We just received an email asking what we have been doing as I
haven’t written in our blog for 3 months!
Sorry Trish. We have been busy –
but nothing real exciting to tell, I guess.
We are really happy with our new house. We have a lot of unused space, but what we do
use is very nice. It could be a few
degrees warmer here, but we have learned that layers are the answer. When it rains, and we are just leaving the
“rainy season”, it gets bone-chilling cool.
When it isn’t raining, it is quite comfortable.
We are about to start our third class of Spanish. We are making progress, but still having
difficulties speaking without a lot of thinking about the words. This next class, according to our instructor,
will be mostly working with what we now know and starting to make it more
automatic. We are no longer allowed to
speak English in class. I love reading
the story books she gives us. Each one is
more difficult than the previous one, but I find that reading is far easier for
me than speaking. We need to practice more
at home, which is happening almost on an unconscious level. Some phrases are just becoming “normal” and
then we branch out from there until one of us hits a word we can’t think
of. Then it’s a scramble to the computer
or one of our worksheets that I have been putting together and adding to as we
go along, to find said word. Then we can argue about its
pronunciation.
This week we went on a little trip to a couple of small
towns to the East of here; Gualaceo and Chordeleg. They are towns that sell a lot of the native
crafts. We stopped at a Mercado to buy
veggies, and then went shopping for - well - anything else. We saw ceramics, woodwork, leather, a ton of
jewelry in gold and silver, shoes, shoes and shoes, woven straw hats (Panamas),
and wool and cotton woven goods. I
bought a hat, a purse and a nice warm poncho.
I love the poncho as it works well with a wheelchair. I tried to get Steve to buy a Panama hat (a
misnomer as they are not made in Panama, but right here in Ecuador) but he
didn’t. They are really inexpensive
when bought in the towns like that where they are made. I
would have loved to get a pair of shoes, but they do not make shoes here to fit
us larger Gringos. I could have had some
made, but that would require a return trip.
On our way up to Gualaceo, we stopped at an orchid
shop/church. They had tons of all kinds
of orchids. I especially like the ones
that hang in the air – no pot. You just
spray the roots, and I have the perfect place to hang several. I didn’t buy any, but I have a feeling I
will be back.
We have plans to go to the Inca ruins north of Canar in June when it is a
bit warmer. The ruins are at very high
altitude, so that’s the reason for the wait.
I asked our driver and good friend, Patricio, to bring his daughter with
us. He said she has been asking about
us, and I would love to meet her. After
that, we hope to schedule a trip to Loja and Vilacabamba, and after that a trip
to the ocean, maybe near Manta. I want
to tour the El Cajas National park just to our West. Would be nicer if we could hike, but a car
tour will have to do.
I have met, on-line, a lady and her
husband who live in Panama and want to move to Cuenca. We spend quite a bit of time trading
information, as Panama is on my list of places to see. They live in a smallish town of around
60,000, Boquete, and want to move to a city.
We would not mind at all moving to a smaller town. They talk of how easy it is to get around
there without a car (similar to here) and the more American style of homes
(ranch style) which suits me fine. I am not
too sure I want to go through all the hassle of getting a residency in another
country, though. Maybe just a
visit.
Our newest food find: the achocha or caigua. An interesting veggie/fruit that tastes like
a cross between cucumber and green pepper when raw, more like green pepper when
cooked.
House Pictures, as promised a long, long time ago:
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| Living Room |
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| Indoor garden w/ skylight above. Flowers planted by builder were dead when we moved in, but we are now trying to grow veggies and herbs. |
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| Stairs up to three bedrooms. |
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| Note the laundry room outside the kitchen window on the back patio. |
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| We would have picked a different color scheme, but it grows on you. |
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| View across the bar from kitchen. Skylight above. |
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| Dining with Pepper. Back door to patio and yard. |
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| My new poncho and hat |
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| Ginger in her room. |
