Our container was loaded today in Berkeley, and will now work its way towards our new home in Cuenca. It is both a relief, and a bit humbling to see everything we own fit in little more than half a 20 foot shipping container… Either way though, our life in Ecuador is starting to more […]
Earthquake!
I have lived in earthquake zones in California for most of my life. I have felt many quakes in that time, including the Loma Prieta quake of 1989 that did major damage in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tonight, sitting in my office in Cuenca, Ecuador, I felt the chair start to rock. I paused […]
Picky, picky, picky
We went to the Registro Civil to day to pick up our cedulas. We were told that it would take “maybe an hour or so.” Other gringos had told us to allocate all day. They were closer to the truth… Bureaucrats the world round appear more interested in creating and making jobs rather than serving people in any way […]
FotoClub Cuenca
I heard about the FotoClub Cuenca a few months ago, but between my crutches and the December holidays, tonight was the first time I was able to attend. I knew almost nothing about the group other than they are the Camera Club for Cuenca, and therefore my best chance of getting back into a photography […]
Frient
It is sometimes frustrating when I speak “perfect Spanish” and the other person looks at me like I’ve grown an extra head. I know I said it right… didn’t I? Well, today I had a little lesson on what it probably sounds like to the native speaker I am trying to communicate with. During parts […]
Another Brick in the Wall
The Cuenca Symphony had their first concert of the year tonight and, as always, it was free admission. This is a full size, professional symphony on caliber with any other city in the world. There were 54 musicians on stage, about half string and half horns. The program was varied, running from the classics of […]
Visa Indefinida
We got our resident visas today! We are now legal Ecuadorians! We were also told to pick up our cedulas a week from Friday, which will be the final document to complete our legal integration into Ecuador. The process took four hours today, and seems that it shouldn’t have taken more than an half hour. […]
Baptism Parade
Iglesia La Merced was the starting point for today’s parade celebrating the Baptism of Jesus Yet Another Parade is almost becoming a mantra around here. Seems every week (day?) we walk out the front door and find a parade under way or in the making. Today it happened again. After yesterday’s small parade and the […]
Fireworks and Parade – An Epiphany
Tonight I could see six separate fireworks shows going on at the same time from our condo office window. Though seeing fireworks is a common sight around this time of year, I think a record was set tonight! Sometimes walking around town, fireworks will suddenly erupt, as happened behind the Iglesia San Francisco Evelyn was […]
Cooking Shrimp (class)
I’ve commented several times about how many gourmet restaurants exist within a couple blocks of our condo. Today a new variation appeared — a gourmet cooking school! And yes, it is two blocks from our condo. Today was La Warmi’s first such class, but they promise to soon start doing such a class every day, […]