First of all, there happen to be two kinds of pitahaya in Ecuador: roja and amarilla. This post is about pitahaya roja, or dragon fruit. I’ll get to amarilla another day.
Growing up in California where there is a large Asian population, dragon fruit was not uncommon to find in local supermarkets. However, I was a little surprised to find it at the local farmers markets here in Ecuador! Again, like achotillo, I’m not sure how this fruit came to Ecuador, though I’m sure it was imported at some point. Although I’ve seen dragon fruit most of my life at the market, I’d never actually bought and tried it until now. I’ve always marveled at the bright fuchsia color of the skin and the green spikes.
And the inside is just as fascinating. Cut it open and you’ll find a white, watery flesh like in a melon that is speckled with black seeds. The taste is pretty mellow, like a bland cross between melon and kiwi. Here it’s used to make fresh juice or sometimes cut up for fruit salad with yogurt and granola.
Also, an interesting fact I learned while researching more about pitahaya is that it is a cactus fruit! I didn’t know… its cactus plant has a stump with several thin, long spiky branches that hang over it like a palm tree, and the fruit grows at the tips of the branches.
AWEcuador 
I would love to try the pitahayas royas. I saw a painting by Frieda Kayli and didn’t know what they were. Now I do and they are great for people with diabetes, which I have. I am now on the look out.