Friends

Just a word about friends.  True friends are a treasure, God's gift.  Rachel and I each had friends before we got married but the friends we've shared here in Ecuador transcend our prior experiences because of need.  I truly believe it is about sharing a unique life experience that you couldn't describe to anyone who hasn't lived here.  There are just certain knowings that become part of your everyday venacular that could not be understood unless you have struggled to communicate in another language (let alone another culture)  walked the streets, eaten at the local cafes, shopped for corvina at Feria Libre, looked for a three prong electrical adapter at a ferreteria, or jumped on the wrong bus.  It's not like we've been to war together, but we became a brother/sisterhood.  Together, we've learned to deal with things and adapt.  We remind each other why we came here when the homesick bug hits or when we've had one too many mananas.  For those we left behind in Cuenca, just know we cherished the time we had with you and look forward to your visit to the Imbabura.  Mi casa su casa.

For our special Ecuadorian friends that helped out when you didn't need to, we thank you.  You are surely angels sent from God.  Thank you Xavier, Galo, Francisco,  Jose,  Juan, Noshy, Eduardo, Paul, Wilson, Nellie and all the rest of you that reached out with humanity to us gringos.  We love you. 

Uhzupud, Paute, Biblian

Our friends Jim and Angie Barnes are always ready to go on another adventure.  We're really going to miss having them take us on their mini-odysseys around Azuay.   Our adventure on Saturday was the Iglesia de Biblian, a hike up a mini-mountain, and a wonderful meal at the Uhzupud resort in Paute.  

The pictures above and below really doesn't give justice to the visceral response we had when looking over the sheer edge of the cliff we were on.  Two thousand free fall feet below were the villages of Biblian and Paute.  One difference between Ecuador and North America is the lack of safety measures along hiking trails.  There are no guard rails or warnings. You're just supposed to have a little common sense.  One little sllip and you are an instant goner, common sense or not.  Anyway, the view was spectacular even with a little drizzle.

Next stop was Iglesia de Biblian, a unique church built into the face of a cliff.  It was a day of climbing trails along sheer cliffs and hundreds of steps up to to an ancient sanctuary.  The picture below shows the church and the mini-mountain we were climbing right and center.

Actually it wasn't that ancient, circa 1895.  I will say however that it was a bit of an engineering marvel to construct this place of worship in such a precarious foundation. 

In the picture above you can see the wall of the iglesia merging with the vertical wall of the cliff.

Inside the sanctuary you are reminded that you are in a building clinging to the face of a cliff.  The raw face of rock forms the backdrop to the alter.

I'm not sure this church would pass the standards of access for the disabled in the United States.  None the less we saw 85 year old women holding vigil in the sanctuary.  The human spirit is an amazing thing, especially when guided by The Spirit.

Ecuador is a developing country, so when you find a little oasis of opulence you are at first taken aback by the stark contrast to everyday living here.  The resort of Uhzupud is such an oasis.      http://www.uzhupud.com/espanol.html    As a rule hostels, hosterias, and hotels typically don't have such things as a heated swimming pool, tennis courts, volley ball courts, outdoor table tennis, stables, and waiters in white jackets.  Uhzupud has it all and their food was delicious.  People more or less have to know how to find it however. Your regular tourist passing through Cuenca would never hear about it or find it.  You have to be here for a while and then you hear rumors of Shangri La in Paute.  Even then you might find a bridge out and have to get creative about how you get there.  Then again, Jim Barnes is a creative driver and missing bridges are merely an invitation to another adventure.  I'm sorry I didn't get pictures, but use your imagination.

I even got to go for a little ride on one of their mounts.  To be honest, any day I'm on a horse is a very good day indeed.  Thank you Jim and Angie Barnes for a delightful day together.  We will miss you so much and are looking forward to your coming to see us in Cotacachi.  I'm pretty sure we'll have plenty of fodder for new adventures when you get there!

Saying Goodbye to Cuenca and Hello to Cotacachi

For those of you who wonder why this blog has been on hiatus, I’ll try to explain.  Rachel and I are leaving Cuenca and some very dear friends behind.  I think I’ll devote another blog to the friends.

 Along with the stresses of waiting for our resident’s visas that we applied for last November, selling our condo, wondering about the construction of our new home in Cotacachi in our absence, packing and preparing for our move, we’ve simply just had a lot on our plates.  We’ve almost forgotten how and why we became Gringcanos (gringo Cuencanos) in the first place.  

It seems like every day we meet new Norte Americanos and hear their stories about how and why they came to Cuenca.  If you’ve been reading about life in the Andes of Ecuador you already know the reasons.  I often refer to ‘the C’s’ of Attraction:  Climate, Cost of Living, Culture.  For those who may need an explanation, you can ‘dial in’ your perfect climate here.  Pick your favorite daily high temperature then find the elevation where it exists.  We found our perfect climate between 7 and 8 thousand feet.  Cuenca and Cotacachi both fit that range; eternal spring, no furnace or AC needed.  Maybe you’ll find your Nirvana temperature at sea level on the coast. 

 The cost of living attraction is obvious.  A couple can live on a thousand per month here.

 The culture thing is a bit more ‘out there’.  Just think about living in a Latin Norman Rockwell moment.  Maybe that’s why Ecuador appeals to us 60 somethings.   We remember and long for those days of simple living.

That isn’t to say that life is perfect here!  It’s just better for us than any place we’ve ever been.  There are things about the culture here that will at first be annoying if not maddening.  Shed your type-A personality and you’ve got a good shot.  Life in general just moves a little less purposefully here.  Lose your watch and your calendar and live a day at a time.  There’s not much planning in Ecuador.  There isn’t as much stress either unless of course you are trying to change that. 

So why leave Cuenca for Cotacachi you ask? 

We gave this question a lot of thought and soul searching before we made our decision to sell our condo and build a house in the Imbabura.  It is truly a matter of personal preferences like choosing your favorite weather.  Some like the hustle and bustle of a vibrant and cosmopolitan city.  They want world class medical services, modern grocery stores and malls, free and abundant cultural events.  Cuenca is for you!

Rachel and I grew up close to the soil.  If there’s dirt under our fingers and sweat on our brow, we’re happy.  A calf sucking its mother in the middle of the road warms our heart.  We prefer pan pipes to salsa and Latino hip hop.  Buying vegetables and fruits at the open market is the Rockwellian moment that we savor.   Bicycling through the countryside without the diesel belching Blue Angels of Death (BAD buses) trying to smash you is like eating your lunch in a no smoking restaurant.  It’s just plain healthier. 

Many people come to Cotacachi and leave after a week claiming, “There’s nothing to do!”  I appreciate that, but then again both Rachel and I remember some of the pre-TV era when you read, visited your neighbors, worked in the garden, had Bible study, played cards, rode your bicycle or your horse and made a lot of popcorn every night.   Will I tire of riding my bike a mile and a half to the market?  No way.  It will just get a little slower.   Will we miss the nights out for the free concerts?  Maybe, but Cotacachi IS the music capital of Ecuador.    World class medical services are an hour and a half away in Quito.  To live your life around a possible heart attack seems a bit backwards to me.  Rachel and I have decided to take our chances and live for today.  We ride bicycles around traffic circles in Cuenca for crying out loud.  Besides, there’s a new independent/assisted living/skilled nursing facility going up in Cotacachi.  Even Cuenca doesn’t have that!

That leaves only one discussion point for us.  We will surely miss our good friends here in Cuenca.  We have shared much laughter, some tears, and wonderful adventures with them.  They know our hearts and we theirs.  God willing we will find new friends in the Imbabura, but our old ones from Cuenca will always have a special place in our hearts and a spare bedroom in Yanapamba.

Riding Bicycle in Cuenca Ecuador

Rachel and I have survived nearly a year of riding our bicycles in heavy traffic in Cuenca, Ecuador and every day we love it a little more.  It is a convenient, healthy exercise that gets you where you are going nearly as fast and in some cases faster than any other means of public transportation.  We have written numerous times of our adventures on bicycle here but I've never given my readers a 'how to' guide.  Please click the link below and if you have time, please comment on the Suite 101 site so that I can have some feedback.  Thanks!!!

http://www.suite101.com/content/bicycling-in-cuenca-ecuador-a383105

Sig Sig

If you're in to World's Record this or that, try this Panama Hat on for style.  It's in Sig Sig Ecuador.  That's right, Panama hats are made in Ecuador!

We had a great day with Jim and Angie Barnes exploring the countryside around Sig Sig. We stepped back in time about 100 years.   Rachel and Angie scored some nice hats.   I wrote about it in Suite 101.  Please click the link below.


http://www.suite101.com/content/worlds-largest-panama-hat-in-ecuador-a383246

Young People in Ecuador

I was picking up a few things in Super Maxi the other day. You always run into gringos in Super Maxi. It's like flies and honey. We're the flies. We also enjoy exchanging pleasantries in our familiar tongue. We talk about our latest adventures, challenges, and joys. Mostly we run into young-old people our own age (50-75) and the connection is immediate, the brotherhood of norteamericanos in Ecuador. When we run into young-young gringos we get especially excited. We already know this is a wonderful place to come to spend your mature years, but what about your young-young years? So here is this happy couple carefully and frugally selecting some items not found in the open markets. The young man is wearing an OU (Oklahoma Sooners) cap. Anyone wearing a cap from the Big 12 Conference is already my friend, so I quickly anticipated a conversation about how many touchdowns the Sooners would kill my Cyclones with this year. Also, Rachel is a home-bred Oklahoman from Sapulpa, a small town outside Tulsa, so I thought it might be interesting to see if there were some common threads somewhere. It turns out Ryan was from Omaha but his wife Molly is from Oklahoma. I ask her "What city?", and she reveals that she is from Tulsa. I said "Wow, my wife is from Tulsa....well Sapulpa actually". Then there's this deer-in-the-headlight look from Molly. "I'm from Sapulpa!!!!" Pretty soon we find out she was born in the hospital (St. Johns) where Rachel was for many years a neo natal nurse. Molly's father is a good friend of an OBGYN doctor there that Rachel knows really well. It's old home week for Rachel and Molly and Rachel isn't even there! We chat for a while in disbelief and I promise that Rachel will connect with them in an email and we'll go from there. The picture above is from the encounter of Molly and Ryan's visit to our home. Rachel fixed a great meal of camerones (shrimp) and pasta and we enjoyed each other's fellowship, friendship, and the spirit of living in Ecuador.

What struck us about Molly and Ryan was that they weren't here for the economical living, the wonderful climate, or the beautiful countryside. They were here to immerse in Spanish and absorb the latin culture, to live in their hearts. They teach English to the locals and make ends meet on the wages. Their young increasingly wealthy friends and peers in the US are living the American dream.....well at least those with a job. For those it may be the American nightmare. They are gaining material wealth and are in the rat race of expensive cars, expensive homes, designer jeans, lattes, high taxes, and big debt. Not Molly and Ryan. They live within their means and their means isn't big. They are growing in experience of other world cultures and language. They are getting incredibly rich even if Paine Webber doesn't think so. They are helping others, stepping on no toes, living a responsible and Christian life. God Bless you Molly and Ryan. Welcome to Ecuador.

Too Good to be True?

Those of you who have been to Cotacachi and know that Rachel and I fell in love with it some time ago will immediately recognize the photo above to be the main church in Cotacachi with Mt. Cotacachi in the background.  Rachel took this photo on the terrace on top of La Cuadra Hostel where we are spending our short stay here.  To be honest with you, our readers, I have been so overwhelmed by the events that have happened in the last couple weeks that I can hardly contain myself, let alone put it into print.  I'm almost afraid that if I put it in print, the dream that Rachel and I have been dreaming for some months is just a dream and will go away with the ink!  In short, our condominium in Cuenca has sold, and we are building a house in Cotacachi!!!  For us, the first thing had to happen before the second was possible.  We let Miguel Mora (our developer/contractor) know back in January that we wanted to build in his development, Yana Pamba.  Miguel is a businessman and a good one at that, but he gave us a lot of lattitude to realize our dream.  He could have easily said "Go sell your house and then we'll talk", but instead he immediately went to his architect, Patricio Galarza and started working on plans to adapt our dream to a drawing.  This is called faith without a downpayment.  I met Miguel Mora a year and a half ago and knew he was special then, but didn't know at that time that he would one day build our house for us!  Heck, I didn't even know I'd be married to Rachel back then!  Things seem to move fast when you're 60.  One minute I'm an unhappy banker in Iowa and the next I'm married to the woman of my dreams and we're building a house together in Cotacachi Ecuador!  I knew God was good, but he's laid out the carpet for us to be here.  Now I guess we'll find out why.

Three days ago we became friends with Steve and Rebecca who were staying with us in La Cuadra.  We asked them if they'd like to see where we're building at Yana Pamba.  Steve and Rebecca had come to Ecuador to do a 'sniff test', not to look for a place to build.  Today they leave for the US, are putting their home on the market, and God willing will be building on one of the last lots available in Yana Pamba!  In the picture above they are looking out the front porch of the first completed home with Patricio Galarza, the architect looking on.  Patricio just happened to be inspecting the house builds while we arrived on the scene and took some time to point out his attention to detail in the builds.  It doesn't take a salesman, it takes quality work to sell homes.  We hope that our new friends Steve and Rebecca will also be our new neighbors in Cotacachi.

We were in Otavalo on Saturday, market day.  If you've ever been to Otavalo on Saturday you know there are thousands of people in the market and finding anyone on purpose there is like the proverbial needle in the haystack hunt.  Just how we ran into Rick and Eve Casto, our special friends from Vilcabamba is as Rick would state was purely a Godcidence.  For those uncomfortable with a spiritual explanation, think serendipity.  We know which it was.  Rick and Eve were on their way to the US for a three month vacation and family visit.  They manage the beautiful Terra Madre resort in Vilcabamba where we met them 10 months ago before we were even married.  You'll remember our infamous horseback ride in the mountains there!  Since that time in Vilcabamba Rick and Eve have visited us several times in Cuenca where we play cards, triominos, and tell lots of tall (but truthful) tales.  To hear their voices in the Otavalo market behind a stack of alpaca scarves was just amazing.  We were both a long way from home!  They have always blessed our life and our love and this time was no different.  After some really great hugs Rick and Eve immediately changed their plans to stay in Otavalo and instead joined us back at La Cuadra in Cotacachi where we spent a couple lovely days with them.  This morning they left for Quito and on to Washington state where they will have a reunion with their Harley Davidson.  We will miss them but know that they will be visitors of ours in Cotacachi when our house is complete.

I find it interesting that some people come to Cotacachi and are bored in one week.  The rest of us think we have died and gone to heaven.  We continue to find things to do and places to go.  Many of the places to go can be done over and over without any loss of wonderment.  Two days ago we went to Chachimbiro, a little village about an hour from here where they have wonderful natural hot springs.

I happened to have had a really sore back from a sprain.  I couldn't straighten up.  No Rachel didn't beat me up.  I'm not sure what I did, but life isn't the greatest when you walk like a 90 year old man.  One day in the hot springs and I'm pleased to report that I'm feeling just a shade over 40 again.  The weather in Chachimbiro is just a shade warmer than Cotacachi and we all got a little toasted under the Andean sun, but it was worth it.  The pools are arranged in such a way that as you go higher (closer to the hot water source) the hotter the water temperature is.  There is also a cold water pool next to the hottest pool where you can shock your system like the Polar Bear club.  I think it's supposed to be healthful to do that, though I'm not reading any studies on that matter.  I will report however that my back is feeling great and if I had a cardiac arrest, it was very short lived.

On the way back we stopped for some sugar cane juice, a local favorite.  It was very delicious.  They had this really loveable donkey yoked to a mill and they threw a stalk of cane into the mill and squeezed out a glassful of juice. The donkey got to eat the remaining squeezed cane.  Note that he is rather plump. Now that's entertainment!  For all of you who report about being bored in the Imbabura, eat your heart out.

Then a little farther down the road we found the quintessential Ecuadorian approach to motherhood in play.  We have found that mothers here put their baby first in those formative years.  When the babies want love and milk, they get love and milk.  It pays great dividends when the babies turn into 4 year olds.  The 4 year olds here don't whine and complain like most of their US counterparts.  The same theory holds for bovines here as well.  When it's time for some milk it doesn't matter what part of the road you're standing on.  It's time for milk.