Positively medieval

I don´t want to harp on about it, but it just has to be commented on - I was watching the news again last night and there was another insane story that I wish I could understand what was happening a bit more. But anyway, they showed this village and there was this man and woman standing in the middle of the mob only in their underwear and it´s obviously freezing because I think this is up high in the mountains somewhere. So anyway they tied them to these stakes, bound them by rope, half covered them in what looked like hay, and then started dousing them with this clear liquid - I was seriously thinking they were going to be burnt alive!! I also thought that because Danilo last night told me how indigenous people out in the rural areas actually do burn thieves and criminals alive, even now, by giving them a "shower of gasoline" as he said and then burning them - sheesh, I was totally prepared for a burning (not that I´m disappointed or anything)

But it turns out it was buckets and buckets of icy cold water and then they had these really spiky plants that they used to whip them - I couldn´t believe my eyes! This is happening right here and now and you know the reason for this totally medieval punishment? They were adulterers. Sooooo insane. Again, just like before, not sure why this is on the news, but it was and this is all happening for real. Man, what a crazy justice system they have.

Anyway, moving on - Kathy, the other volunteer from the clinic was invited to dinner last night by my parents here which was really nice of them. Here´s a pic:


Yes my timer function on my camera was just a little too quick, but I almost made it =)


Here´s the really nice meal my mum made - I think it was goat stew with potatoes, avocado and salad. Really really nice. yum - or as they say here " yummy yummy".

I thought this was also pretty cool:

There is just so much fruit here on offer in Ecuador and so much fruit that I´ve never seen before. This pic is right after the mum went shopping - it´s like almost everything on offer in the supermarket. If you can enlarge it and see, the fruit on the top behind the bananas is babaco
Then on the second shelf, the thing with the stripes (which I haven´t gotten around to trying yet) is called pepino, the orange one right at the far back right is called granadilla and it feels like a passionfruit, but again haven´t tried. In front of that are naranjillas which are a cross between oranges and tomatoes (says a website, but not the mum - not sure who to believe). Then those red fruits on the front left of the third shelf are tomate de arbol - they´re kind of strange because kind of sweet but not sweet at the same time and taste like a mix between tomatoes and maybe apples, but apparently it´s not a crossed fruit either. And then of course there are always lots and lots of bananas. Every morning one of those fruits becomes my breakfast juice and then at night, my dessert. Yum.