Monday January 21, 2013

Monday January 21/13 from Canada - nothing about Ecuador today

This isn't a pretty blog as nothing much went well today.
I arrived at Calgary International Airport at 1:30AM.  I waited around for my expected ride to show until 2am, but then the security guard said they were closing the airport and I had to leave.  I was forced to pay $100 for a 35 minute can ride home. 
After re-orienting myself with our home in Canada I realized that I had neglected to send off a note to my insurance company to put driving coverage back on the car so I attended to that right away by email.  I checked my Buick only to find that it was dead.  Groan....   After handling a few more chores I got to bed at 4am, watched the clock for 4 hours and was up at 8am.
First I contacted the furnace cleaning people to confirm our Tuesday morning appointment. 
Then I called a former co-worker down the hill and he came to help me push out the car and then it took us several tries to boost the battery.  We knew something was dearly wrong when it was melting the plastic handles on the booster cables, but we finally got it started.
I then went down to my old job to greet my former co-workers (who were begging me to return to work) and to begin the process of cashing in a life insurance policy.   I had left the car running outside to charge up the battery and at least that process was working, but then I quickly discovered my heater blower motor was not operating.   Fountain Tire said they could fit me in at 3pm.
I sped into Calgary to meet my 96-year-old Mom, whom I haven't seen in 15 months, and we had a nice lunch in the Bonavista Village dining room.  Mom had asked to see pictures of where we live now so we went to the computer room and I proceeded to show her the 250 photos I had selected.  I wasn't sure she would sit through that many but she was really quite fascinated with the photos and my stories that accompanied them.
I headed back to Okotoks and stopped in at home to check for messages.  My supper date with Mavis was confirmed, the furnace guys wanted to reschedule, and the idiots at the insurance company wanted to be sure I knew the premium was going to increase before they added the coverage....  I had no time to sit on hold for 45 minutes to call them back.
I left the car at Fountain Tire and walked back to my old job at McFarlane's and finished off the life insurance documents then proceeded to show my 250 photos to a couple of the guys.   I am pretty certain they were duly impressed.
I hadn't heard from Fountain Tire so I headed back there only to find that my suggestion of a blown fuse was only partially right.  A fuse was blown alright, but a replacement fuse also blew immediately so there is an electrical short somewhere else that they will maybe eventually find at a rate of about $120 an hour....   The appointment is now for Wednesday at 1pm.
Believe me, if I could just drop everything and head back to Ecuador, I would!
So, off I went to Turner Valley to meet Mavis for a delightful supper and great company.  She is such a sweet lady and a pleasure to talk to.
So now I am back at home in Okotoks and trying to sort out many things but it is getting really late and I am soooooo tired so I don't think I have time to post any photos.   I am doing laundry now because I don't know when I could fit it in later.
I sent off a nasty email to the insurance company idiots to stop calling and to just send me a pink card, so off to bed we go....
That was today's excitement.   Hugs to all.

Tuesday morning...  I posted a few photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com

Friday January 18, 2013

Friday January 18/13  update #345

We had left Cuenca last night in the worst rain and hailstorm we had ever seen there.   I got soaked just getting a taxi.  The van taking six passengers for $12 each 3 hours to Guayaquil actually got to leave 1/2 hour early so we made it to the airport with lots of time to spare.  It pays to be early because Ecuadorians are notoriously slow and the lineup behind me quickly piled right up.  Then at the security desk nothing was happening for 20 minutes until the team leader gathered all his officers on the side for a pep-talk, and I actually thought they were going to sing us a song the way they were lined up!  That took forever and we had the fancy body scan and a frisking.   Then we got frisked again before getting on the plane.

A red-eye flight is just what the doctor ordered and I would certainly fly LAN again.  The stewards were very pleasant and the lasagna was really excellent.  I may have actually gotten an hour's sleep in between watching a great selection of movies.

We landed this morning at 5:10 and again I was glad that I hustled to get down to Customs and Homeland Security.  I was at 1.5 lines and that quickly built up to about 10 snaky lines .  I don't know how they ever get through that may people when it took me almost an hour to go my short distance.   We are so delayed that our luggage has already been removed from the carousel.   I am surprised our luggage was till there....   

The cab ride to Manhattan from JFK should have been 29 minutes according to Mapquest but it took an hour because apparently there is a school bus drivers' strike so parents are all driving their kids to school.  

Well I finally made it and checked into the Marriott Marquis Hotel.  The hotel had held onto the 3 boxes we had shipped and actually discounted their usual charges to only $87 so we were very pleased with that.   I was doubly surprised when they quickly delivered my boxes right to our booth, so I began to set up.  

We spent a little to get a customized "Benson Box" for our basic booth equipment and display.  That has proven to be a wise decision because the box is just like new, especially compared to the cardboard boxes of stock that are barely holding together and would ned to be replaced.

We had picked booth 403 because of its proximity to the escalators, elevators and washrooms.  However the way they had the cloth walls set up people could hardly tell that we had any booths in our area.  My neighbors suggested opening the side wall and actually asked permission of the show boss who quickly approved the change.  The net effect is that I ended up with an enviable corner booth without having to pay heavily for that privilege.  Now people could look up and see that there were some retailers in this area.  

I slipped out to get a bite and, even though they claimed it was only around the freezing mark the wind and damp made it bitterly cold.  I even stuck on a toque because I only have my light fall jacket with me.

I tried napping unsuccessfully but at least my body got some needed rest.

Then it was time to get back and finish setting up for the show for a preview evening from 5-8pm.   We had a good start for those first 3 hours so we are hoping for a good final 2 days.

Afterwards I slipped out again to the streets of Times Square to get some street vendor supper fare and enjoyed seeing myself on a couple of the amazing Jumbotrons.  There was even a "Naked Cowboy" on the street and many other cartoon characters offering themselves for photographs.   While New York is often portrayed as a violent and scary place, downtown Manhattan is not scary but a truly magical experience. 

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.    Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Wednesday January 16, 2013

 Wednesday January 16/13 update #344

Bella has a rare day at home and is exhausted from all the demands on her time, bridge games, bridge classes, charity work, etc. etc.   She really needs to cut back on some of the activities as she is busier now that when she was working.   

I was tired of being housebound so I slipped out to El Centro and met Jay so I could show him a few more of the places he wanted to see, the Mayor’s office, the Post Office and one of the best home decorating stores in Cuenca.   We stopped for a shawarma at a Middle Eastern place and had some laughs with some local students at a nearby table.  We also manage to shoot a few shots around town, getting to the second storey of a couple of buildings surrounding Parque Calderon to get some fresh angles..   

I bought a pound of fresh cherries from a street vendor for $2 and headed home.

There will be no blog tomorrow as I will be en route to New York City, then Canada, then Phoenix.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.    Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Tuesday January 15, 2013

Tuesday January 15/13  update #343

Bella came home very late last night from teaching a bridge class and then joining some other Ecuadorian women in a triumphant return to the Cuenca Bridge Club.  Bella and Cathy took my advice and beat the pants off the men to get a measure of respect from them.

This morning she was off again to teach another class while I busied myself getting my gifts for home organized.  I will be going home with 2 virtually empty suitcases.  I am actually going to load 2 backpacks inside my big black suitcase for the trip, and I still might have to use blown-up punch balloons to add some body to the suitcase so it won’t get crushed.  A hard case suitcase is going to fare better when it is solid.

Next I tackled the new shelf unit which came delivered, but put together all wrong.  It is just emergency storage and won’t hold a whole lot of weight.  They were supposed to make the left legs an inch longer to compensate for the floor slope but they had made it front to back instead.  Thank God for electric drills and nut drivers.

Jay came over for a visit to wish me well on my trip so we made popcorn and watched “The Gods Must Be Crazy”.  I had watched this old movie last night but certainly didn’t mind watching it again.   It is a classic from about 32 years ago.

We have had no response at all to my emails to the show organizer, the hotel, or the show service contractor in NYC.  I thought of it too late, to try to delay or hold our shipment from reaching the hotel.  I checked this morning and the 3 cartons totaling 100 lbs were on a FedEx truck at 5:45am and later saw that they were delivered at 12:39pm.  At least we know they have arrived and weren’t refused by the hotel.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   No photos today either.

Monday January 14, 2013

Monday January 14/13  update #342

Oswaldo came over and we gave him help in contacting Canada Pension to help him apply for Canada Pension and a Survivor benefit.  Once he gets a couple of documents together I will take his application to Canada with me for mailing.

He kindly then dropped off Bella near San Blas for a Doctor’s appointment then he helped me confirm that I will have no problem catching a van to Guayaquil on Thursday at the appointed time.  We had heard that all the van companies were illegal and had been shut down, but there was certainly no evidence of this.  Oswaldo was satisfied that I should have no problems because I certainly don’t want to have to take 5 hours to get there on the green bus.  We also made it known that we want to be picked up before midnight on Feb 3.   I have to pay on Thursday.

Then I caught the bus over to the Rotary Market area to pick up my new shelf unit.  Naturally it wasn’t ready, claiming that the manufacturer had made it 1 meter wide instead of 36” or 90cm wide.  She said to come back at 4:30 so I started wandering the stores.  She called me so I went back.  Now it wouldn’t be ready until 6:30 so I said that wouldn’t do.  There are no reliable buses at that time and there is no guarantee I could find a truck  near Rotary Market to get the shelf home.

So I said, if he is bringing this from elsewhere anyway, why can’t he just deliver it to my house near Monay Mall??  It is all paid for, so she checked with them and agreed.   I gave them a detailed diagram and they have my phone number if they get lost.

When I got back home another headache reared its ugly head.  The show in New York now claims that our hotel, the huge Marriott Marquis, can’t handle everyone’s show boxes so they are going to contract this to the show contractors.  I saw RED!!!  They tried to pull this shit on me in North Carolina and I flatly refused to pay the extortionist $75 they wanted.   I sent off an email to the contractor, the show, and the hotel refusing to pay extortion.  I told them that the Marriott can certainly handle 4 small boxes for us considering the room rates we are paying, or it will be our last stay in a Marriott.  And I told them of our poison pen and the many blogs we have to spread the good word about our experience.  We’ll see if I am successful… 

No photos today, I just wasn’t in the bloody mood.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  

Sunday January 13, 2013

Sunday January 13/13  update #341

Bella was off to teach bridge, then to play bridge at Joe’s.  We briefly discussed our schedules to see when we have time for each other, lol, to discuss my needs for the upcoming trip.

Part of my day was putting down everything I can think of on paper so I have all my details and also know what I am missing.  I rely so much on Bella to keep track of details that I almost forget how.

I also had to compose a sad email to relatives with details of the passing of one of our Uncles, Georges Desroches in December at around age 87, then the passing of Georges’ only son on January 5^th.  There is only one left, cousin Aline now, since Auntie Solange passed away in the late 60’s I believe it was.

Then the afternoon continues to be filled with doing laundry and working on more Pase del Nino photos.   It is definitely time-consuming to come up with a great result so it is a labour of love…   If someone has a great idea to market these photos, at minimal expense, I’d love to hear it.

Bella had supper prepared already so she just had to call me to throw it in the oven so it would be ready upon her arrival.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Saturday January 12, 2013

Saturday January 12/13  update #340

I actually stayed in bed for almost 9 hours and didn’t even hear Bella leave for her bridge classes.  I got all freshened up, did the usual chores and tackled a few more Pase del Nino photos which you will see, probably tomorrow.

I sent off a note last night to a camera store in NYC where I hope to purchase my new camera but was really disappointed in not receiving a response yet today.  People sure don’t seem very anxious to sell things these days as customer service really sucks, in all 3 countries.

I left early and padded my wallet to go get a few extra gifts to take back home.   It is a good thing I did add some cash because I came home with only $4… but I did get a good haul.

Then I made it over to Joe’s for a delicious meal of Osso Bucco, which is a veal stew, followed by Tiramisu.  The meal was wonderful and was enjoyed by many, many new patrons tonight, their first time at Joe’s.  The company was great and Joe even got to the piano as I was leaving.   I got part way home and realized I had left my camera in Joseph’s office so I had to go all the way back.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Friday January 11, 2013

Friday January 11/13  update #339

I did my photographic chores while Bella went to do her charity work at the weaving store.  I had offered to stay home today for Rosa’s arrival for cleaning so Bella could join her regular Friday bridge club but she begged off.  I never thought I would hear her say that it is just “too much bridge” at the moment, taking into account her lessons have re-started for another group too.

Lots of details to nail down for my trip next Thursday to North America, airlines, transportation, hotels, what to bring, what to buy, digging up addresses and phone numbers, on and on….  This is all going on paper because I can’t rely on my old brain to retain all this.   I had no idea it would take me most of the day to organize this alone.

I spoke to my Mom only to find out that one of my Montreal Uncles passed away a while back then his son also expired later.   It is strange that nobody informed us about this at all so I am trying to get the details to pass this on to my email list of interested family members.

I only had time to work on 3 more Pase del Nino photos before rushing to catch a bus for supper.   Bella made reservations at California Kitchen for baby back ribs, her favourite, and we were joined by Oswaldo and Cathy.  Oswaldo speaks excellent English as he lived in Toronto for 16 years.  Cathy speaks little English but is an avid bridge player that seems to be a good fit with Bella.  They needed to get settled on a convention to follow for their bidding so they can be a deadly combination.  Cathy may return to the Cuenca bridge Club with Bella and try to kick the butts of the presently male-only establishment.

They had some nice soft jazz playing right next to us so it was a trifle loud for us to converse but we managed to have a lot of laughs.   Oswaldo is looking for help with Canada pension questions so Bella has promised to help him with that.  They drove us home and came in for a tour of our mansion.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Thursday January 10, 2013

Thursday January 10/13  update #338

We slipped out a few minutes earlier today because we wanted to investigate getting a shelf  for the front area in side the gate.   I had made many measurements and had fancy diagrams but ended up going for a custom-made metal shelving unit with 3 moveable shelves up to 2 metres high, on wheels, and the left side 1” lower due to the floor slope.  This is painted white and ready to go on Monday for $45!

We had an appointment for Oswaldo to pick us up in his lovely old 1970 Ford LTD and head out to their place.  The ladies, Cathy, Bella, Karen and Manon played bridge while the men, Oswaldo, Mark and myself stayed on the patio and yakked for 4 hours.  The time passed very quickly.   I had understood that Oswaldo played billiards and had got the impression that he had his own pool room but I was horribly mistaken.

Their home is delightfully decorated with many antiques, including many old cameras, some models of which I or Mark have also owned at one time.  They also have two dogs, one lovely small pug and a huge one reminiscent of Pot Roast in the Super Dogs competition.  This big dog stays in “jail” most of the time because he has no manners at all and bowls over people when he is not eating everything in sight.

We made a brief stop at Joe’s to pick up some spare ribs they owed us before heading to this delightful restaurant across from The Palermo, right of the Oro Verde Hotel.  Like usual, we were the only couple there this early in the evening, and also because this restaurant is a huge secret.  It has no signs and is hidden in a “plus-15” over a parking lot so most people don’t even know it exists, but the food is great as are the prices.

Bella informs me my flights have changed slightly for my trip and we struggled to make decisions on how many trade shows to do selling our Eleggant Hooks.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Wednesday January 9, 2013

Wednesday January 9/13  update #337

It was a lazy day mostly for the two of us.  I did multiple uploads to my photo sites then had a quick lunch to try to make it downtown by 12:30.  I didn’t want to catch the photo stores closed for siesta.  The #50 took forever to come and then to make its way through downtown.  

Luckily the Fuji store was open so I went in with my memory stick to get two 5” x 7” photos done.  I approached the self-service machine and had assistance from the young PhotoShop expert but could only get the JPG to show and not the PNG.  So the young lady patiently took the stick upstairs and processed something then sent the photos back down to the self-service machine.  Then she calmly printed the one and I didn’t even see her process the second one at all but kept my mouth shot.   Then she handed me a tag to pay at the counter which she then came to serve me at.  I was expecting $3 each because of samples on the wall but the total bill was a whopping 70 cents, I almost fell over and asked her if it was for both photos and she said yes.  When I got the package I double-checked and there they both were, in vivid Fuji colour.   They are just an awesome place to deal with.

As I stepped out I looked up at Michael & Susan’s place above the Konica store across the street just as the balcony doors opened.   So Michael and I had a little conversation above the traffic noise and I headed down the street.

I stopped at one of the many Video stores and picked up 4 more movies, one being a duplicate as I couldn’t remember all of the 200+ movies we own down here.   I was asking for “Absolutamente Amor”, for “Love, Actually” but they didn’t have it.  They wanted to close for lunch so I was rushed and only took the 4, including Chicago, Josey Wales, Cool Hand Luke, and the duplicate of You Only Live Twice.  They had such a phenomenal selection I could have walked out with armloads of movies.

I got off the bus early and got a key cut for the inside door (60c) and tried to see the metal fabricators to talk about getting a rolling shelf unit for inside the gate, now that the bike is no longer hogging that space, but they were closed for lunch.

When I got home I cleaned up the new picture frames and installed the new Fuji photos and they look awesome.  I hope our hosts tomorrow like them.

I went back to the metal fabricators again and the boss still wasn;t around, but the hired hand remembered me as the man with the two cats on Popayan.  I asked for him to ask his boss to come over and take some measurements but he never did show up.

Mmmmm, nachos for supper, a very welcome treat.

And I got to work on a few more photos from the Pase Del Nino.

Now time to watch a movie.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Tuesday January 8, 2013

Tuesday January 8/13  update #336

Last night I was treated to a home-cooked birthday supper by Karen and Mark and we enjoyed some fun and lively conversation.   We were trying to decide on gifts for some Ecuadorian friends and it was suggested that I bring some of my photographic work and that seemed like a reasonable idea so I started work on that this morning.  The lady, Cathy, like flowers so I have done up a few options for Bella to choose as well as a few people and children favorites.  The husband, Oswaldo, is very much into billiards so I went online to find a “Dogs Playing Pool” print for his billiard room.  I will have to go to the Fuji store to get them printed tomorrow.

My other task today was to put together some photos for Mom who wants to see our house, etc.   At the same time I wanted to have some interesting shots to show other family and friends.  Going through some 10,000 or so photos takes a little doing, especially when you only have 4Gb to save them on.  I somehow managed to keep it down to about 250.

Bella was off to the Book Exchange and for another grocery pickup which doesn’t take her very long.

I was working away and all-of-a-sudden the power goes off, and it was not returning right away.  I looked out my window to see if there is an obvious problem and spotted it right away.  In front of the house on the opposite corner there was an electrical crew moving a concrete light standard.  I took a few shots because I thought for sure they were going to drop the pole and the electrician on the ladder right onto the newly built house.  They may work very rudimently, but the little devils do get the job done with hand and ropes.  Truly amazing!

I walked over to see when they expected to restore our power and they said one hour, so I went over to Coral and picked up 2 picture frames and a new shelf and brackets to install above the washing machine, total cost $16. 

Bella was toying with the idea of changing washing machines because this machine did not seem to get our clothes as clean as we are accustomed to.  But, smart lady that she is, she decided to compare some real Tide with the local soap and the difference was immediate.  The local liquid soap, supposedly extra strength etc etc just doesn’t cut it.  This saved us another few hundred dollars again, now that we haven’t had to replace our washer nor our stove.

I took a break from my photos and went and installed the shelf in the lavanderia.  I got the first bracket up but needed Bella’s help to get the shelf level while I marked the wall for the second bracket.  Again, the walls are concrete so you have to make sure you get it right the first time with the wall anchors.  Sonuvagun we ended up with a pretty level shelf that won’t fall down.   I am sure my Dad would be proud of me as he was a pretty darn good carpenter.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Monday January 7, 2013

Monday January 7/13  update #335

I can’t believe I stayed up until 3am because I wouldn’t quit on one photo that took me 4 hours to process.

See below to see the results that I am extremely pleased with.   These are 3 photos from the parade yesterday that I really love.  Hope you like them too.

So I then forced myself to stay in bed until noon then did my chores.   Then it was back to working on a few photos.  This is no longer a 10 or 20 minute operation.  Some photos take hours to get to where a professional photographer might deem them acceptable.   It is a lot of work but I am generally happy with the results, much better than my previous attempts.

Bella went to do banking and grocery shopping.

Tonight we are out visiting.   More on that later.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Sunday January 6, 2013

Sunday January 6/13  update #334

I started the day by working on photos again, so many to get through yet….

Bella was having a few gals over to play bridge so Mark Anderson and I worked on a few more pictures until we slipped out to capture the Parade Of The Innocent Children on Huayna Capac.  The parade apparently commemorates the day King Herod had all the male babies in Judea killed.  It seems every type of costume is allowed, and there were some great ones.  Our favourites were the ones all painted blue depicting the Avatar characters.  They had bows and arrows and even had the hissing action perfected.

The parade was supposed to start at 4pm, but on Ecuador time.  We arrived about 5pm and it hadn’t started yet.  The crowd of about 30,000 surged onto the street only allowing one lane for the parade so motorcycle cops would move them back to allow for 2 lanes but the crowd would just surge back as soon as they went by.

We found a spot atop a planter but would continuously get Ecuadorians jump up and stand in front of us, ruining whatever little angle we had to shoot.  Oh well, the parade was going at a snail’s pace so we got many great shots of folks passing behind us.   Most regular Ecuadorians are hams at heart and love to have their photos taken.

The girls met us at the parade and we gave up shortly after 6pm as it started to get dark.   We fought our way to Big Kabudas for our burger fix and were greeted by Jesus in costume.   He says it has been crazy there for the last 3 days and he has to close up when he runs out of supplies.  He was going through 500 buns per day! 

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Saturday January 5, 2013

Saturday January 5/13  update #333

I was having trouble sleeping so I got up at 4am and started to search for something that had been bothering me.  Paul Wolf said he had found that the river going by our places was the Yanuncay, and not the Tomebamba as I had thought, and he was right.  When the two rivers merge at Parque Paraiso just west of us I was sure that the merged river was the Tomebamba, but it is rightfully the Yanuncay.   Few maps show it at all so it took a lot of searching to figure this out.

I worked on photos until 8am then tried to catch a few winks until 11am when I got back into more photo processing.

We left early for Joe’s because we wanted to arrange a bus for me to get to the airport in Guayaquil and all those firms are near Feria Libre.  I need to catch a plane 11:10pm on the 17th, so that means I have to catch the bus at 5pm for a 3 hour drive and then a 3 hour wait at the airport.   The cost is a whole $12.   I am taking the red-eye to NYC to arrive at 5:55am.

We also checked for the cost of a van when I return at 10:35pm on Feb 3.  That is a different story because it would be a private trip costing $80, which really isn’t bad, but I would rather spend $100 and get an English-speaking driver I know to pick me up properly and drive me right to my door.  There are a few of those we know who would do this.

Joe’s Secret Garden was having its famous Southern Fried Chicken tonight so it was a full house as always.  There had been rumours of some people being upset at having their photos taken every Saturday however none of those were in evidence tonight as everyone was very jovial and cooperative.   I was careful to always ask permission tonight and the people were just wonderful.

Pretty soon I’ll have to start packing for that trip to Canada as the time sure flies by quickly.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Friday January 4, 2013

Friday January 4/13  update #332

Bella cancelled bridge today due to her cold but went downtown to meet Bettye to retrieve her whiteboard for use when she starts the new round of bridge classes later.    She also worked on year-end stuff for taxes, etc. 

I met Paul Wolf at 9am and we caught the #3 west to the end of the line in the Cajas for a little photography escapade.  The day was gray and drizzly a lot of the time but we managed to find some neat people and places to photograph.  I can learn so much from Paul who is a consummate professional.   Watching what he lines up for, and how he composes his shots, and how he decides when it is right to shoot, I learn something almost every shot.   We have different likes for what we want to shoot which is good in a fashion as we are rarely in each other’s way.  We walked about 2 kms further up the Cajas on a pretty steep grade, I don’t remember any downhill sections….. then we came back to the bus terminal and caught the same #3 downtown so we could get a deserved lunch.

The rivers are really high at the moment, almost as high as I have ever seen them near here but we are not in an area in danger of flooding.

Enjoy the pics today which have been enhanced in various ways for your viewing pleasure.   I have cut down the 92 shots to only 32.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Thursday January 3, 2013

Thursday January 3/13  update #331

Bella had arranged for a cat-sitter named Tamera to come and visit our place and get instructions because time will go by very rapidly and we have a few trips planned.  She mentioned to Tamera that I am a photographer and Tamera said she just bought a new camera, a Canon T3i of all things, and my jaw dropped! 

I spent the day on photos again and got on quite a roll, so you will see a few more photos from the Pase Del Nino again.   I hope you don’t tire of these beautiful children because there are a lot more to follow.

Bella has got quite a nasty cold so she had to cancel bridge tomorrow.

Tomorrow I have a little excursion planned…  Stay tuned.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Wednesday January 2, 2013

Wednesday January 2/13  update #330

Our repaired stove arrived at noon today and actually heats up to almost 450F now, happy days are here again!!  It was also under warranty so it didn’t cost us anything.  He said it was a problem with a thermocouple and insulation.   Bella is happy so that makes me happy.

Bella is having a lazy but busy day in spite of not feeling up to par.   She was making beautiful crochet teddy bear examples as she is apparently going to teach a class on making them.   She was so proud of herself yesterday, finding that rosary beads would make great eyes for the bears!!  Then she is taking down Xmas decorations with my help and followed that up with building up bridge boards to teach another accelerated round of classes.  No grass grows under her feet for sure.

I was still feeling a little queasy and dizzy today but worked a lot on photographs and uploads again.  I have a long way to go to even make a dent in the over 800 photos from Xmas Eve but I am determined to make them extra special.  Much of this involves cleaning a lot of backgrounds away and fine tuning the shot itself.  I am not timing myself or anything but most take more than an hour of work.   You will see a few more examples today.

Then I decided to head over to the old neighbourhood and get my haircut for a whole $2.  She does a very decent job, doing much more work than we get in Canada for a clip for $15.    The fresh air did a lot of good for my biliousness.

I think a movie is in order for tonight….

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Tuesday January 1, 2013

Tuesday January 1/13  update #329

We went to Reshma and Rick’s gorgeous penthouse condo for a potluck party New Year’s Day.   I only saw the main floor but fell in love with their views, the layout and the woodwork.   They have an immense view from Turi right over to the Cajas.

Bella actually met a person at Parque Calderon at 9am to pick up a huge carrot cake birthday cake for me and then brought over to Reshma right away.   That evening everyone was raving about the cake, asking me for the recipe, or thanking me for having a birthday today.

There were many friends there and the great food and conversation helped lessen my ongoing hangover.  I am now happy to be back home and about 10 minutes away from crashing for the night.

THANK YOU to everyone for the Happy Birthday wishes.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Monday December 31, 2012

Monday December 31/12  update #328

We waited all day but the stove was not returned as promised.  Now we won’t see it until at least Wednesday for sure.  This is not a problem because we are eating out these next two days anyway.

This year we decided to try Joe’s for New Year’s.   The offering this evening was 20 Tapas dishes served like hors d’oeuvres throughout the night.  Some were tasty, like the champagne jello and the crème brule, but overall this was not my kind of meal, being a meat and potatoes kind of guy.   I was still hungry after.

At 7pm (New Year’s at GMT in London) we toasted the year in and shortly thereafter they burned the effigies in the street with all the ills from 2012.

They sang Happy Birthday for a gal whose birthday was Dec 31, then they sang it for me as well as a Jan 1 baby.

Finding a cab was tricky for the trip home but we shared a taxi home with Regina who lives a little beyond us.  We had to get out near the Monay mall because the road down was blocked off for a street party which was jammed with about 500 people.  We went home and I changed clothes to go back to watch the celebration which included comedy sketches with many guys in drag (a New Year’s tradition here) and then a darn good band called the Rumba Kings (their spelling).   At midnight the sky exploded with fireworks all over the city, another big tradition here.  Next year we will attempt to photograph this spectacle from a nice vantage point.

I wandered the area and noted they had one booth selling food so I had salchipapas, which are French fries with a half of a deep-fried hot dog, for 50c.   They had another small trailer selling liquor and pop which was also doing a brisk business.

I was watching the band from the side when the fellow next to me offered me a shot of Zhumir, a kind or rum liqueur, with an equal shot of lemonade.  That was so nice of them that I went over to the liquor booth and bought that same combination and brought it back to them as a gift.   It cost a whole $4.25!!  anyway we drank up, danced as a group and bought some more.  I don’t know what time I got home exactly, I think it was sometime around 3 or 4 and I was very wobbly, but a good time was had by all.    I haven’t had a hangover in a few years and I am glad it is a relatively mild one.

THANK YOU to everyone for the Happy Birthday wishes.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Sunday December 30, 2012

Sunday December 30/12  update #327

Bella went to Coral for groceries while I waded through more websites ,etc, about cameras.  I never thought it would be such a hassle to just get quotes for a specific package of goods.   The #1 place in New York has sent me 5 incorrect quotes and don’t seem too interested in making a sale…  Future Shop have quoted me about 50% higher than anyone else so far because they have no specials in effect.  Surprisingly I have found some used ones advertised on Kijiji for very good prices….

Next I started working on a few more of my photos from Xmas Eve.  Since Paul Wolf was here to help me, I have learned to be much more critical of my work and processing is much more involved.   I do love the results though so I will show you what I have done over the last 2 days.   At this rate, I’ll need almost 3 years to complete the beautiful works I have in the pipe.

With no stove to cook on we tried a roast chicken place across from Monay Mall.  Ecuadorian roast chicken is indeed tough to beat, but the peripherals are really tasteless and bland at most places, and this was no exception.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and that blog will be exceedingly late so we will take this opportunity to again wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous NewYear!!!

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Saturday December 29, 2012

Saturday December 29/12  update #326

I could have stayed in bed all morning with the best sleep I’ve had in weeks, but I needed to be up and ready since we were expecting the appliance repairman to stop by today.   He actually did show up around 10am and it took a lot of translator typing and a few phone calls to get it through this guy’s head that the stove doesn’t heat past 180C or 350 F, when the dial on the stove clearly indicates it should reach 250C or around 450F.  How this guy got to be a repairman is beyond me, he couldn’t even differentiate between C and F and started off by telling us that all ovens in Ecuador are calibrated not to heat higher than 280F.   After a call to his office, they confirmed it was 280C and I am sure he felt pretty stupid then.  We agreed they could take the stove in for repair or replacement on Monday and away he went.    He was back within the hour wanting to take the stove today and promising its return on Monday.

The next item of business was to consummate the sale of the bike to a couple from Seattle.   They claimed to be here for 5 more months and that they have bikes in Washington, Minnesota, Guatemala, and now Cuenca.   They live over by the Mall Del Rio and it took them 80 minutes to get here by bus.  They looked at the bike, rode it, agreed it was a great deal and went over to the Monay Mall to get money.  When they returned he talked about riding it home and I explained that it was a long way away, and mostly uphill, so they were better off to spend $3 and take a cab, with the bike in the trunk, up the Autopista to their home.   They finally saw the wisdom of my advice.   So now I have a few more dollars in the kitty for the purchase of my new camera.

I finished the initial cull of the Christmas Eve parade photos and I am down to 888 from 1145.  I am sure there will be more attrition as I now fine-tune the individual shots.  I managed to complete a whole 13 shots in a couple of hours before I headed out.

I had decided to go watch Jorge’s Ecuadorian group play volleyball and to bring them a New Year’s treat of some Zhumir and Coke.   I got there and nobody was around on their court.   I tried to phone Jorge but only got to leave a message.  

I had arranged for Bella to catch the #16 at 5pm, to call me when she embarked, and I would catch the same bus as it went by and we would go to La Vina for supper, and meet Bettye and Chris there.  At 5:15 Chris calls that La Vina is closed so he talked to Bella and decided we would meet them at El Carbon.  At 5:25 he calls again that El Carbon is also closed so we decide on the California Kitchen and we all backtrack.  As Bella and I rounded the corner we note that La Vina is now open so we call Chris and everyone is quite happy to go to La Vina.   The owners say they were closed because they had been to Chordeleg and the traffic back was a mess, so they got back very late.  The pizza at La Vina is our favourite in Cuenca by far  and Chris and Bettye enjoyed it, as we did the desserts too.

The streets are covered with people selling the effigies and with kids setting off fireworks.   Many kids were delighting in tossing them behind unsuspecting people and running away laughing.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   

Playing Ecuadorian volleyball under dramatic Saturday afternoon skies.

Friday December 28, 2012

Friday December 28/12  update #325

Bella was off to the weaving store today and then off to her bridge club.

I snuck out to talk to the people at LauryVan where we bought our stove.  Since the stove must still be under warranty I felt they needed the chance to make things right.  The oven doesn’t seem to want to heat any more that 350F which is border-line for a lot of cooking.   We have toyed with the idea of insulating around the stove and even replacing the stove.  They have said the serviceman will come tomorrow.

Coming home I was amazed at how many vendors are selling effigies on our main corner!   These effigies are to represent all the bad things of the previous year, politicians, etc, and they are torched at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and all that cellulose and nylon makes a toxic stink!   Now why anyone would want to torch Miss Piggy or Kermit is beyond me, however I do understand burning the Hulk in rollers, lmao.

I had to hang around for Rosa today anyway so I arranged for my friend Paul Wolf to come and help me with my PhotoShop program.   When I have 1,145 photos to edit I don’t want to be doing them all individually from scratch.  95% of my photos get the same treatment so we are going to figure out which of the 3 options supplied by PhotoShop to use.   I have another free program called PhotoScape that can do a really decent Batch Edit but I preferred to have the options, or actions, given by PhotoShop, so we put our heads together to figure it out.   Paul runs CS6 and I stick with CS5 so we scratched our heads a lot and he showed me lots of amazing possibilities for adjusting photos.    We finally got a solution working fine with only a small glitch in the photo-naming, which we can’t seem to solve, so we’ll just live with it for now.   It is easy to just drag and drop a batch onto an icon, it opens the program, rattles through the files and processes them all with the actions chosen, and renames and saves them in another file.  Man, will that ever save me hours of repetitive work!!  It is as good as the PhotoScape operation but with the advantage of my favorite touches.   We’ll have to give that a try, probably tomorrow, on the big batches.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Wednesday-Thursday December 26-27, 2012

Wednesday-Thursday December 26-27/12  update #324

Wednesday was simply a rest day for both of us and it gave us time to catch up on details for the upcoming trips.   I also tried to get more info on a camera I should buy and everything seems to point to a Canon T3i.  I stayed online until past midnight reading countless reviews from professionals and the vast consensus was to go with an EF-S 15-85 lens.  I did do a live chat with B+H Photo in New York, hoping to see the camera on the Friday and make the purchase on a Saturday, but since it is run by Hassidic Jews they are closed at the only hours I could actually make a purchase.   There seems to be better deals online too, so I am going to try to find one of these cameras to test it out.

Thursday morning we noticed an Etapa truck and some workmen in front.  We had a small river of water in front of our place emanating from the neighbors but hadn’t given it much thought.   They must have had a plugged sewer and an overflow somewhere because they were digging down to the pipes to fix something.

Bella headed downtown to mail out some tax forms for the crochet shows I will be doing in January in NYC and Phoenix.  She also checked out a new self-cleaning GE stove that she wants because our oven does not seem to want to heat above 350F.   I want to talk to the people we bought it from before making a wholesale change.   Maybe they will have a simple solution?

I went a different direction and hit every store that sold cameras I could find.  Finally the Fuji store kitty-corner from Santo Domingo directed me 5.5 blocks away to DigiCam on Mariscal Lamar.  They had the body and an 18-55 basic kit lens, but not the EF-S 15-85.  All the reports rave about the 15-85 and compare it to a professional lens.   The grip is not as nice as my Sony HX1 but I am sure I will get accustomed to it.  I loved the camera body, not too heavy and it has an awesome flip-tilt live screen which is a necessity for old guys like me that can’t bend easily.  Even with the crappy lens it focused and operated beautifully.   The T3i even shoots RAW so I may need a lot of lessons from some of my professional friends.

I am going to email a few places in NYC for quotes on a package of items.

I did see a few interesting sights while out there.   In the next block is another Mercado that we had been by on the bus many times but had never entered.  It appears a little closed in and intimidating but it really isn’t.  I was really amazed at the awesome quality of their produce in there, very fresh indeed.

Down the block a man was milking a goat right on the street and getting his results in a small glass.  Drinking on the run??

Santo Domingo church was also open so I peeked in to see the beautiful interior.  It is the second biggest church in Cuenca and is only 2 blocks from the big cathedral.
Oh, and I bought 9 more movies for $10, and I made sure they worked, were in English, good quality, and the sound matched the lip movement.  I'm getting better at this..

I noted that Raoul was installing dormers on the fourth floor where he may make himself his own small penthouse apartment.  It is a very small chopped area but could be made livable for a single person.

When I arrived home the workmen had already filled in the hole in our street and had left, so they must have been successful in their repair.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Tuesday December 25, 2012 Christmas

Tuesday December 25/12  update #323

Merry Christmas to everyone again, along with our wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

We understand it is about -20C in Calgary in the daytime while it is at least +20C in Cuenca.   We couldn’t have ordered a nicer, typical day here because we got a nice quick cleansing rain about 7pm as well.   People may think I am crazy, but for Christmas day I’d rather be where there is snow.  I just couldn’t get into the Christmas spirit with no snow, cool weather, kids, grandkids, presents, tourtiere, etc.  Bella will get to experience this next year.

Roger and Debbie Quilty from Nashville, who have been following my Blogs, arrived last night so I met them this morning and accompanied them to Joe’s for Christmas dinner and games.   I wasn’t staying, I was only there to take a few photos and then to rush home for final cleanup duty before our own company arrived for Christmas dinner.  I gave them a tour of Joe's facility and it wasn’t long before they were mingling with everyone.

Upon arrival at Joe’s they pasted the name of a person on everyone’s back.  Then the object was to ask questions of everyone you walk by to try to guess your secret identity, like Mr. Ed, Ethel Mertz, Rasputin, etc.  It was actually quite fun but everyone couldn’t resist the urge to go beyond yes or no answers.   When the snacks started flowing out of the kitchen I had to leave, they looked so-o-o-o-o good!

When I got home I was scrubbing floors so the house would look presentable, because Rosa doesn’t come again until Friday.

Bella was hoping all our guests would arrive by 4pm so she could serve food right away as the turkey was ready a couple of hours before.   Cooking at this altitude is a challenge in itself without having a stove that won’t go past 350F.   We are looking to insulate the stove very soon so Bella can have better temperature control.

Our company finally did all arrive and we ate as soon as the turkey was carved, etc.  It seems everyone brought some lovely gifts for the cook and Mark brought me a beautiful Christmas tie so I won’t have to keep borrowing his.  We finally reciprocated Christmas dinner from last year with Brian and Shelley who brought their dog Frederica who has to be the most well-behaved, non-barking dog I have ever met.  The Boys were wary of Freddie but there were no incidents of any kind even though they passed within a foot of each other many times..

The food was delicious but the turkey was Jekyll and Hyde, some portions very moist and others very dry.  The guests were most complimentary and everyone left again around 8pm to be sure to get cabs home.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Sunday-Monday December 23-24, 2012

Sunday-Monday December 23-24/12  update #322

Sunday was just a rest day and clean-up day in preparation for guests on Christmas Day.   We are going to be so busy for the next 2 days I don’t know how we are going to manage it.

The birds outside were making quite a ruckus so I looked out to see what was happening.  From my vantage point it looked like a fat baby had come out of the nest and the parents were just frantic.  I got a shot of the little guy, already way bigger than a sparrow, but looking exposed, vulnerable and afraid.   Later I went down and saw it cowering against the sidewalk 2 doors up but didn’t want to touch it.  On my return home I saw what appeared to be a dead sibling right in front of our place, poor thing.

Monday morning I looked out and was pleased to see the not-so-little bird being attended to by its parent so that was heartening.  First he was under cover but then went out into the open again, hopping and chirping away, so at least he appears healthy.  I do wish he would stay under cover though.   There aren’t many cats in the area but there are loads of dogs.

I went downtown for the Pase Del Nino parade in honour of the Baby Jesus.  I Googled to get the correct Spanish spelling of the event and my video from last year came up first!!  http://youtu.be/eBBjIU9XSPk     It will take me a long time to process the amount of photos I took today, so bear with me.

The parade is an eight hour extravaganza that is world famous, both for its pageantry, beauty, and length. The parade has some of the most colorful costumes, animals, horses decorated with food, dancing troupes, and many tributes to the baby Jesus on his birthday. The children are a huge part of the parade and are mesmerizing, so well behaved and so beautiful, as only children can be. The length of the parade took its toll on many of them, some even falling asleep in the saddle. I took 890 photos last year so you will get to see a few new ones this year. I also took 39 videos of the dance troupes last year that I have also uploaded to YouTube starting with http://youtu.be/GAHITn7JWpU

I was to be possibly joined on the parade route by Jay Shink and Paul Wolf but didn’t see either one as it took me some time to arrive at my intended starting point.  I did run across many people I knew during the day though.   I had caught a bus to near San Sebastian and the parade started earlier than scheduled so I ran into it almost immediately.   I hung around that area until the parade got bogged down, as it always does, then I headed west to avoid all the wait time.  I had hoped to cut down on the number of photos but instead just eliminated any movie taking.   And who can resist all those children with the incredible dark eyes?   So I only took 1,145 pictures today…….    Those you won’t see for a while unfortunately.

I found the end of the parade near Avenida De Las Americas around 4pm, and by that time I could barely walk so I just headed to Joe’s Secret Garden and gobbled down a couple of muscle relaxants and a 292 while I flopped in a chair for an hour.    It took about two hours before I could move freely again.   Bella joined me for the Christmas Eve feast of deep-fried turkey and Mark generously brought me another Christmas tie to wear.  We met some more Canadian visitors and generally had a great time, as usual.    I am only uploading the photos from Joe’s tonight.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Saturday December 22, 2012

Saturday December 22/12  update #321

I was up ridiculously early to finish off the photos from yesterday and to get the Blogs published.   I also had to send a note to Daimler expressing our deep disappointment in the quality of the guides that were provided, especially for yesterday.  I don’t think I will be doing any more photography tours for a while as a result.  While not everyone was upset, because there truly are some wonderful, supportive photographers in our nucleus, it is a fact that it creates doubt in everyone’s mind, including mine, when things do not go as advertised.

I tried to rest in the afternoon again but an oncoming cold is making me stuffed up and unable to sleep.

So off we went to Joe’s Secret Garden for a “New Age” supper to celebrate that our planet did not blow up as the doomsday prophets had foretold.  

The supper tonight was special because it was also the night for the Herats Of Gold raffle draw being held there.  The founder of hearts Of Gold, Richard Verkley of Calgary, did the honours of announcing the winners.  Many of our friends won one or more prizes, with the big prize going to Teresa Durrant.

See the video of the draw on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/mbeb22VrO6Y

We met many more nice newbies to Ecuador tonight as the influx of expats continues.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Friday December 21/12 Saraguro

Friday December 21/12  update #320

I got a note on Facebook from my daughter “Dr. McPhail found dead in ravine. "not considered suspicious". 66 years old. so sad.”  This is our former doctor in Edmonton who suddenly went missing about 2 weeks ago.   Yet another reminder not to put off doing your Bucket List and telling your family and friends “I Love You”!!    Oh, by the way, “I Love You”

Bella and I were out the door at the crack of dawn to cab to the SuperMaxi on Las Americas to meet with 7 other couples for a photography excursion to Saraguro, south of here on the way to Loja.   Daimler at Cuenca Tours International came up with a lovely 27 passenger bus so we were very comfortable indeed.  With the driver Maricio and the guide Xavier we began the 1.5 hour journey that took 3 hours, don’t ask me why??   We only had a 20 minute potty stop.

We had great weather to begin with and, even though he was originally from the area, Xavier stopped in the middle of Saraguro to pick up a local guide.  During this stop there was a small parade of mostly children in Santa costumes.

The guides decided that the best solstice ceremony, The Kapac Raymi, was to be in a neighboring town so off we went there, high on a mountainside.  Then the local guide disappeared, never to be seen again.  The first ceremony was just beginning and we were told we were not allowed to photograph during the actual ceremony.  We had known earlier that there were parts of the ceremony where this was applicable but many of the photographers were a little angry over this.  We were told this ceremony would break up and another ceremony would begin at noon but we would be given the opportunity to take pictures prior to this one so we were assuaged a little.  There was a bit of a parade with many more participants prior to the second ceremony so the photographers were having a heyday and most of us got some really great shots of the indigenous people and their costumes.  

We had photographers in our group that ranged from professionals to real novices and everyone has their own preferences and desires and it is impossible to cater to everyone’s demands.  Fortunately 80% of our group are really wonderful go-with-the-flow people who understand the complexities of trying to get things done in Ecuador.  If it wasn’t for that great nucleus of people I wouldn’t bother organizing any tours.

We kept pressing the guide for other things for us to photograph and he was really at a loss, claiming he had not been told this was a photography tour!  Most of us were not pleased at all.   So then we headed to find a place for lunch.   The guide checked out a place that had chicken or pork dinners so we went in.  50 minutes later we got our meal so that caused a lot more grumbling.   The chicken dinner was really good but I couldn’t say the same about the pork.

There was a textile manufacturing place that many of the ladies wanted to see so we went there next, to see if it was open.   Unfortunately it was closed due to the celebrations this day.

So we just headed to downtown Saraguro and left everyone wander around for an hour and a half before our scheduled departure at 3:30.  The weather had clouded up a lot so the photography wasn’t the greatest.  We were lucky enough to witness another small parade there.  One local store had a gorgeous nativity scene encompassing the town of Bethlehem that was about 12 feet long but I only took a shot of the crèche scene.   I bought some snacks for everyone for the return trip and off we went back to Cuenca.  With no stops we made it back in 2 ½ hours this time.  

We stopped for supper with 2 of the couples at a pizza restaurant next to SuperMaxi on Las Americas and Bella was in contact with Paola and Julio who have a store next door.   They came by to say hi for a few minutes before we headed to our next appointment.

Mark and Karen were having a Christmas party a few blocks away at 7:30 so we made our appearance.   They live in the same building as Paola and Julio who were also invited, and who made their appearance a little later.  There was a huge tableful of food and lots of hot wine to drink, so we enjoyed the munchies and the drinks.  There was quite a crowd and lots of lively conversation.   Bella was thrilled to meet Cathy, who is Mark & Karen’s landlord, because she is an avid bridge player.  Cathy speaks very little English but her husband Oswaldo is pretty fluent, having lived in Toronto for some time.  As we were preparing to leave Paola insisted on driving us home but Oswaldo said he wanted the privilege because he wanted to know where we lived.   We had many laughs on the way home but we were definitely ready to collapse into bed.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Thursday December 20, 2012

Thursday December 20/12  update #319

 This is just a short Post today to let you know not to expect any tomorrow as we will be out all day on a photography excursion to Saraguro with 7 other couples, then we have a Christmas party at a friend's tomorrow night.   That will be a long day!

Bella and I took it easy today, just going to Coral to investigate a tabletop oven that turned out to be nice for the money but too large, and it operated by propane.  For all the troubles such a unit would cause I believe we have decided to either insulate the existing stove or just sell it and and get a better insulated model.

GringoTree has posted the ad to sell my bike and I already have one query so I hope that happens soon.

Skype and NetTalk are such great tools when we are so far away.  My cousin Maurice Skyped with me on his iPad from Sundre, Alberta and he was able to walk outside and show me the premises and the snow, etc.  Gosh how technology has made the world a smaller place!

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   

Wednesday December 19, 2012

Wednesday December 19/12  update #318

Bella was off very early to arrange to deliver all the gifts of crocheted and knitted clothes, plus cookies to the children at the cancer hospital.   She said it wasn’t quite as traumatic as she had expected as they only actually got to visit with 2 of the residents.  Most of the others were too sick for visitors and their mothers accepted the gifts at the door.   There are kids as young as 1-year old, but most are around 4 or 5.   The mothers stay with them during the day and that must be gut-wrenching.

I was very busy on the computer uploading photos and trying unsuccessfully to research the type of camera and lens I wish to buy.   It seems obvious I am going to have to stop at some big camera stores before I find what I want.  

One of my buddy's from Montreal sent me the new Ecuador Motto (tongue firmly in cheek),
Ecuador, where everything is possible, but nothing is for sure !

I laughed and laughed, but the day kept proving this motto indeed has merit.
We then got ready and headed over for tea at Mark & Karen’s apartment (on the same floor as Julio and Paola’s).  They are mostly decorated for their party late Friday and have an amazing collection of Christmas decorations and ornaments.   I sure loved the many Santa faces they had adorning their tree.

The 4 of us then cabbed in the rain over to the Oro Verde Hotel for a “Meet The Mayor” gathering of expats.  It was obvious they did not expect such a turnout but they did ask us to spread the word, so I did!  There was someone I knew at every single table and everyone was anxious to hear what information they were going to provide.

We really felt cheated and there was a distinct groan from the crowd when we were told that the 36-year-old Mayor Paul Granda had gone to a different, more pressing engagement!  125 expats come to meet the guy, at his request, and he doesn't think that this is the most important thing he should do today...???  I am sure this snub won’t soon be forgotten.

The first person to speak was AnaLucia Serrano, whom we have met many times and is a good friend of Joe Spotts, of Joe’s Secret Garden.   She grew up with the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa and also with the Mayor, Paul Granda., so she is well connected.  She is a Secretary with the External Affairs Department of Ecuador, in charge of setting up a Visa and Cedula office here in Cuenca.  She did much of her schooling in Vancouver so has a decent grasp of English.  She recited many of the obstacles they have overcome and delineated many of the differences in the processes between Ecuador and other countries.   One major difference is that Ecuador has only one central Registry for all resident information, birth, schooling, marriage, divorce, etc.   Our countries have many separate provincial or state registries that don’t track with each other, meaning a person could be married in the 10 different provinces and nobody would be the wiser.  So, one of the rules expats found silly and impossible to comply with was a requirement to prove if a person was single and had never been married!   Ana Lucia was very pleased to announce that The Registry Office had today finally kindly agreed to accept a notarized declaration of a person’s singular status.

The next speaker was Gladys El Juri of the Cuenca Tourism office, and part of the richest family in Ecuador, of Lebanese origins.  She gave an overview of all the positives of Ecuador and Cuenca, facts and figures on things most of us already knew.  She obviously spoke good English but started by saying “I am proud of my country so I am going to speak in Spanish, our language, and have a simultaneous translation for you”.  That was slight number two for the evening that got under my skin.  This needlessly doubled the length of time for her boring speech too.  

About this time they started serving a few small sandwiches and desserts.  Again it was obvious they had underestimated the crowd so nobody got both, just either a sandwich or a dessert.

Next the Deputy Mayor named Ruth Caldas, a pretty 30-year-old, gave a State Of The Union address about the improving infrastructure in the City.  Cuenca is not some backwater town and it is becoming more and more modern every day.  She spoke at length on their green recycling plan where the landfill products are recycled and there are plans for a biofuel byproduct.  The centerpiece of her speech was a film on the beginning of construction for a Light Rail Transit line from the Northeast to the Southwest.  The surprising part of this is that the electric train can recharge itself, meaning it has no need of overhead wires when travelling through the core!  Brilliant!!

Last we heard from Christian, of The Registry Office, who reiterated the good news for the single expats.

When they started the question and answer section (everyone could submit a written question during the evening) we departed when time was being wasted answering really dumb questions about things that anyone should know if they did any research at all.  Any expat who comes here and doesn’t know when they can apply for citizenship should be booted out for utter stupidity.

We cabbed up Gran Colombia to an Italian restaurant and enjoyed a very filling meal and scintillating conversation.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Tuesday December 18, 2012

Tuesday December 18/12  update #317

Today I just went to the Book/Movie Exchange where it was unusually calm today and traded 4 movies.  Then I had been invited by Rommie and Charles to take advantage of their roof terrace to take a few shots so I headed there next.   I stopped on the way and had a very good Seco De Carne (beef, rice, salad and juice) for $2 nearby.

Rommie and Charles are such a delightful couple, he’s American and she’s Austrian, but they came from Australia.  He’s an artist and she designs clothes.    Rommie seems very interested in our Eleggant Hooks so I will ask Bella to be sure and bring a set on Friday’s excursion.

The rooftop terrace was different but had interesting views of rooftops from all angles, including the blue domes of Immaculate Conception.   I hung around up there on my own for and extra 45 minutes waiting for the jets from Quito to skim the rooftops just east of me but they never did show up.   Maybe they don’t land into the wind anymore???   Very strange.

When I came back downstairs there was another buzz from the door and we were joined by another couple, Bo & Linda Longood, that I had never met, but who were also joining us on the Friday excursion to Saraguro.  Well the afternoon went by very quickly with many, many belly laughs that must have been heard throughout the neighborhood.  Very nice people all around.

I got home and decided to take current pictures of my bike, so I got a pail of soapy water and washed it first.  My intention is to sell the bike as I never use it and it takes up valuable storage space.  The proceeds will also go towards the purchase of a new camera if I can ever find the right one.   Finding a camera is not the problem, it is getting the right manual focus lens that I miss so much.

I going through an email from GringoTree this evening was the following sad advertisement:

Police say they need help identifying the body of a 35-year-old man they believe to be Canadian, discovered Sunday in an apartment on Calle Larga near Tomas Ordonez.  Police say the man, who they believe is named David, had been dead for about eight days when his was found.  A pet German Shepherd was found alive in the apartment.  The body awaits identification at the Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital morgue.  Anyone who may know the man is asked to contact the hospital.

I am scratching my brain but don’t think I know any such person, most expats are old….

Bella finished her bridge instruction today.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Monday December 17, 2012

Monday December 17/12  update #316

I was up fairly early to get a jump on uploading some of my photos etc as I had two appointments in the afternoon.   I was to meet the ladies who had forgotten clothing on the bus Thursday at 12:50 on the Las Americas bridge but they never showed up. 

So I continued to help a regular patron at Joe’s with some computer problems uploading photos.  No wonder she is having trouble, ..that darn Windows 7 she has doesn’t want to do anything normally.   I finally worked around it somehow and then also got her two photo editing programs because her Picasa 3 was also useless.  She was thrilled to have a new toy to occupy her time.

Then I decided to meet Bella in the next block at the end of her bridge lesson.  I amused myself by taking a few shots while she made her preparations for tomorrow’s last lesson.   She also sent me to SuperMaxi to get some sour cream for nachos tomorrow night’s supper, always a favourite.   On the way home we stopped in at Coral to find some hot Mexican salsa.

We also received an invitation to a reception with the Mayor of Cuenca on Wednesday, and we are to pass along the invitation to others, which I have dutifully done.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Sunday December 16, 2012

Sunday December 16/12  update #315

I can’t believe I stayed in bed until 11am this morning but I feel much better for it.

My sweetheart heard that I am hankering for a new camera with a push-pull zoom and a crank focus just like my old Canon T70 film job.   Now she tells me I should buy a new one instead of a used one.   What a gal!

I spent most of the early afternoon looking on the Internet for camera ideas but so much of the information was so outdated that I am probably no further ahead today than I was yesterday.

Bella was off to do bridge instruction again today while I was waiting for my little language buddy Juan to go to the Banos hot springs.  

Juan and I left about 4pm, took the autopista and were in Banos in no time at all.   $4.20 later and we were sitting in this brown water with no visibility beyond one inch down.  It wasn’t as warm as I expected but relaxing nonetheless.  We then went up some stairs to the steam room and then I was in heaven.  That was the hottest steam room I have ever been in and after huffing up the stairs it was too much right away.    I stepped outside the door for one minute to stabilize then came back in and didn’t move for a ½ hour, sitting in the hottest area.  Juan had to step out a few times.  Then it was back to sitting in the muddy water for a while then Juan wanted to go back up to the steam so I told him to go ahead, that I would probably be exiting soon, which I did.

After showering and changing I sat on the deck and snapped a couple of shots before Juan came down.   By the time he changed clothes they were already draining the pool.

Bella was expecting a call from our Ecuadorian friend Paola around 4:30 since Paola had been anxious to take Bella to their bedding store in the Industrial district but that call never came.

Last night Manon had wandered over to Joe’s and invited friends to her place for deep fried onion rings at 6pm today.  So Bella went over there after the bridge school and helped Manon set up.   I convinced Juan to join us and we arrived around 6:30.  Many friends and acquaintances were there and the table had some scrumptious accompaniments for the fabulous onion rings.   Chris and Bettye even brought delicious chicken salad sandwiches made with the sourdough bread that Bella had baked for them.    Boy, I have to stop eating like this or I am going to have to pay for 2 seats on the plane when I go back to Canada.

We met another nice couple, the Selleck’s from the US, who were investigating Cuenca with the intention of moving here in 2-3 months.  They were quite impressed with the wealth of knowledge of the persons around the table and they were making copious notes.   They even like to dance.   

Then we went over to see Chris and Bettye’s apartment and I am kicking myself that I did not take any photographs there, or at Manon’s.  Bettye has done a superlative job decorating their place and it is almost complete.

We have caught a cab home and are again sitting here in delightful pain from a fabulous evening of food and friendship.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Saturday December 15, 2012

Saturday December 15/12  update #314

I forced myself to stay in bed until almost 10:30 today and my body thanked me for it.   I slipped out to recharge my phone and came back to do my usual chores.

Bella wants to add some garlands in the Dining Room so we discussed how we are going to accomplish that.  When everything is glass, metal or concrete it takes some thought processes to determine which method will be the most advantageous because the changes are permanent.  I finally determined that I could drill small holes near the top of the aluminum window frames and use small ½” screws for anchors to attach to.

Bella went out to Coopera so I asked her to pick up a few of those screws on the way home.   When she returned I accomplished the task with ease so she can now pick up her garlands on Monday as she had planned.

I then rested yet again in the afternoon before preparing to go to Joe’s Secret Garden.  I also had to carry Bella’s heavy bag of bridge boards which she will use for her bridge instruction tomorrow through Tuesday.

The night at Joe’s was very enjoyable as we had a table for four with Chris and Bettye.  Chris is recuperating very well from his hernia surgery.  
We haven’t been to a "Gringo night" gathering in many months and don’t miss that because we always get to meet nice new folks at Joe’s, especially when I have to explain who I am to take their photographs.
We met another new Canadian couple, Richard & Sandi Chamberlain from Victoria as well as a few other American couples.  I was clearing out old emails Sunday morning and came across an August email from Sandi offering to volunteer at the Amigos Activity Center.  Due to the demise of Amigos I have referred Sandi to Emilie at Hearts Of Gold for ideas.

I feel like an overstuffed armchair.  We really shouldn't eat so much, but Joe's food is just so-o-o-o good!

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.   Please see all photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/