12-1-13 Notes from the road….

Early Sunday Notes from the road: We hope readers have not sensed our skipping a beat in posting northern energy reports, though we are on a two week trip to Texas and Ecuador.  Cuenca is known as the 'world retirement capital', though we like it for other reasons and are certainly not retired.  We pursue our client work, web page, writing and photo assignments from this location a few weeks a year.  When not here, we rent our home (Casa San Sebastian) in the Andes to friends.  One of Cuenca's major markets is two blocks away from our downtown loft. Early last week — while buying mangoes, tomatoes, tomates, lettuce, apples, corn, and lima beans the size of a baby's ears — we took our favorite vendor's photo.  She is Zoila Zhogui (NGP Photo). Yesterday, we had another photo adventure in El Cajas with a free roaming, blue-eyed llama (NGP Photo) overlooking one of myriad mountain lakes at altitudes only a few thousand feed lower than Mount McKinley.  After an exhausting but satisfying climb, my friend and driver, Luis Rivadenetra, and I enjoyed the most amazing fresh trout lunch in history at the world famous, Dos Chorreras Restaurant and Resort.  Each serving was what appeared to be two trout filets sliced from two 17" beauties netted from the trout pond just for us.  It was seasoned with heaven's ingredients, flash fried and served with a wonderful white gravy with light chilies and mushrooms and accompanied by sauted, fresh vegetable shavings and slices of succulent yucca root (NGP Photo-l).  Our appetizer had been this potato/squash soup (NGP Photo-r) with Dos Chorreras cheese, ahi sauce and I had fresh squeezed tomate juice (tree tomato).  At first I refused the unbelievably light cheese cake but then called the waiter back and agreed to have that with a cup of Loja Ecuadorian espresso since it was included in the meal price.  Yes, Luis and I were happy campers!  "Happy, happy, happy."  -dh

Keystone XL pipeline threatened by US oil boomCBC.ca