Thursday-Friday March 8-9, 2012

Thursday Mar 8/12 update

Today was insurance and banking day.  Finally, our insurance agent Cristina called to say our insurance policy on the house was ready and we had an appointment at 10am.  It is a good thing we left early because I was two blocks off in my remembrance of the location of their office.  I was sure they were north of the 10 De Augusto but they were south.  My excuse is that they repainted the building so I wouldn’t have found it anyway.

We had been trying to arrange monthly payments but our premium is too small so they had agreed to 9 payments but now they wanted us to run there monthly with our bank card to make the payments.  There was no way we were going to do that so Bella said we would just pay it off instead.  We got the information to make a direct bank transfer, which we did when we got home.

On our way to Banco Pichincha we saw an open gate on the main soccer stadium so we crossed the road at great peril to our lives.  We had never seen the inside and, frankly, were not too impressed at the few levels of concrete seating.  It looks much more impressive size-wise on the outside.  The domes of the Immaculate Conception cathedral can barely be seen in the center of the shot.

Then we walked down Avenida Solano to the bank and I stepped out into the street to get a nice shot of the domes from there.  It is actually quite amazing to get such a view from so low.  I also managed to get the spires of two other churches in the bargain.

We got a cashier’s cheque from the bank and Bella also made application to be put on the bank account now that we have our Cedula papers.  Now she will be able to get her own bank card and do the money transactions without dragging me along.  While in the bank I took a shot of another steeple in the distance.  I have doctored this photo somewhat.

Then it was off to the Coopera Credit Union to deposit the money taken from Pichincha (which actually came from transferring the funds from a Certificate Of Deposit from the Banco Territorial in Quito).  We then bought a new Certificate Of Deposit at Coopera because they pay 10.5% and we do not have to pay the ridiculous exchange by routing the money back and forth to Canada.

We also found that we can deposit more money at Coopera if we each have an account as then both accounts are insured up to $25,000.  With our new Cedula papers we made application for online banking as well and changed our address to the new house.

The manager, Juan, also asked us to become part of the Cuenca Referral Network and to join him at an information luncheon at a Coopera restaurant in San Joaquin at noon on the 19^th.  He is speaking at this luncheon and apparently this is a good way to find out almost anything, with recommendations from other Cuencanos and expats.  It should be interesting.

We then went across the street to the Feria Libre Mercado and picked up some cooked pork for supper that Bella had been craving.  She also picked up some apples to make her own homemade apple sauce.   Yummy.

I have tried to send this blog before supper, and again after supper but the Internet is completely screwy tonight.  I can get into both my Platinum and Gmail emails but virtually nothing else, not even Yahoo or Google.  That is very frustrating to say the least.

I attempted to send this via Bella’s laptop because my computer guru is not being very helpful but her laptop is now just as dumb as the other two….

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

120308 Soccer Stadium

120308 Avenida Solano + Immaculate Conception

120308 Steeple

Friday Mar 9/12 update

Jorge, the drapery guy, was here around 10am to install basically a valance on our dining room wall to cover the piping to the on-demand water heater.  They did not make it as we requested, with a cover on the top side, and I was a little peeved at this.  Then they put the brackets so high they were visible to taller people like myself.  I let them install it anyway because they only speak Spanish and there was no point getting upset when I had a potential solution in mind.

Bella was off doing more banking and playing bridge so I went to the Rotary Market to try to find something small and light to conceal the brackets.  After much looking and price comparisons I decided on 3 little Ecuadorian dolls and they look so darn good we decided to bypass any further art or mural on that wall!

I walked downtown to Immaculate Conception and Parque Calderon and managed to get to the upper floors of a couple of buildings for some different angle shots.

One of these buildings housed a cultural theatre and there was some speech-making going on by what appeared to be environmentalists so I didn’t stick around long.  There were a couple of dance troupes getting ready to perform so I got a few shots of one group practicing.

We had received a warning from the Canadian Embassy to be careful from Mar 8-22 because there were some approved demonstrations to occur in various places.  Since it is illegal for westerners to become involved in anything political we decided discretion is the better part of valor.

Then I started walking east to the Inca ruins but was too late to see the museum or spend much time there.  I just sauntered in through a parking lot, didn’t see a soul, so just grabbed a couple of shots (not the ones I really wanted) and beat a hasty exit.

I met Bella at Big Kabudas Burgers and we had a recommended torpedo bun filled with chicken, mushrooms, crushed chips, and spices.  Mmmmmm good!

We are still going back and forth with our Okotoks home insurer, Canadian Direct, and a proposed contractor over paying for the complete repair.  Canadian Direct’s appraiser and the roofing company can’t seem to agree on all the extras involved in the claim.

My computer guru keeps sending me very unhelpful emails on how to solve our dilemma.  He wants me to contact the internet provider but I am 98% sure they are not the culprit this time.  My guru thinks it is a firewall issue and that my router needs to be reconfigured.  A troubleshooting program points to a possible proxy server problem.   It’s all Spanish to me so I am asking my guru to walk me through it but now he is not responding.

I am going to send this using Bella’s laptop.

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

120309 Baby

120309 Dancers 1

120309 Dancers2

120309 Dining room

120309 Dining room doll

120309 Ecuador art 1

120309 Ecuador Art 2

120309 Immaculate Conception 1

120309 Immaculate Conception  2

120309 Immaculate Conception  3

120309 Inca Pumapongo ruins 1

120309 Inca Pumapongo ruins  2

120309 Inca Pumapongo ruins Ovens

120309 Palm + Church

Wednesday March 7, 2012

Wednesday Mar 7/12 update

What a glorious sunny morning and it makes one want to get outside.  I wanted to go see Turi, to the southwest, but I can’t find a 25c bus that goes there.  There is this beautiful white church that is lit up at night and I would love to see it.  The closest the buses go is to the Mall De Rio but I have no idea how far it is from there, probably not more than a mile or two.

I woke Bella to see if she would be willing to join me to El Valle to the southeast where our main bus, the #15 ends and she was agreeable, but wants to go one further, also take the #19 or #8 to San Joaquin.  Our Coopera medical plan basically dictates that our Dr. Pena, and our dentist, are in San Joaquin,  For $4.72 per month we can get 70-80% of our medical bills covered up to a maximum of $400 each.  That goes a long way here.

We are nearing our longest day (twice a year here) at 2.53 degrees south of the equator.  Today the sun’s path is over 4.19 degrees south so it will be directly overhead in a few days.  It took me a while to find a site with this information, but it is at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html.   I took a couple of shots about 1:30 during our trip and there was almost no shadow.

The trip to El Valle isn’t that far but it is uphill all the way and it is so picturesque as we travel upwards between two huge valleys.  We got off the bus at the top and walked over to where we saw some baby lambs.  They must have just been recently born as one was still trailing remains of its umbilical cord and was pretty unsteady on its tiny hooves.  Then we started walking down and the first thing that struck us was the wonderful quietness.  Traffic is really far apart and there is no industry, just some house construction here and there so it is really peaceful.   If a person had a car, this is one place to enjoy living.

Naturally the valleys are green, green, green and the surrounding hills are too.  There is an unusual plateau to the south that did not seem to have any buildings but we suspect there may be a small airstrip there.   There is a huge townhouse complex on a hillside and some new developments and a country club on the lowers portions.  Higher up there is a beautiful convention center/meeting hall called the Olive Garden that was just gorgeous inside and had breathtaking views.

Once we got to Huyana Capac we were going to catch the #8 or #19, whichever arrived first, which was the #8.  Bella wanted to take it to both ends of its route so we started by going northwest into the industrial area of Cuenca called Trigales, past the airport, SuperMaxi, Kywi, etc.  It is an older area and the bus just kept climbing and climbing to its turn-around area.  We had to change buses for the return trip and this involved crawling through some streets just wide enough to handle the width of the bus.

The trip down took us back through El Centro to the west end of Cuenca.  When the bus turned around and everybody got off we asked the driver why he wasn’t going to San Joaquin.  He pointed to a bridge on the right and indicated that we had to walk the rest of the way.  Our mistake.  We should have caught the #19.  So we walked, uphill, (why is it always uphill?) about 2 kilometres to the centre of town as we knew our doctor was somewhere near the church and we were pretty sure the #19 went there.  This walk wasn’t pleasant as the dirt roads were dusty and uneven, however the scenery was interesting.  This is a garden town and nobody would ever go hungry here.  They grow everything here, and we saw loads of cabbage and corn.  We also saw many of them tilling straw into the soil, even the old way, with oxen.

When we got to the church we did indeed see some buses go by but didn’t immediately see the office of the doctor and dentist.  Just to the left of the church we saw a woman go down the street and we could see some police and security guards so we ventured down.  At first I dismissed it as only the main Coopera bank here but we asked a security guard where the medical/dental offices were.  He pointed and said to go around the building, which we did and found a second building at the rear.  We even had a chance to talk with Dr. Pena who speaks excellent English and she gave us the entire lowdown on how it operates.  Basically we make an appointment to see her when we have a non-critical ailment, otherwise we can go to the emergency at any nearby hospital and submit the bills later.   All in all, these were a very informative trips.

Bella made her own beer-battered fish and chips plus onion rings tonight.  Ummm Ummmm, she did an awesome job.  The tilapia fish was as good as halibut.  I am sure she will try that again.  The leftover beer was very tasty too.

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

120307 Sweet baby

120307 Sweet baby 2

120307 Oh isn't this just ducky!

120307 Interesting flowers

120307 Bella strutting between the valleys of El Valle

120307 Just the corner horse wash

120307 Showing off his clean horse, now to wash the dog..

120307 Lovely foliage in El Valle

120307 Painting the sign for the Olive Garden

120307 Inside the Olive Garden

120307 Gorgeous spiral staircase there

120307 Lovely El Valle View there

120307 Reversing flower in El Valle

120307 Gorgeous colour at El Valle

120307 Butterfly courtship

120307 Milagro church, Cuenca

120307 San Joaquin, working the gardens

120307 San Joaquin, working with oxen+plow

120307 San Joaquin, gorgeous yard

120307 Solving problem with counterbalance

120307 San Joaquin, working the gardens 2

120307 San Joaquin, working the gardens 3

120307 San Joaquin church

120307 San Joaquin indigenous gossip

120307 San Joaquin flower

120307 Doctor Pena

120307 San Joaquin church bell

120307 Trigales view

120307 Not much shadow near equator

120307 Trigales - Just enough room for the bus to go through

Tuesday March 6, 2012

Tuesday Mar 6/12 update

I got an email back that wasn’t very promising from a fellow that we had been referred to for painting a mural.  He says he does the human form and has only done one mural with another artist before.   Then when he says he is a professional and asks us what we are willing to pay, well we don’t want to insult him with our meager proposition.  We will wait until we find some nice paintings like we had found in Quito.

The drapery fellow finally showed up at 10am to take the exact measurements and promised to bring the finished product Friday morning.  We paid them in full and Bella chose a nice fabric.

Bella was off to the book exchange and a book sale so I thought I would tag along but she decided she was taking a different bus so I took the #3 downtown to try to find some magnetic strips for our two metal doors to the lavanderia and the terrace.  I finally found the type used on fridge doors but I tested them and they did not work.  So I marched on up to another well-stocked ferreteria on Calle Larga and picked up some cabinet-style magnets for 25c each.  It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I will have to mount them on a block to make them work…

I then decided to wander in the 10 de Augusto Mercado and was taking the escalator to the second floor when I spotted this lovely woman wandering the main floor.  She didn’t see my wave so I had to chase her down.  Bella was very surprised to see who was pinching her bottom.   We had been told that we could buy inexpensive unsalted butter near the one door here so we asked and, sure enough, they had it for sale there.  That is the kind of information we get when networking with other expats.

Bella had a lot of books and veggies in one bag and some blankets in another so she didn’t want to go down the hill to check out the art at Arte Libre.  Instead we decided to check out the art further north, past the Mercado, behind the cathedral.  We actually did find one piece of original oil artwork that we both liked and that will look good on one of our walls.  He was asking $50 but we could only scrape up $45 between us so we took it home on the promise to drop off $5 the next time we are in El Centro (and he doesn’t even know our names).  We will gladly do so.

Bella decided the painting will go in the living room between the two windows so I took a couple of shots to give you an idea.

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

Monday March 5, 2012

Monday Mar 5/12 update

This morning I could hear heavy machinery so I saw they finally brought in a bobcat to clear up the demolition debris from the house on the corner opposite.  At least any noise from new construction has to be a lot quieter than the sledgehammers of the past 6 weeks.

It was slightly drizzly as I left this morning around 11pm so I grabbed the #50 back to our old neighborhood and went to the lamination place.  Five pieces of ID for $1.40, not bad.

Then the sun started to shine so I walked down our old main road, the Paseo De Los Canaris, and encountered a couple of our old neighbors and had some brief chats.

I stopped by the drapery place to see if the gentleman was going to contact me today about arranging a covering for the pipes on the wall in the dining room.  They contacted him and he said he would be calling this afternoon but it is now after 4pm and still no contact.

I was surprised to see the river back to normal so quickly after all the rain we had.  There is a large hydroelectric dam near Paute that supplies much of the country’s electricity.

I took a few shots of the beauty in the river area and the gorgeous flower trellis at the park west of us.

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

120305 Clean up time

120305 Riverbank beauty

120305 Our Park along Rio Tomebamba

120305 Rio Tomebamba looking West

120305 Gorgeous flower trellis at park west of us