drsbarton: Fall Holidays

While we think of pumpkins and turkey in the Fall in the U.S., Ecuador celebrates Dia de los Difunctos. Although it has similar origins to Halloween in the U.S. and Day of the Dead in Mexico, this holiday in Ecuador has evolved into more of a Memorial Day, where families remember and honor their ancestors by visiting their graves. Traditional foods are hua-huas ("wa-was") de pan - bread shaped like babies and colado mirada - a hot spiced fruit drink. Thanksgiving is not an Ecuadorian holiday, but our kids have a school break on Thurs and Fri, so we traveled about 10 hours south and west to the Andean town of Cuenca. Instead of turkey, we found ourselves at Pizza Hut for Thanksgiving dinner! We also visited Inca ruins and learned how the mis-names "Panama" hats are made here in Ecuador.