A few favorite pictures

This will be the last post for a while. Family matters will keep us busy for a few months; however, our next trip is in the works and we will be blogging from Italy - and just when I was getting a handle on Spanish.

I found out the second time I witnessed a net pull how the catch is divided. If you show up and pull you get some fish.
 Go ahead and click to enlarge pics. They are better full screen. (Next 3 pics by Helena Dusseljee)

Two little girls examine their bag of fish

Several stingray caught in the net are freed

OH NO! Not another picture at the point!

At Thanksgiving dinner Lordis, the attorney is on the phone again and hiding behind the potted plant

Vivi (Colombian) and Gary (German) decorating for Christmas

Yes, I did climb these stairs in Cuecna

And finally - the classic shot that sums up Ecuador

Valeri

Our stay in Cuecna was all the more enjoyable because of Valeri. We first met Valeri in Manta on our trip last spring. She had lived at Linda's while her condo was being finished and they became close friends. It was her Manta condo I referred to in a previous post. After our return to the States she moved to Cuecna.

 Val is a British/American expat with a droll humor, a sharp mind, and she is quite unwilling to let a perceptive comment go unspoken. Naturally our views on the world mesh seamlessly.

 We had dinner with her 3 of our 4 nights in Cuecua - each time allowing her to pick the restaurant. Every time was a gourmet experience enhanced by a classy, sophisticated dinner companion.

Walk through Cuecna

On our last full day of our two months in Ecuador we took a 2 dollar taxi ride to the Inca ruins on the other side of the city. After an interesting couple hours in the Pumapungo Museum we walked through the terraced ruins.

In one section we saw a collection of indigious birds including these parrots:

De Anne, the rentless walker, decided we should walk back to the heart of the old city. Her inticement for me was the final destination - a wonderful ice cream shop on the main square discovered the day before.
Scenes along the way:

Politician and his followers:

While enjoying my walking reward De Anne came up with a new plan. We would walk back to the river and follow it back to Bonnie's apartment. She offered me an out - I could catch a cab back; however, macho man that I am, I agreed to accompany her on foot, knowing I could hail a taxi anywhere in the city within 60 seconds should I feel close to expiring.
The way down to the river:

Four miles later she praised my perseverance while never complaining about the slow pace of my short, stubby legs.

The last 24 hours

Our final day in Ecuador was a bittersweet mix. Just as we were preparing to leave Cuecna Linda called with the sad news that her long-time friend Hank (pictured with his back to the camera in the Dec. 3rd blog entry) died of a massive heart attack. My picture five days earlier proved to be his last.

We had made a reservation for a van to take us back to Guayaquil, avoiding the bus for 2 reasons - memories of news stories about buses careening off roads in the Andes and the uncomfortable bus conditions on the ride to Cuecna.

In the van company waiting room we learned our van was being detained at a police checkpoint; however a taxi had been hired to take us and an Ecuadorian couple to Guayaquil. The bus ride from Guayaquil to Cuecna was just shy of 5 hours. The taxi driver following the maxim: "Time is money", made the return in two and a half hours. Most of that time was with all four of his wheels on the road, but seldom in his own lane. I believe - although unprovable - that he used my weight in the passenger seat as a counter balance on a few hairpin curves while allowing De Anne and the Ecuadorian couple in the sub-compact's back seat to become better acquainted, first on one side of the taxi then the other.

Our safe arrival at the airport was not the end of our fun. Standing in front of the immigration official we were informed we had overstayed our visa and the police were summoned. I was ready for this because a few weeks earlier I had noticed (after a prompting by an expat) that our passports were stamped with an expiration date of Dec. 4th. While pulling out my iPad which had my prepared speech about how their system was incorrect De Anne overheard the policeman say "this is why I hate Americans".

 After allowing us to cool our heels a while we were given back our now stamped passports and bid a bon voyage. We scampered out to the international concourse whispering jokes to each other about missing the accommodations afforded in third world jails.

Meanwhile, back in the USA, forces were marshaling to make our re-entry perfect. An on-time flight, a short immigration line and an officer who approached us before we were fully cued in line and escorted us to the flight crew check-in line for an instant entry. I am sure the reason must have been the shellacking I gave them months ago on my blog. The power of the press. As you can tell, I am proud of my humility.

Although we are home now I still have a couple stories to tell and a picture recap. Let us pretend the next couple posts are done from Ecuador.

 On the main square in Cuenca palms grow beside fir trees:

A mile and a half up

We arrived in Cuenca Monday evening after a slow and winding bus trip up the Andes mountains. The buses going the other way were zipping by. I anticipate the gravity assisted trip back to take about an hour less. Bonnie's apartment is quite nice and we are settled in. The guards already recognize us (or at least De Anne - a six foot blonde being cause for stares in Ecuador). We had dinner out with Bonnie and Val Monday night. Very upscale restaurant, dinners for four and a bottle of wine from Chile, recommended by the owner, all for $42.00. I am stocking up pictures for my return to the USA and high-speed Internet.

Puerto Lopez

We took a short trip down the coast to visit Puerto Lopez. Although we managed to visit a couple of Linda's friends there and have a lunch out the main purpose of the trip was to get rid of a dog.

 Linda has permanent dogs and transitional dogs. This was a street dog she rescued a couple weeks ago. People who want to see a dog rescued but not enough to sully their own hands call Linda and their consciences are salved. Linda rides to the rescue and makes the vet her first stop. She gets a volume discount for spay/neuter and then nurses the cat or dog back to health while trying to place it in a good home. Today's success story was a small shepherd mutt with a very good temperament.