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.
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| 120212 Tired lady at entrance |
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| 120212 Alpacas |
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| 120212 Andean Bear |
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| 120212 The narrow steep walk to the zoo |
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| 120212 Panorama of storm brewing over Cuenca |
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| 120212 Momma Deer |
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| 120212 Colourful parrot |
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| 120212 Striking flowers at Paute farm |
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| 120212 Brilliant yellow flower at Paute farm |
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| 120212 Slumbering lioness |
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| 120212 Young lioness sunning her tummy |
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| 120212 Monkeyshines |
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| 120212 Ocelot |
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| 120212 Paola, Julio, Juliano, Carolina, Rafaela |
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| 120212 Jan, with Julio.s family, + Bella at Paute resort |
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| 120212 Rafaela, Juliano, Carolina |
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| 120212 Paute farm |
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| 120212 Bella with baby guinea pig |
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| 120212 Paute farm raises guinea pigs |
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| 120212 Paute farm |
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| 120212 Paute market |
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| 120212 Paute resort 1 |
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| 120212 Paute resort 2 |
