We started obediently drinking only from our Lifestraw filtered water bottles. We rinsed our dishes with boiled water. We didn't have ice in our drinks. Then we got tired of living like Howard Hughes. We can't live in a bubble!
We still take some precautions, definitely do NOT drink the tap water. But do have ice in our drinks. Eat lettuce. Drink ice water at home (both from bottled). Rinse dishes with tap water and let air dry (most water baddies don't survive). It's good to be cautious, but not over cautious. One still has to live.
Haven't had cart food. Yet. Ate at a roadside restaurant in Santiago. Had homemade tacos. What was the difference to cart food? About three steps out into the street. Sometimes there isn't a whole lot of difference in quality or reliability.
We were also warned about toilet facilities. We have flush toilets with running water. We have showers with hot water (mostly! Ours is solar and electric and hasn't always delivered hot water; Josh's is tankless gas and once ignition batteries were replaced has worked fine).
Many restaurants have restroom facilities of one sort or another. Usually toilet paper. Usually running water. Sometimes can't flush the paper. Sometimes need a bucket to flush. La Palapo has a trough, unfortunately no door and the women's is past the men's, so pee fast and keep your back turned. All in all it's been different but tolerable.
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| Our toilet. |
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| Our shower (and whirlpool tub). |
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| Our solar water heater. |
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ReplyDeleteHey guys it's Kristine, sounds like you're learning the ropes well. Just wanted to share what we learned from the locals in Ecuador. They will eat street food or in the markets but not at restaurants. Why? With anything portable they are offering fresh food. With restaurants they can sell old food from previous days. I never even thought about that! Of course take that with a grain of salt. Thanks for sharing your journey!
ReplyDeleteSometimes the lines are blurred and you can't be sure what is "safe". Some of the cart fried chicken looks as if it's been under the heat lamps too longood. But then so does the restaurant chicken. That's one thing we really haven't tried, and I do enjoy fried chicken. Raquel and Josh not so much.
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