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.

120407 Juan + Al above Cuenca, in Turi

120407 View of Cuenca at night from Turi

120407 Night Panorama of Cuenca taken from Turi

120407 Immaculate Conception, El Centro, from Turi

120407 La Paloma Blanca, white dove on Good Saturday

120407 Hummer is at the bottom right

120407 Hummer getting away again

120407 Old Cathedral

120407 Turi Church at night 1

120407 Turi Church at night 2

120407 Turi Church at night 3

Good Friday April 6, 2012

Good Friday Apr 6/12 update

In spite of the back pain I caught a bus to El Centro early and wandered around until I saw some of the Good Friday procession near San Francisco church.   There were ceremonies that I also caught on video in both the San Francisco Church and the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

http://youtu.be/xAsQwlMCnR0

http://youtu.be/0XLyT6lv4h4

Parque Calderon is such a beautiful place to relax and people-watch.  I met some young people there from England and Germany that were spending 3 days here then going to the coast, then to Peru.

http://youtu.be/JV0QoQlqdQc

http://youtu.be/n_kXkAbXql0

I made it back home after a long walk due to the reduced bus service during the holiday. 

Bella has her bridge group here today since 1pm including Bettye in her foursome.

Around 3:30 we got a nice strong shower with some pea-sized hail.  We never seem to get any stronger weather than that here, so it is very tolerable.

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

120406 Good Friday Procession 1

120406 Good Friday Procession 2

120406 Good Friday Procession 3

120406 Good Friday Procession 4

120406 Good Friday Procession 5

120406 Good Friday Procession 6

120406 Good Friday Procession 7

120406 Good Friday Procession 8

120406 Good Friday Procession 9

120406 Good Friday Procession 10

120406 Flower Market Ladies

120406 Immaculate Conception 1

120406 Immaculate Conception 2

120406 Immaculate Conception 3

120406 Old + New Cathedrals

120406 San Blas Bells

120406 Church in San Blas Square

120406 Interior of San Francisco church

Thursday April 5,2012

Thursday Apr 5/12 update

Thank you to everyone for the heartfelt condolence emails in the loss of our Stepdad yesterday.  They are greatly appreciated by all the family.

My back pain has subsided considerably after I vacated my bed at 3am and came down to lie on the couch.  I am reasonably mobile so I will try to get by without any medication and try not to do any sudden moves.

Bella was up early, busy baking, before leaving to show Bettye and Chris the ropes at the 10 De Augusto Mercado.  She will pass along all the tips she got when she did a market tour a while back.  Apparently Chris does the cooking so he needed to be included in this tour.  

Then they returned here for a quick lunch and bella shoed them how to make a healthy Kefir drink with a continuously renewing kit.  It tastes like iced tea so they were impressed. 

We all caught the #15 to show them the quiet in El Valle to the south.  The weather was threatening so we rode to the end of the line then walked down the mountain about 3 stops before catching the bus back.  I still love the wonderful silence in El Valle.

On arrival home I could hear the distinctive chirp of the hummingbird so we located him on a nearby wire.  After Bettye and Chris caught a cab home with Bella’s care package I stood by a hibiscus tree outside our door, camera in hand, and was rewarded with a quick visit by our little feathered friend.

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

120405El Valle view south

120405 El Valle view north 1

120405 El Valle view north 2

120405 Hummer

Wednesday April 4, 2012

Wednesday Apr 4/12 update

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our beloved stepfather, Lucien Hebert, husband of our mother, Yvonne Bourassa Hebert, at 3:30 this morning.  It is ironic that this has occurred on what would have been our father Horace's 110th birthday.

I pulled a muscle in my back again and spent most of the day waiting for pain medication to kick in.

We tried a new house cleaner today named Maria.   Maria speaks some English which really helps and Bella seems to be really pleased with her work.

Tonight we met Greg at Big Kabudas Burgers.  His wife Leona didn’t make it as she is fasting and cleansing for a colonoscopy tomorrow.   They are the couple looking to move here from Belize.

Then we walked to downtown from there.  I actually had to walk fast to relieve some of the back pain.  If I walked as slow as Bella the pain was excruciating.  There was an Easter choral concert (Encuentro de Musica Sacra) in the Old Cathedral and we also met Garth and Orilla Bogart from Edmonton there as well.  Being able to sit in a straight-backed chair was very soothing.   The concert was very quick, only 10 musical pieces but the first two groups, plus the finale with all groups, were excellent.  Two selections are on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/RDm7nXP6lUU

http://youtu.be/4vUa4D24uBY

Again, the price was right, ….free.   I then got a nice back massage in the cab as it went over the cobblestone streets.

The old cathedral is so picturesque at night being all white and bathed in light.  The new cathedral is pretty, but not nearly as nice at night.

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

120404 Immaculate Conception at night 1

120404 Immaculate Conception at night 2

120404 Street juggling for money

120404 Old Cathedral at night 1

120404 Old Cathedral at night 2

120404 Old Cathedral at night 3

120404 Old Cathedral interior for Easter

120404 Easter concert singers

Monday-Tuesday April 2-3, 2012

Monday Apr 2/12 update

Waking up to no internet service at all did not improve my mood, but I decided to allow Etapa until noon to respond to my prior emails.   I was actually pleased that I received a call from Etapa before 9am confirming that they had received my emails about our upload problem.  We made arrangements that they would stop by in the morning within the next 48 hours.              Naturally they called at 1pm as I was on my way to Monay Mall.  They showed up within 20 minutes and they tested different modems without success.  Finally they made some offsite adjustment and everything seems to be operating normally.    The upload speed has soared from .05 to .83Mbps so it is a huge improvement.   It was no fun taking 14 hours to upload a few simple YouTube videos.  I have just tested Skype and NetTalk and they seem to be operating much, much better too.

Bella kept trying to get a pedicure today, she went out three times but it didn’t happen.

That was today’s excitement.  Hugs to all.

Tuesday April 3/12 update

Bella was off to the book and DVD Exchange, then for more groceries as she is determined to make pickled tomatoes today.

I slipped out for a real haircut and to drop off a small gift to the builder of our house, Jorge Beltran.  He is always showing folks our door stopper that attaches to the hinge.  I found some for a whole 20c each at Kywi so I got him a few.   His son, Matteo, was home to accept it.

I then continued walking to the old neighborhood to by little indigenous lady barber who always give a good trim that takes about ½ hour for a whole $2.

On the way back I took a few shots along the Tomebamba.  This is two day in a row I have seen people fishing but I haven’t seen them catch anything yet.   If I remember my fly fishing class, you have to cast into dark, deep water, and that is not easy to find in this shallow river. 

They allow people to run car washes on the riverbank by piping water out of the river.  The car washes are always busy, but I have no idea what they charge.

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

120402 Fisherman yesterday

120403 Car Wash on the river

120403 Fishermen today

120403 Kitty with pepper, yummy

120403 Rio Tomebamba 1

120403 Rio Tomebamba 2

120403 Rio Tomebamba 3, notice the wild branches

120403 Rio Tomebamba 4

120403 Rio Tomebamba 5