Friday-Saturday July 27-28, 2012

Friday-Saturday July 27-28/12 update

Friday

Thank you to my friend Betty M. for identifying my redhead and red-chested little bird as a Vermilion Flycatcher!   He must be doing his job here as there are very few bugs in Cuenca!

I was up real early and started work on a graduation card for Gabriela Beltran.  It was when I went to print it that my printer confirmed the cartridges need replacing,…again.  Do not ever buy an HP Photosmart D110.  Sure the printer is cheap and it has a lot of features but it uses ink like a sieve.   Then I downloaded a few “Doctor” songs, although I doubt I will use them.

Bella headed out to play bridge at Gertie’s near Avenida Solano.  Bella says she has a gorgeous apartment with glass on 3 sides so it is very bright.

I headed out later as Chris had mentioned he might meet me for lunch, then that wasn’t happening, so I delayed and got off the #15 at Parque De La Madre, near the escalinata and the CIDAP Museum.  I toyed with the idea of purchasing one of the witch doctor masks until I realized they won’t let them out of the exhibition until after August 17^th, a week later than when I need it.  Time for a new plan.

Then I walked over to Otorongo Plaza to see the big hummingbird display.  There are over 50 birds, all the same casting, just decorated differently,… some of them very differently.  I took photos of all except for about 4 really stinky ones.  These birds are about 6’ high including the base.   

Walking up the stairs from Otorongo brings a person right to San Sebastian Square, near where Bella had suggested we might have supper.  Then I truly wandered and criss-crossed El Centro trying to price photo enlargements and large frames.  Plan B is to make a gift from one of my own works.  One camera store quoted $4.50 and the one across the street $12.00 for the same size.   Nobody had a nice large frame anywhere.   I may have to get one made at a frame store on Juan Jaramillo.   I may also check out Coral tomorrow.

I went all the way to Rotary Market then started my trek back.   I watched this priest feeding the pigeons in front of Santo Domingo church.     I hung around on a bench in Parque Calderon until it got pretty cool so I went into the main cathedral for a while.   When I saw the sun come out I headed back to San Sebastian and located the place where we were to have supper.

I found a park bench in the sun and just enjoyed all these youngsters with slingshots shooting at birds in the trees.   They couldn’t hit anything because half the times the lump of dirt wouldn’t go high enough.  It was pretty comical.

Chris called again that he was around the corner at this Mangiare Italian restaurant but it did not open until 6, more than an hour wait.  The girls decided we would go back to La Vina where we all like the food.   While there we called Cindy and Jim in Atlanta because Chris had received an urgent message from them and he was fearing the worst.   Thankfully it was nothing serious and we enjoyed a good meal and good conversation.

Once I got home I tackled the huge job of processing the many photos and eliminating background clutter.  I was only part way through at 10pm when I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.

That was Friday’s excitement.   Please see the day’s photos at souvenircuenca.blogspot.com.  Hugs to all.

Saturday

I had gone to bed at 10 but was wide awake at 1am.  Bella says it was because our son Greg was born at 1:10am 40 years ago.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREG!

I worked on photos again until 5:30 and couldn’t continue.  I was about 2/3 the way through but 85% through the hard stuff.  I crashed with my buddy Pancho until 10:30.   I finally finished all the photo work at 12:15 and went down to make lunch then headed for the Ferreteria on the hill.   The guy had forgotten to get hold of his Jack-of-all-trades so he took my details and said he would call me.   I am anxious to get that toilet leak fixed.

I then popped into Coral looking for large picture frames and they had nothing over an 8x10.  I then scoured every aisle to find a humidifier, also to no avail.   I walked away with a new bicycle pump for $2.22 though.

I took Bella's broken umbrella, modified it, and am using it as a rain cover for our propane tanks.

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

My favorite of the hummingbird displays

Thursday July 26, 2012

Thursday July 26/12 update

Bella slipped out to weaving this morning while I was occupied uploading photos to my 3 sales sites.  She did not make it over to the cheap copy store to make copies of Rosa’s invoices, but we have 1.5 weeks to accomplish that.

I left early to catch the 2 buses necessary to get to San Joaquin for a 4pm dentist appointment.  I rode the #16 to the totems to walk the few blocks to the Feria Libre Mercado.  I admit I went the wrong direction and made my trek twice as long.  I passed this discotheque that is inside a jet’s shell and took a couple of shots.

Feria Libre is always busy and I am still blown away by the sheer volume of vegetables and fruits for sale there.  That, of course, is in addition to everything else, from live dogs and fish to television aerials.  At one large “booth” a Dad was swinging his older son in a hammock, just above the veggies.

I then caught the #19 almost immediately to the neighboring town of San Joaquin, arriving an hour early.  San Joaquin is a farming community, with almost every yard having a huge garden with an abundance of cabbages. 

I tried to help a little girl get her kit aloft but she wasn’t doing her part so we weren’t successful.  Then I tried to take a photo of the nice Coopera buildings, to which they are adding on, and the security guard said I couldn’t!  They are so paranoid at Coopera Credit Unions where you even have to remove all hats and sunglasses. 

I waited inside and said hello to Dr Pena while waiting.  I tried to nod off but the sounds and smells from the Dentist’s room were beginning to make me nauseous, then I was called in.  I had written out the minor tooth repairs I needed and had translated them into Spanish so the Dentist, Dr Cristina Sarango had no problem grasping this.  Now picture this,… we have adjoining doctor and dentist offices, run by these two women, and not any assistants!  This would be unheard of in Canada.  I had repairs done to 2 teeth and the bill was $4 under our Coopera health plan.  What does your Dentist look like?

I caught the #19 back and it takes a neat route, close to the river across from Joe’s Secret Garden, past Otorongo Square and up the hill to Calle Larga.  GringoTree had posted that there was to be an exhibition, starting tomorrow of huge metal hummingbirds decorated in different fashions at Otorongo, and indeed they were already set up.  I think that will be my excursion for tomorrow.

I then caught the #3 bus back to Monay Mall and walked down the hill.  I stopped at the Ferreteria where the nice young man speaks some English to ask for his assistance.  I told him I wanted a person, preferably a plumber, who could come and assist me in repairing a bottom leak from Bella’s toilet.  He said he knew of a

person who was well-known and respected in the area but didn’t have his phone number at hand.   I will stop by tomorrow and get it.

Bella had supper ready just as I arrived home, so all in all, the whole day went like clockwork.

I mentioned to Bella that I hadn’t heard or seen Tom Thumb for 2 days now and she agreed that she hadn’t heard him at all either.  She suggested that maybe they are migratory?   I hadn’t thought of that, so we sincerely hope that is the case for our dear little friend.

Our internet was down for several hours tonight.  I contacted our serviceman who lives across the street, Cristian, and he said they were having electrical problems at one of the towers and they expected to have it corrected within two hours, so we went down to watch a movie.

Part way through the movie I see someone walking infront of our window and a white SUV parked there.  Then our doorbell rings.  Well this is unusual!  I turn on the lights and open the door and see Jorge Beltran, his wife Martha, and son Matteo.  What a surprise!  We invite them in  and they are all smiles as they hand us an invitation to their daughter Gabriela’s graduation as a doctor on August 10^th!    I was all giddy about this until Bella reminds us all that she is leaving for Canada 5 days before.   Bummer!  I promised to be Gabriela’s date and we all had a good laugh.

That was today’s excitement.   Please see the day’s photos at souvenircuenca.blogspot.com.  Hugs to all.

Wednesday July 25, 2012

Wednesday July 25/12 update

Bella went to Coral for groceries and says she barely made it home, she is still pretty shaky.

I caught the #16 to Spanish class and this lady and daughter had this cute puppy and they agreed I could take their picture.  The lady in that background was nattering something to me in Spanish so I just nodded and smiled.   As she was getting off, she hand me this brochure for cleaning homes and businesses.  This was only the beginning of this weird day!  I was going to class mainly to bring Ray Holt the information and invoices to use with our common cleaning lady, Rosa.    He was ever so thankful that we had broken this ground for him as he did not want any confrontations over the benefits and IVA tax issues..

After class I decided to check out the ancestral art exhibit of Tigua and Cotopaxi (North Ecuador) at the CIDAP Museum at the bottom of the Escalinata.  Not a whole lot had changed since I was last there but they seemed to have new masks and a few other new items.  Some of the artwork, masks and sculptures are amazing.

I then slipped up to that Arabian Bar for a couple of shawarmas, much like the donairs back home but with chicken.  I asked if their hot sauce was sold in stores and they said no, they make their own out of cumin, lemon, chilis and tomatoes.   I asked if he could sell me some but he said no, he would give me some the next time I came in.  They are such a treat for me.

As I was walking to catch the #3 I spotted this couple at the Coffee Tree that looked familiar and they waved for me to come over.  This was Ken and Debbie Fisher from Invermere that I had bumped into at the Parque XTremo.   They are still in town with their exchange student’s family until Tuesday.  I gave them my card so they would have links to my Blog and GringoTree, etc.   Ken’s eyes went wide then he showed the card to Debbie and her eyes almost popped!  “I’m a Bourassa!” she said.   We determined that she is from the other original branch that went north into Indian country, Meadow Lake, Sask (Gabriel Dumont was her Uncle), Spirit River, St. Paul and Plamondon, Alberta.   I have run across quite a few from this branch over the years.

I told them to give us a call if they find they have some free time.

This is Twilight Zone stuff again, because yesterday and today, I got an email from a distant American cousin named Karen Fisher with whom I correspond regularly.  She mentioned that her son David had passed away a few days ago and that she would supply more details later.   And today is the burial day of our 33-year-old great nephew Nick McKay who also passed away a few days ago.   His Mom has lived in the Bruderheim area for many years.  A few days ago, a Jana from Bruderheim bought one of my photos online.  Like I said, this just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

Tom Thumb seems to have disappeared entirely on me today.  I hope nothing untoward has happened to the little guy.   I am getting quite fond of him.   I did get a shot or two of a beautiful orange-head+chest fellow though.   He shore is purty…

Please see the day’s photos at souvenircuenca.blogspot.com.  That was today’s excitement.    Hugs to all.

Tuesday July 24, 2012 Happy Birthday Bella

Tuesday July 24/12 update

Happy 38^th birthday to my sweetheart (she made a U-turn at 50).  Now she can start saving all her receipts too to get back 50% of the 12% IVA tax here.   6% will be a handy refund (up to $1500) when we submit all those receipts when we turn 65.

Bella was ill all night so I ran to the local Farmacia for some Imodium.  The pharmacist asked me how many I wanted and I said 20.  She actually gave me a package of 20 and the cost was 90 cents!  

Bella seems to be on the mend although she is not too spry she has decided on a pizza Birthday dinner as long as we go by taxi.  At least if she can’t eat it then she can bring it home.

Good news for us today because our maid had agreed to get an RUC and has now done so.  Because she makes under $27,000 per year she will pay no income tax, but she must pay the 12% IVA tax for her services rendered.  We have increased her pay accordingly and everyone is now happy and dealing above-board. 

I spent most of the afternoon making appropriate invoices for Rosa, for ourselves and generic ones for other customers.  Bella has promised to go make her a bunch of copies on Thursday.

I have made the dreaded $2 appointment with the Coopera dentist in San Joaquin for Thursday afternoon for minor repairs.  It is with trepidation that we make calls in Spanish but we are getting more confident as we learn more of the language and can understand most of the responses.  It is much more difficult to do on the phone as opposed to in person.
My apologies for the colour of the background at times in these blogs.   If I copy and paste something it does keep the normal background like the rest, it has a white background with the white lettering, so all you see is a large blank when it is uploaded.    My only option is to re-do the entire background in a different color....

Sorry, no pics today.   That was today’s excitement.    Hugs to all.

Monday July 23, 2012

Monday July 23/12 update

I had a bad night and felt on the queasy side so I decided to skip Spanish class for today.

Bella was able to sit up and eat a little, but she can’t stay upright for very long.  I have no interest in catching what she has.

I trekked to our local Coopera to do the banking for Bella.  I stopped off to see how Raoul was doing with the new construction.  It was noon and there were no workmen around, which is really strange because their usual lunch time is around 1:30.  Since they do everything by hand it is very time-consuming to do all the digging, assemble the rebar and to do the cement work, etc.  A lot of time will be spent to make sure the foundation is completely sold before they proceed to any walls and upper floors.

He then dragged me around the corner to the building he owns occupied by a medical lab.  The doctor there had an extension cord break down and caused a fire in one corner.   Apparently the guy tried to put it out with water, not even an extinguisher….  He has all sorts of electrical equipment in there linked to a sort of fused power box but he hooked it to the outlet with a cheap extension that couldn’t take the load.  And there are only 2 breakers for the place and they are such high amps that they didn’t even kick off.  I suggested the man invests in some $10 power bars for his protection.  Luckily the building is basically concrete so there is only a sooty residue in the whole corner.   Raoul said he promised the guy that he would clean and paint it.

I received another email link to the blog of one of the photography tour participants and they raved about our tour, again, asking people to contact us about future tours.   I sent them a note back requesting their ideas for another tour as it seems there is a lot of interest for them.

Tom Thumb isn’t around much these days, only twice today.  Maybe he has found greener pastures??

Put a mark on the wall everybody, Bella let/made me cook today!!  Not only that, but she thought it tasted great and she ate more than she thought she would!!   I can still make a mean burger so I won’t starve when my honey is in Canada.

Oh, don’t forget it is her Birthday tomorrow…  Send her a note, will y’all?

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

Little shrine on the way to Coopera

Raoul stomping through his foundation work

Sunday July 22, 2012

Sunday July 22/12 update

Bella was still ill today so had to cancel her bridge game (that means she is really sick) and she spent most of the day in bed.  She finally managed to keep some food down but can’t stray too far from the bathroom.

I awoke to find a GringoTree recommendation for our Photography Tour that caught me completely by surprise:  ~~~~~ We would like to recommend the night photography tours offered by Al Bourassa, James Drummond, and John Davila and organized by JD's Private Transportation & Custom Outings.  Their choice of locations in Cuenca at night were great and one location, which provided a great vista of Cuenca, would have not been accessible without them. All three members of the tour team were fantastic, professional and attentive to the tour guests.  If you enjoy photography, join them on their next trip.   Contact information: Contact Al at albellaecuador@gmail.com  Recommended by Michael and Anne Roche,  Wldcelt@sbcglobal.net.~~~~

I guess we have to do more tours now……  Then I got an email from the US asking me to recommend cameras!!   I am getting positively notorious!

We had been invited to the eighth annual Latino Festival by Jesus at Big Kabuda’s.  He was supposed to confirm details with us but we never heard from him.  Bella said she would be OK alone so I went with my small camera anyway and easily found Jesus at the Venezuelan food booth.  He suggested I try this pita filled with chicken so I did, with a drink for $2.  He wasn’t kidding, it was really good!  

I got introduced to his Venezuelan buddies and Jesus says he is going to join forces with these folks for next year.   The blurb on GringoTree described it thus:  ~~~ The 8th Annual Latin Festival is Sunday July 22 at Parque El Paraiso. Singing and dancing groups from Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Ecuador will perform from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. In addition, there will be booths selling food from the participating countries. Admissions is free.~~~~

They had good entertainment, a loud puppet show, lots of hawkers and you could get your picture taken with a llama.  Kids were blowing bubbles everywhere.  I opted for a caricaturist for $2 and it was good for a laugh, especially to the hundreds watching….   The people were there from ARCA with lots of dogs to adopt.  I hope a few of those lovely animals found good homes.

I took a few videos, mostly of Colombian performers and strung them together.  It is long but you can fast-forward to catch pieces of different song and dance routines.  Here it is:  http://youtu.be/L72wnqptD3s

As I was walking out I saw two mounted policemen on fine steeds and then saw two pickup trucks with family seated in the box.  I got a shot of one group, but the other one had six people in the back, with room for six more.  This reminded me of Hobbema….

Enjoy the pics at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/.    That was today’s excitement.    Hugs to all.