Saturday, June 25, 2011

Wow, I'm actually going to get this posted on the correct date, after saying we're staying one day behind! Although it has been a full day, we decided to stay in tonight.  I have on my jacket and Jenny her robe; it was 60 degrees in Cuenca at 7:00 p.m. (last Weather Underground update) so now that the sun has been down for and hour and a half to two hours, it's colder now!  No heat in the rooms, probably anywhere!

Very early start to our day; we got up at about 5:45 to be ready to meet Gerard Tretton @ 6:15 for a trip to a couple of outdoor markets, one organic, the other no so.  The first was small and in what, to us, would be normally a vacant lot but used as a market on Saturdays.  To get the best produce, you must be early!  Forgot what it was called, but Gerard got us something that looked like a pancake, but not sweet and very good.  The second,  Centro Comercial Municipal el Arenal, was very big and had most everything one would want, including fruits, vegetables, meats, chickens, seafood, clothing, shoes, etc.  There was probably a few stolen items (watches, cell phones, etc.) as well!  Everything was in the open - no refrigerators for the meat!  That's why one goes early - to get the freshest meats, including 'cuy' (kinda like a guinea (sp?) pig.  I may try some later, when we get back to Quito; Jenny isn't that bold!

After the market, Gerard brought us back to the hostal but we hooked up again for lunch at the Kookaburra Cafe.  We met two expat couples; one lives here, the other is researching to possibly move here.  Karen and Randy Kimbler live here and are members of the FB expats group.  We enjoyed the food and fellowship.  We pretty much spent the rest of the day walking around, touring the city, including the square where the Corpus Christi festival is centered; amazing how different it was today - much quieter and a whole lot less congested!  For an afternoon snack, we had a different type of Empada - not like the 'authentic' ones we had in Tumbaco with Mike and Abby.  Jenny did get a complete manicure for $4.00 - yes, four dollars!  She said it wasn't the quality of those in the States so I reminded her this is Ecuador.  She showed them to our desk clerk; she said her fingers look very nice!  While she was getting her manicure, two boys, whose mothers work in the salon, and I taught each other our native language!

We made contact with Diane and Juan Moreno, members of the expat group.  Diane is originally from Minnesota; Juan is a native Cuencano (born in Cuenca).  They now have a home in Orlando Florida

I contacted two preachers of a Baptist Missionary church here, but the church is at camp so we will not be able to attend their services tomorrow morning.

Let us close by saying Gerard Tretton is a great expat and friend!  He has been sooooo helpful and accomodating to spend his time with us (of course, his wife is back in the States so he has nothing better to do! LOL). 

It's only 9:00 p.m., but Jenny is behind me on the bed, falling asleep. I guess the cool (she'd say cold!) fresh air and all the activities, especially walking, has worn her out!  Oh, and since the altitude here is around 7,650 feet, that probably affects us!

We have a busy day planned for tomorrow, with Diane and Juan so we'll report in tomorrow evening or Monday.

BTW,  if there are typos or misspelled words, please forgive me.  There appears to be a spell checker here, but when I click on it, everything highlights!  At least you can understand it (I hope!)

Ecuador is a great country and we're loving the experience!

Hasta luego!