Two and half years ago, in November 2012, we attempted to visit the animal market in Cañar, which is 70 km NE of Cuenca at 10,400 ft elevation, and is supposed to be the largest such market in Southern Ecuador. Unfortunately, our driver that day did not understand what we wanted, and by the time we […]
Symphonic Fly Fishing
I have fished exactly once in my life, in the 1970’s using lures on the Deschutes river in Oregon. There is a story behind that one episode, but that would be a diversion here. For the last couple years in Cuenca, I have heard periodically about a local fishing guide that teaches fly fishing. I […]
Patricia and The Big Rat
We finished our month in Argentina with four days at the Estancia Don Joaquin (Estancia is what they call a working ranch in Argentina) in Esquina. Though fairly close to Iguazu Falls, the only way we could reach it was to fly to Buenos Aires, and then take an overnight luxury sleeper bus. Though the […]
Poor Niagara!
We recently completed a three day visit to the Argentina side of Iguazu Falls. The falls span an area of 1.7 miles wide, and sits on the border between Brazil and Argentina. When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt first saw the falls, she is reported to have said “Poor Niagra!” There are actually approximately 275 waterfalls […]
Toro!
For decades, we have wanted to see a bullfight. Not that I endorse cruelty to animals, but I do like seeing different cultures and their customs (the USA ain’t the arbiter of morality to the world…). Though we have been in Mexico at least 50 times, plus to Spain and other Latin American countries, but […]
Approaching Our First Year Anniversary in Cuenca
Hard to believe, but we are only a couple days short of our one year anniversary of moving to Ecuador and starting our lives as a retired couple. So much has happened in this past year that it is hard to get my head around it. I find I go back and reread my […]
Cuy, Family Style
Back in the USA, they are called guinea pigs and kept as pets. Here they are called cuy and are a gourmet feast most often served for special occasions and celebrations. We were invited to a special cuy dinner by Gloria, Evelyn’s Spanish teacher, last night for a night of feasting, music… and Spanish. Only one member of the […]
A Free Lunch
Whoever said there is no such thing as a free lunch was obviously not thinking of blue footed boobies around a fisherman’s catch! The boobies would stand around the crates of fish being brought in by fishermen. As soon as the men turned their backs (with only a couple exceptions, they were all men), the […]
Everglades Airboat
This afternoon we drove from Miami to Naples, across the Florida Everglades. Along the way, we stopped at Buffalo Tiger’s Everglades Airboat tours. We have seen these airboats periodically on TV and in the movies, and this was our chance to see what they were like to ride. This tour guide had the highest rating […]
Rockets, Dancing, Waffles and Birds
Before we get into today’s adventures, I thought I would give a quick rundown of the progress of my broken ankle. I have been free of any crutches or cane for three weeks now, and can walk unassisted. Progress the first couple weeks was so fast that I thought I would be walking fully normally […]