We have heard several Cuencanans tell us that the weather here is unpredictable. We are starting to sing that same tune… We left the apartment for lunch around 11:30 this morning. The sky was clear and sunny, with some clouds far on the horizon. We figured it wouldn’t rain for several hours, so no need for umbrellas.
We walked a few blocks to Rincon del Mar — a small breakfast and lunch restaurant just around the corner from the laundromat we use. Instead of getting their almerzos, we decided to explore the menu and splurge. I had heard of chaulafan, a local specialty, and decided to try it for $4. We have also heard that the trout here is very fresh, coming from the National Park just a few miles from town, so Evelyn ordered the Trucha con Menestra (trout with mixed vegetables) for $4.50.
Wow! Those portions are HUGE! The chaulafan on the left was enough for 4 people — most of it is in our fridge now as leftovers (It is basically fried rice with chicken, shrimp and egg — same as the Chinese dish that Evelyn used to make before I took over cooking at home). Evelyn’s trout was fresh and the whole plate was delicious, again enough for at least 2 people though. Next time we will order one meal and split it…
I wonder how these restauants stay in business. The meals are so super cheap, and I walked past 5 restaurants within a couple blocks of our apartment — every one of which was completely empty. Rincon del Mar was also empty when we came in, though 3 other locals did arrive for lunch while we were there.
As we left the restaurant, I looked up and said to Evelyn “It will probably rain in about 4 hours.” We then headed out for her to show me a meat market and local specialty food store she had discovered while I was sick the first week. We spent about an hour walking and doing some light food shopping.
As we stepped out of the last market, we heard thunder and felt the first few drops of rain… and we were about a mile from home with no umbrella. Oops! I said we had to hustle, and stated that we would probably be drenched before getting home. Thunder rolled over us repeatedly as the skies darkened further.
And it never more than spit on us!? The dark clouds moved past, and the thunder gradually moved into the distance, and we reached home completely dry.
Either some Weather God is playing games with us, or the weather really is simply unpredictable here in Cuenca…
Evelyn went off to her Spanish classes in the afternoon, and I retuned to doing some software development for LeapFrog. Nice fresh salad for dinner at home, followed by watching a bootleg DVD of Contraband completed our day.