Cuenca Updates: Good Saturday April 7, 2012

Saturday, April 07, 2012

Good Saturday April 7, 2012

Good Saturday Apr 7/12 update

Bella was off this morning for a 1.5 hour massage. She said they put her in a sauna box, with only her head sticking out, but she got claustrophobic real fast. She has some bad knots in her shoulders that she has had for years and the massages do help but have never solved the problem yet either.

My back is feeling 75% better today so I am again trying to get by without medication, which I think is 400mg of Ibuprofen only.

I was to meet with Juan, my language buddy tomorrow to go to the Banco Central Museum at the Pumapungo Inca ruins but I researched on line and it isn’t even open Saturday afternoons or Sundays, so I contacted him and we decided to meet today instead and do something else. We also have two other appointments with separate groups tomorrow so we were worried about a conflict.

While waiting for Juan I tried to catch the hummingbird again and got 2 so-so shots. I was pleasantly surprised to see a white dove on Holy Saturday and couldn’t help but think of that significance..

Juan wanted to take me for an authentic Ecuadorian meal so we went and had tamales, kibolitos, another unpronounceable dish and hot chocolate. The kibolitos was tasty but it would take a while to get used to their overly bland diet.

Then Juan asked where I would like to go. Since he was driving I asked to go to Turi which is so beautifully lit up at night and we got some lovely shots of the church and the city, and also of Juan and me. There was to be a procession for Holy Saturday to happen sometime later but we didn’t hang around.

We drove and parked on the east edge of Parque Calderon and wandered just a bit, running into Greg and Leona who were also enjoying the night air.

Then Juan was driving me home and took the long way home down Huayna Capac so I shared a Big Kabudas burger with him. Now he was really stuffed and I was properly sated.

He continued to drive me home and took a wrong turn which took him about ten blocks to correct. He is a new driver and unfamiliar with our corner of town so every drive is an adventure.

Juan would like to take us to the Ingapirca Inca ruins about 2 hours drive away from Cuenca. He has never been there himself so that should be fun. Bella hopes we can do it next Saturday because they now have bridge games on Sunday.

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