Cuenca Updates: Friday March 2, 2012

Friday Mar 2/12 update

We slept well but I still got up before 7:30 to get to breakfast. I met a fellow named Tom in the lobby, originally from Alaska who had just spent 5 years living in a small town in Mexico but got tired of their changing rules and the unnecessary expense of complying. He and his 22-year-old son were scouting Ecuador and were intending to check out Vilcabamba and the Valley of Longevity, at least they were, until they spoke to us. We now expect to see them soon in Cuenca.

We didn’t have to check out until noon so Bella ran down to the SuperMaxi to see if they had any better selection of spices than in Cuenca, which they didn’t, so she came back empty-handed. I had attempted to check emails etc on the laptop but it had decided to take a brief holiday and would not respond to anything I tried, totally dead. Surprisingly it did respond when we got home later though, thank God.

Once we checked out of the Casa Sol we then had two hours to kill before going to our lawyer Gabriela’s office so we had a leisurely McDonald’s lunch before venturing over to the main park in the center of Quito. We walked for a bit and started going through all the small vendor tents selling all manner of clothing, jewelry, art and souvenirs. Bella got great deals on t-shirts and pants which she really needed. We saw two oil paintings that we really would have liked on our walls and the artist was desperate, one for $65, two for $110. We himmed and hawwed for a bit, because we would have to drag these with us all day, with our backpacks, purse, jackets, etc, in at least 4 cab rides and a plane trip. In the end we could have had both for $80…

At Gabriela’s office we found out that we would be going to pick up our Cedulas on our own, as they were to be ready at 3pm. We got the address and headed off and waited in front of the wicket for our names to be called. Since Bella’s application had been completed about an hour before mine we expected her to be called first and then probably have to wait an hour for mine, but surprise, surprise, they called me first. The Cedula was perfect, a lot like our Alberta driver’s licence, front and back except it also lists the spouse’s name, and both parents’ names.

Then the other shoe dropped, as they called up Bella to say there was a problem with hers, something to do with the parents’ names showing as LaCoste for the dad, and La Coste for the Mom. Not a big deal but this was supposed to have been corrected by Gabriela’s last assistant, Juan. After a few phone calls back and forth with Gabriela, and then locating another of her assistants on the premises, it somehow got sorted out as they called Bella up again and she got her documentation as well, even with the differing parent’s names. We were definitely heaving a big sigh of relief as neither of us relished the thought of having to go home and return to Quito.

Documents in hand, we hailed a cab to the airport and caught the 6:05 flight home, leaving right on time. Leaving Quito is interesting because of the active volcanoes in the vicinity and I was fortunate to grab some shots of two snow-capped peaks poking through the heavy cloud cover. They were quite close together but I can’t guess at the names. Further south, it was interesting to see the Andes covered in fields right to the tops of the mountains. Those photos did not turn out due to the declining light conditions.

Upon arrival in Cuenca we hopped a cab to the Hotel Victoria on Calle Large to have a last meal with Jim and Cindy before they begin their trek home to Atlanta. We had a delightful filet mignon supper for under $10 and even had free music supplied from a nearby group celebration. Jim and Cindy will be liquidating a lot of their stuff and later bring what they can by container, returning in September. They are now thinking of buying a plot of land and maybe building a home here, a bungalow, or maximum 2-storeys.

We got home after 9pm and the boys were very happy to see us and to get a fresh meat supper. We can expect them to be very clingy for the next few days.

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