The Guayaquil South Rotary Meeting…

The Guayaquil South Rotary Meeting…

Tuesday evening - off to the Rotary meeting. The Guayaquil South Rotary Club meeting is held at the Circulo Militar, an establishment for retired military….similar to our VFW. Guayaquil South has 19 members.

The meeting’s program was the visit from the District Governor (who we met at lunchtime). They graciously welcomed us. They began their meeting with robust singing of the Ecuador national anthem followed by speeches from various people including DG Connie, David and Hector from Harrisburg Keystone who organized the mission. Their District Governor gave a brief speech then it was time for dinner.

The first course was cold octopus and some other cold fish. Ralph and Ken ate theirs up but I had a hard time eating something with suckers on it. Merlot was served…and the glasses were kept full throughout the evening.

The main course was a generous piece of beef with a chocolate sauce and a side of quinoa. At first this beef/chocolate dish seemed odd, but the combination was delicious. The Merlot went brilliantly with it. I was glad I didn’t fill up with octopus! We found out later that the Rotary Club had flown in the chef of the President of Ecuador from Quito to prepare the meal.

Before dessert was served the entertainment began - an Ecuadorian folk band - Ganchozo -which played all authentic local instruments. The music was upbeat and delightful. Eventually, the good music and wine had almost everyone up and dancing. Ralph was a buzz saw! Ken has video proof. There was even a congo line… It was not the kind of Rotary meeting we are used to! We finally loaded back into the busses and returned to the hotel by 11 pm. It was a fantastic evening!