Hole-in-the-wall Restaurants

By Graham

We were walking down Rocafuerte looking for a restaurant. We came across a run-down place and walked in. It was poorly lit, small, and a TV was blaring. The paint on the walls was peeling. Beer advertisements were tacked to the walls. Along one wall pots were bubbling with soup. There were about five tables covered with oil cloths, and the seats were small and metal. But the restaurant smelled very good.

We sat down and ordered three lunches and a bowl of soup for Katharine. Here, you just order a lunch and they bring you what's cooking. Usually, they start you off with a bowl of soup, made of chicken, broth, noodles, and potatoes. You also get a glass of juice. That is enough for Katharine, but Mom, Dad, and I eat the next course, too. Normally, it is chicken, rice, lettuce, and mote. Mote is hominy.

The chicken is very good. I have had some of the best chicken here. It is cooked perfectly and they add the right amount of salt. Some of my favorite lunches have been in Ecuador.

The Zip Line

By Katharine



It was a long way down. I was standing on a cliff, 300 feet above the ground and do you know what I was doing? I was preparing to get on a zip line to cross a river at the bottom of a gorge. There were mountains in the distance and cows standing on the hills. But the scariest thing was the murky brown rapids below me.

We learned that the president of Ecuador did the zip line, so it should be safe. We were all very scared, though. It was my dad's turn first. He stepped up to the line. A man made him put on a harness and a leather belt. He was doing "Superman." He had to climb up on a chair and the man held onto his legs. Next, my dad got lifted into the air and was hanging on his belly. Finally, the man let go and and Dad went shooting across really fast, high above the rapids. When he reached the other side, a lady ran to get him. She climbed up on a ladder and unhooked him.

We all decided that we did not want to do "Superman." Instead, we wanted to sit and hold onto handles as we went across. It was my turn after Graham's. I kicked myself off. I zoomed across with a loud "zip." It felt as if I had big white wings. But as soon as I passed some boulders, it seemed as if I was falling because I was going down so fast. I landed safely on the other side. I wanted to do it again.