m) and my travel friend falling off her horse. Went to grab some quick lunch before our bus left and, not finding many options, knocked on the door of a place that looked like it could be a restaurant. A little boy of about 7 answered the door and said they were closed, but we should follow him. He led us to the back door of a house. We were welcomed in and found a woman cooking in a tiny kitchen and two tiny tables filled with people. The woman scooted the children aside to make room for us to squeeze in. She set down the first course. A bowl of soup with something floating in the center. My friend and I looked at each other - what the heck is that? It was about 6 inches or so in diameter. One side was purple-ish and had a scalloped edge, almost like octopus. Could this be a sea creature? Yet here we are in the mountains. Hmm. The other side felt hard, like bones. The man next to us picked his up and started gnawing on it. We opted to eat the broth around ours. I asked her what it was. ¨Pata de Vaca¨ she said, ¨it adds a lot of flavor.¨ Well, I wasn´t sure what ¨pata¨ meant, but ok, it is some part of the cow. We finished our lunch and raced off to catch our bus. As soon as I sat down on the bus I grabbed my spanish dictionary. Pata... Foot! Cow´s foot soup - delicious! :)
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