Cuenca Updates: Sunday Feb 12, 2012

Sunday Feb 12/12 update

Well before 9am I am topless sunbathing on the terrace trying to get as much natural Vitamin C, D and whatever to help get rid of the sinus cold. Pancho the sun worshipper is out there in his bed like he is in heaven.

I am trying to talk Bella into walking east and checking out the local zoo. She is reluctant, figuring it will be a letdown after the Calgary Zoo.

Bella agrees, so about 11:30 we walk over a mile east to find the entrance to this new zoo that opened in December. It is a narrow dirt & gravel road and it says the entrance is 600 meters ahead. This is walking up a mountainside and it felt more like 6 kilometers by the time we got to the ticket booth. Then we couldn’t bring in the backpack so we hurriedly ate our sandwiches and cinnamon buns and drank our juice before entering. That was only the beginning of the climb because the path on the side of this mountain is another 3 kilometers or so and it is mostly uphill on wet dirt. You could see where they already had mudslide problems.

We got to see lions, ocelots, monkeys, hawks, Andean bears, deer, alpacas and parrots, amongst other things. It was very sunny and very hot and the animals were relaxing, especially the lions. One very young female lion was flat on her back and sunning her belly, much like Pancho does regularly.

On the path we met a tall Dutchman accompanying an Ecuadorian family named Jan (last name meant coffin maker). He is a 72-year old volunteer executive that helps out textile companies with problems worldwide. He is here to help this Ecuadorian family with their household linens business for a couple of weeks. It turns out the family’s factory is about a mile from the zoo. Jan will also be traveling to Calgary in April and May.

We are meandering on the mountainside (what a view from there!) keeping a wary eye on the sky as we can see a thunderstorm coming over Cuenca from the North. We were trying to get off the mountain and were hoping the storm would slip to the west but no such luck. It started to rain just as we got back to the ticket booth. Another 100 meters further and the heavens opened. Even with our umbrellas open we were getting pretty wet. This dirt road was soon going to be a slippery quagmire and I feared for our lives and our sanity as we descended. We were just beginning to navigate this dirt road downhill and looking for non-existent cover and trying to stay out of the way of all the cars that were leaving.

All of a sudden this little Chevy SUV pulls up and they tell us to jump in. It is Jan and the Ecuadorian family, Julio, wife Paola, and children Carolina, Rafaela and Juliano. The three kids are in the tiny back compartment to make room for Bella and me in the back seat with Jan. We were just thrilled that we didn’t have to slip-slide our way to the bottom like two drenched rats.

On the way down they are discussing if they were going to head to Julio’s family farm at Paute, about an hour’s drive away. Then they asked us if we had been there yet and if we would be interested in going. In fact we had discussed going there on the walk to the zoo so we said we’d be pleased to go, so off we all went.

They were going for a late lunch at a resort hotel and it was quite a spectacular spot with trees, horses, swimming pools, its own church, children’s playground, etc. I had a ceviche (a cold tomato shrimp soup) while Bella simply had a small lemon meringue pie. We had this leisurely meal and great conversation, especially with Jan who is a world traveler and fluent in many languages. The family was so nice and the children were totally delightful.

Paute is renowned for flowers and fruits and vegetables and we happened onto their town square in the midst of their town’s founding festival. Julio recommended we keep the windows up if we didn’t want to get wet as they throw water balloons at anyone unprotected. We stopped briefly at the open air market and Paola went to pick up a few items.

The four rivers of Cuenca form into the Rio Paute and eventually to the Amazon River. Julio was telling us that in 1993 a landslide caused a river blockage that created much flooding and havoc. The mountains here are a bad mixture of rock, sand, and gravel, so if there is no vegetation on the side to hold it all together rains can cause landslides and mudslides.

Then they drove us to the family farm which is a huge acreage right inside the town. They have a horse, dogs, cows, chickens, roosters, and they raise about 600 guinea pigs for sale. The place is covered in fruit trees and flowers. They would never go hungry there. Bella came home with a care package of fruits and veggies. Julio and Paola had been married right in the yard on the farm and they delighted in showing us the exact spot.

The trip home was in the dark but Julio is a good driver and they drove us right to our door. We brought out the boys, much to the children’s delight, and they gave us their names and address and 5 phone numbers.

Julio said “You now have friends here, and if you need anything, anything at all, just call us. We will be in touch soon.” Gotta love the Cuencanos!

That was today’s excitement. Enjoy the pics. Hugs to all.