What do you miss?

This is probably the most frequent question we get asked after the standard ones like "where?", "is it safe?", "don't you miss your family?" and "what made you chose there?" (Side note: why would anyone move somewhere that they thought they might not be safe?) The next question is invariably "what do you miss the most?" Of course we miss people and things, despite the fact that we go about our daily lives mostly content and unobsessed with what we don't have.

Sushi in West Vancouver

Duck breast and yam fries in North Vancouver

We missed it while we were in Freetown, Prince Edward Island as well, but international food wasn't that far away that a weekend getaway or a drive to Charlottetown couldn't quell the desire. With planning and an extra suitcase, we can have a lot of the food we miss, but I have to make it. There is a general shortage of world cuisine in Ecuador that isn't missing in the neighbouring countries. (We can't quite figure that one out, but are tempted to chalking it up to the concept of being happy with what you have.) 
 

Korean chili chicken downtown

Unquestionably the thing we miss is FOOD. Vancouver enjoys an unending variety of tastes, flavours and dining experiences that is lacking in Cuenca. To be sure, Quito has a wider variety of restaurants, but it still has a long way to go the match that of our home town.

Japadog on Robson

Fish tacos from a food truck

All this and I've been too lazy to take pictures of the Peruvian food we had last night, the classic Triple O burger from White Spot or the Pho we had at a restaurant with some of our kids. Missing too are the cheddar cheese smokies I cooked on the barbecue and the baked trout I had at my sister's house. I never thought to take a shot of the sockeye salmon I made either. And we're only half way through our trip! We haven't hit any Indian restaurants, Thai places, Mongolian, French...I can't even cover it all. But that is what we miss: the food and the memories that come with it.