[NOTE: Late Addendum] It is now just after 1AM, and the fireworks have started! I can see them over the tops of the houses in 2 different directions. Nobody we talked to knew when or where, but we apparently gave up many hours too soon. They were all over in about 5 minutes, but they […]
Dia de los Muertos
Dia de los Muertos is now over. It occurs on the second day of the extended Independence Day celebrations. Police presence in the city has been dramatically increased, with the newspapers explaining that they want to be sure no outside criminals come into town to prey on festival goers. I have seen no indication of […]
Cuenca Independence Begins!
Cuenca’s Independence Day is November 3, which is the day the city declared independence from Spain in 1820 (Quito had declared in August and Guayaquil in October earlier that same year). This is such a major celebration here that it actually covers 4 days — from November 1 through November 4 each year. Today started […]
Walking Off the Shakes
Both Evelyn and I have worn pedometers every day for the past couple years, egging each other to get out and walk for exercise. It has helped my weight (though less than I would have liked), my blood pressure and my cholesterol. It has cost me nothing but a few bucks for the meter and […]
Random Walk Through Cuenca, Eduador
Now that we have been in Cuenca, Ecuador for a week, we are starting to settle in and our initial routine is taking shape. I came down with a 24-hour flu last night, and have barely able to get out of bed most of today. I thought this might be a good time to take […]
[Art + Food] Vampire’s Bite At Sofy’s Orchard
Benigno Malo 5-72 y Juan Jaramillo Even more than most, Sofy’s Orchard is a hard-to-find restaurant. If we had not had that address in hand when looking for this new restaurant, we would have ended up eating elsewhere. We walked past it twice before counting off the address and found where it must be, finally […]
[Food] Eucalyptus Cafe (Cuenca)
I was originally thinking of writing a post for every restaurant we ate at here in Cuenca, Ecuador. It very quickly became clear that would really need a separate food/restaurant blog, and that it would not really be very interesting to most people. Instead, I will try to create a post only for the really […]
[Food] Mate de Coca — Cocaine For Altitude Sickness
Cuenca is at 8,200 ft elevation. When we were young, we skied at that altitute all Winter. Now, it is more of a challenge to walk 5 miles of hilly city at that altitute. Breath sometimes comes a bit too fast, or the head is a little too light after standing up quickly. Cocaine to […]
Homeless in Cuenca, Ecuador!
We flew from San Francisco to Guyaquil, Ecuador today, to start our new 3-month adventure in Ecuador. The American Airlines flights to Miami, and then to Ecuador were both on time and smooth, though completely booked. Other than the lack of onboard food, it wasn’t much different from the hundred+ other similar flights we have […]