Dean And Bills Adventure

House in Cuenca with furniture and artwork up, some of you asked for these. Here they are!

2011-04-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, we are pretty well settled now and we have hung the art, which several of you wanted to see up and we have done the front yard with Ecuadorian plants. See above.

If we owned an auto this is where it would be parked. At the entrance of the house.

Standing in the front door looking into the living room. Be sure to notice the ceilings.

Living room, small but very cozy looks out to the garden. My secret garden.

Other side of the living, many of you will recognize the "big mirror" we have been schlepping around for years.

Looking from back of Living Room up the staircase. The tryptich is on right.

Headed straight up the stairs. The window is our bedroom, which was added after the house was built, so it was originally an outside window, now it looks into my staircase, a great setup.

Somewhat closer view of the trio.

The "Elvis Angel Choir" is singing on the staircase, daily. So named by Stef my little SIS, so clever. The lead angel looks like Elvis, most of the angels are Mexican in origin.

Looking us while taking the turn on the stairs. Nana Dean and Sophie Heine masterpiece is at upper left of this group.

Upstairs landing hallway outside second bath and two guest rooms. Check out the light coming in, we have three skylights on the second floor, floods the house with light.

Yes, Clive has adjusted as you can see him on the Aunt Jane Bench in the hallway looking into the den where we watch TV.

Second floor landing view, looking at our bedroom window, Linda remember when we bought that kimono? One Lafayette Square House Tour poster to left of window.

Front bedroom, come on down, the mattress is great. Purchased in Ecuador.

Bill's little studio where he spends hours, wails, sings, composes and has the time of his life. I love being in the house and listening for him to turn into a rocker.

Guest bathroom, where the cats have been playing with the TP.

Back guest bedroom overlooking the courtyard terrace.

Other side of back guest bedroom, big window overlooks the courtyard terrace. You can see I have a project getting organized on the bottom of the bed.

This is proof that Mr. Reggie has adjusted, he is laying on our bed. Head board is the frame from the foyer of Kennett Place. I painted a fantasy of the Caja Mountains (our mountains here, with St. Louis in the background.) The yellow brick road goes to STL where a piece of my heart will always be. The tin man is leading the way. The bare light bulb is a testimony to the fact that this is what is found in most Ecuadorian houses. We are slowly putting up light fixtures as we find them. Not an easy task.

Den where we watch TV. Citicorp cartoons on wall at left. Wooden doors reflected in mirror is Bill's closet, which he never closes as you can see.

I am at my dining room room table, quilting. Yes, I am teaching myself to quilt after all these years. Some of you know how much I love an excuse to buy fabric. The various plastic chairs are testimony to the good dining room chairs that did not make it on. Just last week we ordered new ones to be delivered in May.

Looking from the other end of the dining room into the back courtyard/terrace.

One wall of dining room, with Ella Mae Krotz Memorial buffet, yes Richard that is a reflection of the print of your painting of the St. Louis Skyline, such a treasure.

Looking from the dining room into the kitchen. Buffet on left is being fitted with a piece of granite and built higher for me to chop and stir on. The tall woman can't bend over to the short Ecuadorian ladies height.

One end of courtyard/terrace looking at the door of my art studio.

View of terrace outside kitchen window.

Table and umbrella just outside the back door on terrace.

Bill's work shop.

My studio with a work in progress and a big finished one waiting for a friend's new condo to be finished so it can be hung in the stairwell.


Looking out the dining room front window toward the street: Calle Valle de Catamayo. We are settled and love our house. We have a great landlord, a Ecuadorian businesswoman whose family has an export business, they bring fruits and vegs to the states, via San Fransisco. We are here for the duration having the time of our lives. Hugs to all. Dean Keyes

Update on Fundraising Efforts to help 7 year old Mateo and his family

2011-04-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

We want to keep those of you who are followers up to date on our effort to help Mateo and his family. You will remember that Mateo is a 7 year old boy whose leg was mangled by a public bus when he was 4 years of age. His family is poor and lives in the hills above Cuenca. While we were working with his caregivers, doctors, hospital auxiliary volunteers to help with his care, we learned that the family's house had collapsed in a violent rain storm. Thus, we started raising monies to assist with this worthy cause.

We have held a bingo game, we have published this blog and a similar blog on my husband and my personal blog. We have been very fortunate to acquire an anonymous donor in the U. S. This donor will match dollar for dollar each dollar that we raise up to $2,000. So at this point CEBA/Cuenca Expatriate Benevelent Association has raised $650.00 between our internet efforts and our fund raising efforts here in Cuenca. That amount will be matched by the anonymous donor, bringing the total to today April 2, 2011 to $1300.00 so far. Many thanks to those of you who have donated or participated in the bingo or "hat pass" here in Cuenca.

Our primary contact with the family is a volunteer from the hospital auxiliary. She along with an Ecuadorian architect and Bill Keyes, my husband a retired civil engineer have been out to the house last week. The architect has compiled a list of building materials needed to complete the new house up to the second floor. Remember this house had started being built before the old one collapsed. Our Ecuadorian contact has gotten materials donated which include, concrete blocks, sacks of concrete and sand. The husband of the family is in construction and has indicated that he has help to rebuild if we can provide the materials. This is the plan at this time. In the next 7-10 days a truck will deliver materials mentioned above that have been donated or purchased with CEBA donations to the building site. Then we will document the progress of these materials as the house is built and keep you updated. We thank you again for your kind donations. Stay tuned to this blog for further updates. For those of you who might like to make a contribution, you can do this at: pay pal address: ceba.ecuador@yahoo.com.

Cuenca Expats Benevolent Association

2011-03-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

Along with some friends we recently formed this Foundation and this is our first blog for it. For future updates of the Foundation you can find it at this link..

http://ceba-ecuador-2011.blogspot.com/

This blog is being posted by the Cuenca Expatriate Benevolent Association, CEBA. This is a recently established not for profit organization formed by North Americans living in Cuenca, Ecuador. The purpose of the organization is to be a catalyst for identifying worthwhile causes and helping out where we can, in our newly adopted home city of Cuenca. Cuenca is a beautiful city in the Andean Mountains of Ecuador.

In the beautiful mountains outside Cuenca lives a family of 10 who need our help. This mother and father (father works full time in the construction business) with 8 children live on a small plot of land they own. Until recently they lived in a small adobe brick house that was many years old. In a recent rain storm the house collapsed and consequently the family has had to relocate to a neighbors. They do not want to leave their land since they need to care for their animals which include: 2 cows, sheep, goats, chickens. They used to have a bull but they sold it to raise money to help with their son Mateo's medical costs.

Mateo is 7, when he was 4 he was hit by a public bus and his leg was almost severed from his body. A Cuban doctor here in Cuenca reattached the leg and is seeing Mateo, free of charge every two weeks as he adjusts the metal brace that helps Mateo's crushed leg grow at the same pace as his good leg. At this time Mateo is not ambulatory. But, he is working toward that and with our help we hope to be able to report that he will be after some tender loving care. This TLC is dispensed by his mother and father and siblings to him daily. It is a very lovely caring family who are very happy with their life and show it daily.

As you can see this indigenous family are hard working and have very little compared to the life of Americans and most Ecuadorians. The Cuenca Expatriate Benevolent Association has decided that the first project of this newly formed not for profit foundation will be to help Mateo's family get back on

their feet and hopefully get some rehab and education for Mateo to aid his recovery from this devastating bus accident.

Cuenca Expatriate Benevolent Association has already started raising money to assist this family. We are also working with a very generous community leader who is part of the local hospital axillary who is helping this family, also. CEBA is donating the proceeds from our weekly Gringo Bingo game to the family of Mateo, but we are coordinating with the Doctor and the rehab efforts to be sure what is being given is going to the families needs.

We would ask you to consider a donation on behalf of Mateo and his family. You can send your donations via PayPal to

our Paypal account

ceba.ecuador@yahoo.com

Below are photos of the family and the house that needs attention since the rain/hail storm.

This is a view of the valley and the house before the house collapsed.

Mateo's family keeps animals to help maintain the family as well as to sell eggs and chickens to make money.

The is the little cat that Mateo was so worried about as the house collapsed. He did not want to leave until he knew his gato was safe.

Their are a total eight children in the family. Only four of them live at home. Mateo is in the red shirt with his right arm raised. Momma has on the grey hat and her name is Francisca.

This is a close up of Mateo's injured left leg.

This is a close up of Mateo who spends lots of time in bed because he is not yet ambulatory.

This photo was taken just after his accident three years ago.


This is another photo of the family with the big brother and his child, who live elsewhere. At left is Monica Flores who is liaison for the family with our foundation. She is a local Cuenca business woman and member of the hospital auxillary that serves Mateo's needs.

Old house on left, new house on right. The family had started building the new house prior to the collapse of the one on the left.


This shows the old house after it collapsed. Mateo's father has already begun salvaging materials that can be reused. It is our focus to concentrate our help to finish the new house for the family. Mateo's father will also finish the remains of the old house into a one story structure that the family can use, also.

Close up of collapsed house, that was a two story structure.

Francisca with youngest child.

Salvaged roof tiles from the old house.

These are Mateo's parents and his youngest sister, in front of the house where they are staying temporarily.

Any donation you can make will be helpful. Over the next few weeks we will be compiling list of Mateo's various needs and will post how much they will cost.

CEBA is a joint venture of both concerned Expats and Cuencanos. Our efforts will be focused on fundraising and our Cuencano friends will help getting materials and labor for projects like this one and also help in deciding which projects we will fund.

Pase Del Ninos 12-24-10 Cuenca Ecuador

2010-12-27T05:32:00.000-08:00

Here is a youtube link for a slide show video of the Pase Del Ninos parade and procession that is held on Christmas Eve. It was started in 1961 and is the largest procession of its kind in Ecuador. The floats which vary in size from just a car to big flat bed trucks are done by mostly local citizens with whatever that have and can afford to do. But the children all dressed up in their clothes (as we used to say going to church clothes) and costumes is what it is all about. It starts about 10 AM and goes all day until early evening. It normally doesnt rain this time of year but it has every day this December, but Mother Nature held off and the rain did not start until the procession was almost over.

Here is the link.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoOfNph2m7c

BTW the music is one of my original compositions

Enjoy!!!

Christmas at The Delorace Flores Flores School Near Cuenca Ecuador

2010-12-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

Giving to others especially those less fortunate then most of us any time, always brings a warm feeling to your heart. Giving at Christmas is especially rewarding. However sometimes one has an experience that transcends all of this and is something that you will always remember for your whole life. I had such an experience yesterday.

It all began about 6 weeks ago when some friends of ours became aware of a school near Cuenca way up in the mountains accessible only by dirt roads, that was having problems with their water supply. Upon investigating our friends found that the outflow pipe from their cistern which is high on a hill that supplied water for cooking and for toilets was blocked so no water flowed. So they decided to see what could be done to repair the blocked pipe. A plumber was found who upon inspecting the problem said he could fix it for $480. At a Thanksgiving dinner at the California Kitchen a local restaurant run by Americans over $700 was raised mostly by "gringos" as we are called. When a question was raised about what to do with the extra money, we found out that neither the parents of the children of the school or the school (about 120 kids in grades up to 7th) did not have any funds to give them any kind of Christmas party. So a plan was conceived to give each child a sack of candy and also some school supplies likes pencils etc and some jump ropes and a soccer ball at a Christmas party. So a date was set was set to get the plumbing fixed and then take the candy etc to the school and give it to the children. We did not expect it to be any big deal but we were in for a surprise.

Since yesterday was the last Sunday before Christmas many churches big and small have colorful processions celebrating the birth of Jesus on this Sunday.

So early yesterday morning we went by bus and a truck called a mixto which is used for hauling things to a town called El Valle. There we met some people associated with the school and we rented another truck and proceeded up a one lane pot hole filled road to the school. The sky was blue the air was fresh as we climbed about 1500 feet above Cuenca to almost 10,000 feet. The scenery along the way was breath taking and reminded us of being in the Swiss Alps.

After about 20 minutes we came upon a group of people who as it turned out were from the school and had walked over 2 miles to meet us and escort us back to the school. Many people were in costume especially the children and we found out that this was to be the Christmas procession to the church which was also on the school grounds and they wanted us to be a part of it. We were not in the least expecting such a warm reception and felt honored and humbled that they wanted us to be a part of their cultural tradition.

So the procession got organized which included Mary on a horse a truck leading it with Christmas music playing, and we walked behind it down the hill stopping occasionally for other vehicles to pass. A man occasionally would set off fireworks to announce our journey. It was a joyous, heart warming and humbling experience to walk with these simple people through the beautiful land they lived in and lived on. We saw crops they cultivated, animals the raised and fed and many very humble dwellings which they called home. Since it rains a lot this time of year a sudden down pour would have surely put a damper on this procession but they sky remained blue with only a few clouds.

Upon arriving at the school which was set upon a hill nothing fancy just classrooms, a cocina (kitchen) and big plaza which served as a gathering place and also for volley ball and soccer. At one end of the plaza was a small church higher upon a hill.

We went first to see the repaired cistern which the people proudly showed us and also how the water was flowing to the cocina and the bathrooms.

Then it was announced that before we handed out the candy and school supplies the children wanted to perform for us. Over the next 20 minutes they had sack races and and two musical chair races one boys and one girls. We laughed and cheered with all the parents and others watching the ninos. There was music provided by some young men who brought in sound equipment and played all kinds of upbeat music including some rap and hip hop as well as traditional western Christmas music and Latin music like Feliz Navidad.

Then the children were all gathered hand in hand in a circle and they began to dance and go around and around, and to the delight of those watching and those of us who had quickly become children again ourselves, we joined in and has more fun then we probable have had for years.

Then we passed out the treats. We did not have the children come to us. We went to each one and gave them their sacks. Each one sometimes shyly would thank us and give us those sweet smiles with those big black eyes that melted our hearts.

Then it was time for them to feed us. We sat at the tables the children eat at and were served a traditional Ecuadorian fare of chicken rice potatoes lettuce and surprise! roast guinea pig. For drink we had good ole Coca Cola.

Of course the whole scene was some what unorganized and chaotic but it didnt matter. What mattered was the love fellowship kindness and caring that we were surrounded with.

We wished we could stay and be kids again forever but we had to become adults again and do adult things, but for a few short hours we had an incredible experience which we will never forget.

Pictures of Our New Digs in Cuenca

2010-12-03T13:13:00.000-08:00

This is the name of the street we have moved to. It is centrally located one block south of the Tomebamba Rio. This tile is on the wall of our compound.

The tile featured in the above photo is at the upper right corner of our wall. The is the front view off the street.

This is the front yard, which Bill has big plans for. He will make it bloom!

The front door. Still have some moving items in the portico.

Looking straight in the front door. You can see the little Christmas tree and part of the Angel Choir I do every Christmas.

This is the living room. Notice the ornate ceiling. It looks like the old 20th century tin ceiling, but it is made of plaster. They still produce them today and use them liberally.

Another view of the Living Room.

Back of the living room looking toward the kitchen.

Staircase to the second floor, we have not hung any art in the staircase yet, it will require a ladder which we will have to borrow or acquire. Below left is a view to the left of the staircase into the half bath on the first floor.

Just inside the kitchen at the back of the living room, looking into the dining room.

Galley kitchen which is my favorite, since the Adlon kitchen. Some of you will remember that kitchen.

Looking into the dining room from the kitchen.

Dining Room looking toward the front of the house and the portico. As
you can see my sewing machine is up and doing duty. Thankful that I brought it. I was doing curtains for the bedrooms. Actually cutting some down that hung at Kennett Place, fabric I had bought in Paris.

Add caption

On the left is the Ella Mae Krozt Memorial Buffet, as we call it. Ella Mae was a friend of Bill's mom Catherine. When she passed to her next adventure she left the buffet to us.

Section of the rear terrace, we are completely compounded. No back gate.

Another view of the back terrace. The doorway leads to a separate servants quarters that I have appropriated for my art studio.

Reverse end of the terrace, just off the kitchen.

Ditto

Back door into kitchen.

Some of Bill's plants.

See Facebook for video clips of events we have enjoyed recently in Cuenca

2010-11-10T19:22:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since we blogged. We have begun to post video clips on Facebook. So you can check us out there. Bill Keyes is the account to go to . A couple of clips are from our recent Independence Day, November 3. It was the celebration of 190 years of Independence from Spain. Lots of music, fireworks, ice cream and fun. There are two things that Ecuadorians love as much as their mothers: Fireworks and Ice Cream. Now you know we are still alive, well, having fun and enjoying retirement in Ecuador. Ciao, Dean Keyes

Status of what we know is happening nationally in Ecuador

2010-09-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

September 30, 2010 11:40 p.m.

As you may be aware a state of emergency was declared in Ecuador today due to a general strike by the police. Most of the action occurred in Quito, the capital. The police took over a barracks. President Correa went to the barracks in an attempt to address their concerns about a new law that was just passed yesterday. It quickly deteriorated and got out of hand. President Correa got overcome by tear gas and retreated to a nearby hospital. The police then stormed the hospital and held him hostage for approxiamately 12 hours. He was rescued by an elite Army unit, unharmed.

We learned midday today of the events going on in Quito. Cuenca, our city has seen some businesses close early. Many workers leaving to go home early. The second shift of school was canceled and school tomorrow is canceled also. We have not been affected. We went to the supermarket late day today and to the home of some friends for dinner. We walked about 10 minutes between our house and their house home. We rode the bus to their house earlier. So the airports in the major cities, which we are one of, remain closed. But, we are fine and have food and water and plan to go to dinner with friends tomorrow night. We will see what the day looks like tomorrow. Thanks to many of you who have emailed personal messages of concern. We are fine and will attempt to add to the news as we get it here.

We are GREAT!! Just busy having FUN!!!!

2010-08-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

I know it has been too long. I am getting reminders from all of you in the States and even neighbors here in Cuenca. We have been so busy. Finally, four days before Stef, Deb and Carol arrived we got our container. So we had to work like whirling dervishes to get the place pulled together with beds made and towels located. But, that was good, so that the guests did not have to sleep on the floor. A few days after their arrival we went with a group of 9 of us to the west coast of Ecuador to a ecolodge called Azuluna. Check it out on their site. We were near Puerto Lopez a small fishing village that is the jumping off location for seeing whales, blue footed boobie birds and generally eating some excellent seafood. After a very successful whale watch Dean and Will Lacy decided no more trips in small boats. It was the sea sickness curse acting on them. So they stayed behind while the rest of the group went to Isla de la Plata, which is considered the "poor man's Galapagos". The whole trip was very fun and everyone enjoyed a good time. We were gone for five days. While Stef, et al were here we did lots of day trips, Banos for the bathes, museums, shopping, eating and generally enjoying one another. They departed Ecuador at the end of July. Since then we have finished getting unpacked and are starting to order furniture to replace the dining room set and the living sofa and chairs that were overage in the container. So they got left on the "dock of the bay" in San Diego. We donated them to a thrift store. Someone will get some good stuff. This morning we are on the way to a "seconds" sale at the retail store of the Vega Pottery Factory. So we are off. I just wanted everyone to know we are well, happy, healthy and enjoying being retired. Hugs to all. Bill will publish some photos later so check back for pics.

Festival of Corpus Cristi and Fundacion Arenal

2010-06-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

This week in Cuenca we are celebrating the festival of Corpus Cristi, which started on Thursday, June 3. This varies each year depending on when Easter is. The centro around the Cathedral is lined with white canopy tents that are filled with sweets, candies, cookies, lollipops and roses. We visited today and took lots of pictures, bought some goodies and have been sitting cross legged in bed drinking tea and enjoying the sweets while we edit the photos that we are going to share with you. While we were downtown we also invested in a shoe shine, and we always have the children do our shines, you will see their photos, too.

Another of our exploits is volunteering at an after school program that iscalled Fundacion Arenal. The children 7-14 are from families whose parents work in a nearby market: Fiere Libre. The families are very poor and the students do not get a lot of help with homework from their parents. So that is what the Fundacion provides. So I am starting to teach sewing and Bill is taking photos for them. They did not have any pictures of any of there students or the activities. Other expats are helping students complete homework. We work 1-2 days each week during the after school hours. I am also being asked to teach the mothers how to use a sewing machine. This is not a throw away society like the U.S. So they mend clothes by hand. The director is very excited that we might be able to teach the Moms how to mend on the sewing machine. Bill is also going to do some building that needs to be taken care of in the building where the Latch Key type program is held. So we have photos of the children and the school facility also.

This is the sign outside the school facility. This is walking distance from where we live.

Marlen is a charm girl. The volunteer in the pink shirt is a teacher from Seattle on a sabbatical, she teaches Spanish in America. She has been teaching at the University here and she and her husband and two daughters have just completed their year here. After some travel in Ecuador they will return to Seattle.

One of the teachers at Fundacion Arenal

This young woman is a volunteer from Germany. The Fundacion is originally funded by German volunteers wheo lived in Cuenca. This young woman is my translator for teaching the sewing classes.

One of the students. Children here are very happy and rarely pouty for a new toy.

Let's call him "old brown eyes".

The students get lots of one on one attention that they seem to thrive on.

Talk about a cutey pie

This young man's name is Jaime

A game of hoops in the courtyard. You will see she is wearing a uniform sweater from her day school.

This is in the courtyard where the hoops are played.

The Ecuadorian children have beautiful smiles.

Hoops Continued!

She is setting with a tutor who is helping her do her homework.

Another beautiful smile!

This is Marlen the charm girl I mentioned earlier, check out the cutie behind her. The girl on the right is one of the teachers.

Is this one having fun????

They seemed to love getting their picture taken. We will be taking these to the school this week when we go and putting them on a computer slide show so all the kids can see themselves.

Another charming smile!

Two friends enjoying themselves.

A happy child, check out the neat old ceiling above his head.

The amount of sweets is mind boggling. Cookies, candies, lollipops in stall after stall. When we asked when the Festival would end, the response was, when the candy is all gone.

The variety is not great, from stall to stall, it appears that each lady has baked and made things. As you can see there is variety within each stall.

These pics are from the flower market near the Cathedral

Any elderly lady and probably her daughter selling candles outside the Cathedral

Carnation and roses in the flower market.

This lady sells plants, we bought a wonderful one from her yesterday. She kept it for us, until we were ready to collect it and ride the bus home.

One of a pair of sisters who were enjoying the Festival with their mother.

One of the vendors selling goodies.

A trio of Univ of Oregon students who were here in Cuenca visiting. We visited and asked what goodies they had bought, so we would know what we wanted to buy. It worked!

Milton Bradly has been here, too!

This young man was helping his mother sell goodies that she had made.

A mother daughter duo in one of the stalls selling goodies.

Talk about a charming smile!

This was momma, we had to work at making her smile, but as you can see it was worth it.

Children choosing goodies.

He is surrounded by goodies in his mothers stall.

She knows how to play for the camera.

The arcade in front of the Cathedral was packed with stalls of goodies.

Lollipops the Roses are around the corner in the flower market.

This lady works in the panederia that we frequent. She knows us so it is easier to make her smile. Yesterday she had Empanadas Pollo which is one of our favorites, we had them for dinner last night.

This is me coming out of the panederia with my empanadas pollo.

The street where the panederia is located, one block north of the cathedral, you can see it in the background.

These kiddos were not camera shy.

Puppy in Parque Calderon where we had our shoes shined.

This little guy is a big time entrepreneur, does a great shoe shine. His name is Carlos, we always look for him downtown when we want to have our shoes shined. He does a great job.

We think this might be his sister. She shined my red leather sandals yesterday for .30, but I gave her a .10 tip.

He is making change for her here, since I gave her a dollar coin. He had made change for a five dollar bill earlier for Bill. They counted it out in English for us. They were very proud of themselves. We applauded loudly.

Parque Calderon the heart of the city. Beautiful park.

She was having too much FUN!

Lots of fun being had at the Festival of Corpus Christi

Goodbye for NOW!!!

Pictures of Our Thatched Hut In Ecuador.

2010-05-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

We have had so many inquiries from family and friends related to where we live that we felt like all of you would enjoy these photos, even though we do not have any furniture yet. Our condo is the one on the top right of the building.

Thatched Hut Building

Entrance to thatched hut

Dance Floor

Disco lighting

Cocina out to veranda

Master of Cocina

Veranda

Stairs to upper deck

M BR

MBR

M BR

M BR Closet

Master Bath

Shower thingy

Master Bath

Guest Bath

Guest BR

Dean's Studio

What We Have Done Since the Last Blog/Catching UP!!!

2010-04-14T11:56:00.001-07:00

We have been delinquents. We have not blogged in several weeks. But, we have been busy. We have received some photos from Padre D'Angelo of celebrations and work at the church, Saint Andres of Jadan. We will share some of those. The fund-raising efforts have gone reasonably well. We thank all of you who have donated to the PayPal account. We have raised about $325.00, which is almost 1/4 of the amount needed to paint the exterior of the church. Of course, we would still be delighted with additional gifts. The photos below are shots of parishioners working on the church during restoration, all of which has been done by them. But, also some church celebrations. Enjoy!

We have also taken a day trip into the mountains outside of Cuenca to explore the little villages that all have a different specialty that they make. We stopped at San Bartholome, where guitars are crafted. Then we cruised over to Sigsig, where they make panama hats and purses at a religious coop. It is also the home of the largest panama hat in the world as recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records. We were able to do some shopping and some negotiating of prices, too. Valerie got three purses and I got a purse and a hat, which I am getting lots of use out of. We also explored a lovely park that was by a river. These are pictures of the park.

By now it is lunch time and we were planning a lunch at a hotel in Sigsig. This is a new hotel, recently built, lots of glass and chrome, delicious meal and to finish off, we were served warm zhumir. This is a tradition Ecuadorian drink that is served after a nice meal, it is very similar to a liquor, low alcohol content but sweet and good. Following lunch we pushed on to Chordeleg, where they craft silver jewelry. The town sits on a charming square and just about every other shop is a silver jewelry store. Valerie got a lovely three piece ensemble for her mother for Mother's Day. Our expedition to this town was completed when the heavens opened up and a thunderstorm of gargantuan proportions deposited lots of rain on us and the town. We took sanctuary in a local church while we watched it rain. After is settled down we ran to the car to continue our adventure. Last stop of the day was in Gualceo, where they build furniture. Although we did not get into any stores because everything was closed. We plan to go back on another day.

We have also become permanent citizens of Ecuador since our last blog. Both the censo and the cedula has been recorded and we are LEGAL. That means that our house hold goods have been shipped and can enter the country duty free. However, we were aware that we were over capacity in our 20 cu. ft. container, so we had prepared a list of things that could be left off. So my sofas (2) and 6 dining chairs where the most critical things that did not make it on. So now we are in the midst of planning to have furniture made. Probably in Gualceo, the furniture town. We will go back with a friend that speaks Spanish when it is time to design and order furniture.

Finally, we have moved to our permanent condo. Even though it was a simple move, you know moves. Routines are interrupted, electronic equipment has to be reinstalled, new hookups are necessary for everything and then of course, we are camping out with minimal kitchen gear and plastic chairs. We do have a bed, the nightstands are suitcases turned upside down. But, we are ready to receive our stuff around early May. That is when it is projected to arrive from the U. S. In closing we are putting some miscellaneous photos that have come Bill's way since the last time we posted a blog. Enjoy!

All for now, Dean and Bill

Preview of coming blogs:

Last weekend Cuenca celebrated the founding of the city. Monday was a holiday. However leading up to Monday the weekend was filled with art shows, crafts, parades, concerts and lots of enjoying life. We, of course, participated and will share those photos on the next blog.

Pictures of Cuenca out of our Window

Banos, 10 minutes from Cuenca, It is the small Banos

2010-03-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

Today we have been to Banos, which is a suburb of Cuenca and you hardly know when you have left Cuenca and entered Banos. There are volcanic steam sources in this quaint little village. We had been told by numerous different people that the best destination in town was the Hosteria Duran. So that, of course, is where we headed. There were six of us, three couples. Valerie and Will our next door neighbors and Rocky and Misty some new friends of our who are going to move here permanently, also. The entrance to the bath complex was $5.00 each. It is a large pool with very warm water, 36 degrees centigrade, which is just a little over 110 degrees F. So a soak in the pool proved terribly relaxing, then we headed for the gender segregated steam baths that were pumping ecalyptus steam for our bodies to soak up and detox with. Very invigorating. Then we dressed in dry clothes and headed for the restaurant which has a outstanding reputation, apparently the chef is French. Well the dining experience did not disappoint. We truly sampled a variety of the menu. Will and Val opted for the daily special, a three course extravaganza that included: seafood quiche for the first course, trout done with an wonderful sauce for the entree and dessert was some wonderful cake with sauce that pleased, I could tell by the looks on their faces it was exceptional. Misty and Rocky opted for two variations of red meat, a milet mignon with portebollo mushroom sauce for Misty and a Chateau Briand with some kind of wonderful butter sauce made Rocky's look absolutely good enough to eat. And he did eat every bite and I was not sure he was not going to lick the plate, I think it was that good. Bill had Spagetthi Bolognese, which was excellent and I had Lasagna de Mariscos, which is seafood lasagna. It was to die for. However, it was rich and I could only manage about half of it. It came in a round, rather large casserole with cheese on top and the most wonderful sauce holding together all the goodies from the sea. Then Bill and I split a dessert and so did Rocky and Misty. We were speculating what a meal like this in the states tab would have been?? Very worthwhile and very beautifully served. So all the following pictures are from Banos and the Hosteria Duran. We recommend it highly.

Guess what the total bill was, including tax and gratuity? Then scroll to the end of the photos for answer. Remember this is a top notch restaurant. Don't peek!!

The pool at the Hosteria Duran

Steps to the second floor colonade.

A fountain treasure along a walk on the grounds.

The colonade outside of the rooms.

The grounds were treasures of native Ecuadorian plants.

View from the second floor to adjacent houses near the property.

This is the dining room where we had lunch. Gringo's exiting.

Just outside the dining room where we had lunch.

Staircase from lobby to dining room on second floor.

Front of resort where you go in. Lunch with tip and 12% tax was $69 and some change. We thought the quality of the food would have been at least twice that amount in the States.

CIAO, Dean and Bill

Juxtapositon of the Mall and Feria Libre Mercado

2010-03-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

While we have been absent on the blog for awhile, we have still been busy. Today we are going to share with you a tour of the "Mall", Del Rio Mall. The Mall is as sterile and uninteresting architecturally as any mall you have ever visited in the US. We were there to specifically try to find a battery for Bill's new digital camera. We had no luck. All I picked up was food poisoning at the Food Court. So not such a fun excursion. But, Bill is posting some pics for you to see.

Bill had a burger and fries from BK. I opted for Chinese stir fry. It was a mistake.

On Tuesday this week I was invited to join two friends for a "ladies lunch". This was fun for me, since before, I have never had time to do ladies lunches. When I lunched, in the past, it was a business meeting and we talked business, usually in an executive dining room. So this was fun because I got to dress casually, walk to the restaurant and the food was outstanding. This was all overseen by a very handsome chef who I am told in Colombian. Much too tall to be an Ecuadorian. We ordered a specialty dish for the three of us, using the counsel of the two women I was with. I do not have photos since the photographer was not on the junket.

The Feria Libre Mercado is a huge public market that is somewhat overwhelming when experienced the first time. Bill and I had been there once before, however it was not on my list to revisit, until our new friends and neighbors Will and Valerie, from Wisconsin told us that going early in the morning was a better experience and we could get big shrimp for $3.00/pound. The flowers and the fish are fresh on Wednesday and Fridays. So Friday a.m. about 9 we began a trek to the market with Will and Val. They have been here somewhat longer than us and know their way around. So they were going to show us where the best shrimps were, the freshest flowers and the vitamin store. In addition, I connected with another basket to us in my kitchen. Photos are below. I got a great bouquet of tuber roses, baby breath with interesting leaves. Our whole apartment smells wonderful due to the tuber roses. I don't know how many of you are familiar with these. They are used in the States in bridal bouquets. Very rarely in arrangements. My first job in the world was in a florist and that is why I know about them. They are very expensive in America. Here I paid $2.00 for a bouquet that filled my vase. So check out the pics of the market below:

Isn't this pic a work of art. Bill has a "eye"!

His mother was looking on adoringly. She ran a stall at the Mercado.

The first time I bought one of these hens I was afraid it was old and touch because it is so big. But they are corn fed and it was delicious. I roasted it and made all kinds of things with it. Tender, good flavor and not dry.

I still have a little trouble buying meat at the open market. I get most of our at the coop or Supermaxi.

This is the vitamin store. I did not find natural Vit D. But I will keep looking.

These cutey pies started poising for Bill after they saw their picture instantly.

These are the shrimps I bought. I bought a kilo, 2.2 lbs. Six dollars worth. I am about to have some now.

This little guy sold my friend Valarie a bag of fresh peas, she bargained down to .50, but I think he did it because he wanted to get his photo taken. He hung around we we habla' ed with him as best we could.

L-R: Dean, Misty, Valerie, Will, Rocky at the Mercado

The basket to hold the fruitas and vegs on the kitchen counter. She asked $2.00 I do not have the heart to bargain when something is $2.00.

Last night we were invited out to eat with some old friends who wanted us to meet some new friends. We went to a Mediterranean

restaurant run by a man who immigrated here from Milan several years ago. We had real Italian pizza done in a brick oven. It was great. Then we walked to a favorite dessert house for a treat. Life is rough, but someone had got to give it a go. A great evening with friends both old and new.

On Monday, this coming week we will get the key to the new condo. We will be camping out for awhile since the household goods have not yet left Long Beach. Also on Monday we will meet with our lawyers to sign some papers and ship our packet of documents to Quito, so our permanent residence visa will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. WE HOPE!!! All for now,

Dean and Bill

Songs, Storms and New Friends and New Roofs

2010-02-28T19:24:00.000-08:00

On Friday night, Feb. 26 Bill made his performing debut in S. America. He was joined by a five other talented musicians and they played or sang literally from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Bill sang 60's folk songs badly, but no one cared because they remembered them all from their youth. He was joined by a Flamingo classical guitar player who is an America, very young and very accomplished. A young very handsome latin tenor dressed in a tux made a big impression on the full house at the Sankt Florian Restaurant/Bar. Roland who is a keyboardist extraordinaire was another welcome performer as well as a guitarist who sang several Johnny Cash numbers. I attempted to take photos but the venue was very dark and I have only managed one of Bill, which is acceptable. I hate that you can't see the latin tenor, a feast for the eyes. Young enought to be my son.

Yesterday, Saturday Feb. 27, we entertained calls and emails from friends and family in the States who were worried that we were perhaps feeling tremors as a result of the Chilean Quake. We did not, however we had a thunder storm of major proportions where first it rained torrents then it hailed so much that it accumulalted on roof tops and did not melt for some hours. Here is a pic that Bill took out the front door of our building at the height of the storm.

We have several commercial stores on the ground level of our building, they were badly flooded and Bill helped the Kalido shop, which is an Interior Design Studio with putting bolts of fabric on higher ground since the water was rushing in the back door through the entire shop and exiting at the front door, like a small water fall. Bill said the water was 2 inches deep in the floor of the shop. He was not taking photos at that point.

Guess what this is a photo of ?

It is a pile of hail that accumulated at an edge of a sidewalk. Of course, after everything had settled down, lots of Ecuadorian families emerged to play in the hail and make "hail balls".

To close up the storm story this is a photo of our normal tranquil Tomebamba River at the height of the storm.

This morning, Sunday we started early with a group of new friends to walk to town and have breakfast. Along the way we spotted a crew of men removing a tile roof from a building and carefully recycling the tiles. These are beautifully aged tiles that should be loved and cared for. I am so delighted that they are reusing them to make another beautiful tile roof.

We also are featuring some local residents near the site of the new roof.........

as well as the sidewalk display from a local florist which was nearby

The next picture is too much fun. On the left is Nancy W., on the right is Nancy of Nancy and Rich, soon to be our next door neighbors. And I am on the right.

Here is a street vendor just outside a very nice public market where we shopped on our way back home.

So now we are at the Kookaberra Cafe, which is run by an charming Aussie couple named Chris and Jenny. The food was a wonderful variety and we all enjoyed a leisurely breakfast as we continued to meet new friends who arrived and departed the Cafe. I think it might become one of my favorite cafes, so far. Food good, atmosphere good and the renovation of the building is top notch. The proprietors live on premises, in the upper stories of the building. So as we left we headed to Calderon Parque, to meet Shelly and Brian who make a habit of doing this downtown outing every Sunday morning, they have a cute dog named Freddie, however she is a female. We all look like a bunch of old gringos in this photo. We have picked up another couple Rhonda and her husband, again I am without name. But, they are lovely too, so we hung out in the parque for awhile along with lots of the locals.

From there we split and Bill and I went with Shelly and Brian, because they were going back to the market to get fresh roasted pork and I was interested to see it and see what $3.00 would buy.

In addition, to the meat I picked up 10 tomatoes, 12 red onions, 10 avocadoes and a pineapple along with the meat and only spent $6.00.

So after we returned home we rested a little and then went to a neighbors house, who we had met on Friday night. Sandee is going to look up lyrics on the internet and print them for Bill's next gig.

So you can see we are having too much fun and meeting lots of wonderful expats.

All for now, Dean and Bill

A $100.00 Evening for less than $25.00.

2010-02-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

I know you were not expecting to hear from me again so soon. But, we have just returned for an amazing evening out. We wanted to share some of our excitement with you. We were lured downtown tonite for a International Latin Fusion concert sponsored by the City of Cuenca, Ecuador. So we decided to make a big evening out and have dinner before the concert. We had attempted to buy the $2.00 tickets yesterday, but when we arrived at the ticket despensing office they announced they would not go on sale until Friday 9 a.m. Much too early for a couple of recently retired folks who no longer set an alarm. So we whiled away the day doing other stuff and decided we would go down at about 6-6:30 p.m. and pick up tickets and then go to dinner. When we arrived the ticket place was closed, the concert was to be across the street. So being laid back Cuencan's we went to a leisurely dinner within walking distance of where the concert was supposed to be. After dinner we walked back to the concert, where we found lots of people in lines, most with tickets, but a separate line for those of us without tickets. So we struck up a conversation with two European young women who were visiting Cuenca from Quito for the weekend. As the lines moved forward I was almost in front of the line when one of the men who was taking tickets thrust a ticket in my hand. When my husband asked why, my response was because he recognized a beautiful women. Anyway it was no time before I was ushered inside the gate and toward the door of the auditorium. At the same time the gate was closed on Bill, who still had not paid for a ticket. When I said "Oh, I can't go, he is my husband" the gate keeper said: "que pasa" and let him in. So we have entered the auditorium without buying any tickets. The auditorium seated about 500 people and it was full.

The quartet was two guitars, trumpet, drummer and vocalist. With usually only four musicians playing at one time. My musical ear gave the following revue: Group was very tight, always on pitch, played a fascinating array of Latin music. Crowd was very appreciative, as demonstrated by the 6 year old child who was with his parents, two rows in front of us. He danced and clapped to just about every number, oh the energy. We throughly enjoyed it.

We walked to a dessert restaurant for coffee and goodies and a bano. There we enjoyed a brownie with ice cream and a capppucino and a black berry tart with cappucino. Then we hailed and taxi for a very exciting ride home. Normally during the day in Cuenca, the taxi cannot go very fast, due to the traffic. However, at night there is none. So Mr. Taxi was doing 45-50mph on the narrow cobble stone streets as he honked at every intersection to keep us from getting broadsided, this experience can only be compared to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. We arrived home very pleased with ourselves, after a lovely evening which cost us less than $25.00 including taxis both ways.

Trip To Panderia, Calderon Park and Food Coop

2010-02-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

We are out almost daily to do some type of activity. So this report is on a visit to the bakery, Panaderia, to Calderon Park, which is the center of Cuenca, in the Historic Center and finally the food coop where we buy wonderful fresh vegetables.

To the right is a photo of me going into the panaderia, which is two blocks down the street from where we live.

Mr. Bill must have been dancing when he took this display case of goodies. But we went a little deeper into the shop to find all kinds

of tempting treats, you can see here. Most of these little bakeries serve a neighborhood. It is often cooked in a bakery in the back and then sold in a room at the front or on the street where people like me have easy access.

We bought six rolls, a small loaf of bread, like you see on the lower right hand corner of the table, and six cookies. The bill was $1.25.

Here is a picture of the young Ecuadorian boy who came out of the back to check us out. You can see the baker working in the back room.

Now we jump in a taxi and head for City Centre, where the beautiful Calderon Parque is located. Lots of great people watching here. More activity on the weekdays than on the weekends. The center of the city

is the business center and thus lots of lawyers, judges, cpa, banker, airlines employees, etc.

Bill took this photo at my request. I thought it was so dear. A latino father holding his little girl while she sleeps. This is also in Calderon Parque.

This is the new Cathedral, a very imposing edifice. There are beautiful blue and white tile dooms at the rear, but you cannot see them from this angle. The old Cathedral is across the Parque and makes the east side of the Plaza.

Now we head back to our neighborhood for a visit to the Cooperia, which is a coop where farmers bring in their fruits and vegetable and sell them to the public.

Lots of beautifully fresh produce

which you will be amazed at the prices

when I get to that. So here goes:

Pineapple, Pino are $1.00 each.

Banannas are a $1.00 for a bushel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the right is a photo of what we bought, it includes 2 pkgs of bacon, white grapes, leaf lettuce, 8 avocado, 3 tomatoes, 2 peppers, 3 carrots, 2 cucumers, mango perserves, onions, parsley, cauliflower, 8 big limes, and two different kinds of cheese. The avocado were .25/each. The total for all of it ran $23.00, this will last a week.

You will notice that there are not any unknown fruits or vegetables.

I have stopped buying them, because when I get home I do not know what to do with them. Many of them have numerous seed inside, so they must just be used for juice, my juiceer in packed in the household goods, which are to be shipped. I have thrown away a couple of things that did not smell good to me when I cut them open. So it is all part of the adventure.

Bill is in love with this plant, plans to have one in a pot when we get settled. It blooms two different flowers, as you can see. This photo was taken just outside of where we live, there are planted flower boxes where we wait to hail a taxi.

I promise I am not picking my nose, but it sure looks like it. We had just eaten lunch in this little joint. Great pizza, but Bill had a lasagna casserole that was delicious and cost $4.40.

Ciao for now, Dean and Bill

A Melange of Experiences in Cuenca Ecuador

2010-02-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

We are getting very comfortable with venturing out, to take a taxi to anywhere, buy bread at the panaderia, explore the city on foot and then buy what we need along the way and return via a taxi, bus, or on foot.

Yesterday we ventured out to find the English bookstore. CAROLINA, turns out it is run by a couple Carolina and Lee, former teachers. We traded in some books that I had read and bought some others with our credit. Also found a wonderful pound of coffee at the bookstore that is grown here in the mountains of Ecuador. The package of coffee was $4.00/lb.

A bargain, which you coffee drinkers will recognize. Ecuador is supposed to produce wonderful coffee so we will report when we have had some of it.

The second item on our agenda yesterday was to visit an art sale of local artists that was being held at a restaurant downtown. On the way between Carolina's Bookstore and the restaurant where the art exhibit was we encountered a lovely little Panaderia.

Because they put no preservative/additives in the baked goods, you only buy for a day or two at a time. So I went in to purchase rolls. In addition, I found these lovely little round chocolate delights that seemed to be a cross between a cake and a trifle covered in chocolate and decorated with whipped cream. I bought one for each of us. It was very good, but way too sweet for me.

But, Bill thought they were so wonderful that he needed a stock. So he returned to buy 10 of them which she packed in a turtle top styrofoam box, and he ate like a little pig for the rest of the day.

Following the chocolate connection we headed for the restaurant where the art exhibit was. We were ready for lunch by then and as you can see by the photos attached we had lunch. In addition, 3 university students asked us in English if we would take their survey, it was about tourists in Cuenca, which of course we are not, but they seemed to get a kick out of us anyway.

The day before yesterday we took photos of our supermarket, the SUPERMAXI, yes I said the supermaxi.

We love the name. It is within walking distance of our apartment and just a few doors from the video store where you can buy any movie title on earth for $1.50. We bought $9.00 worth and headed home for a movie marathon. This vendor is so good, if it will not work in your DVD machine he will give you your money back. Or try to burn it again for you.

Today is Valentine's Day, but also the first day of Carnival which runs through Tuesday, since Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the start of lent. We had lots of wonderful music from a local band we could hear in our apartment last night. Lots of children on the streets throwing water balloons at passersby. The taxi drivers yesterday were very careful to tell us to roll up the windows or we were going to get WET!! We have been watching the 4 siblings we can see out our rear window throwing balloons at passersby for about a week now. I think they started early.

We have had a glitch with the Ecudorian Counsulate in LA who gave us some bad information related to our official documentation process, so we are regrouping with lawyers, Ecuadorina friends with connections, friends in the states who are trying to help us and maybe by Wednesday the American Embassy in Guayaquil. So we will keep you updated as the saga unfolds. Everyone needs a challenge in life, so this is ours at the moment. We also think we have found an apartment to rent for a long term period of time, but because everything in the city has come to a halt for CARNIVAL, that will have to wait until Wednesday, too. All for now,

CIAO

Dean and Bill

PS Here are a few pics of Calderon Park. the main park in the center of the historic district.

and finally......

a comfy cat

A Whirlwind Week

2010-02-06T22:58:00.000-08:00

We have been in Cuenca, Ecuador one week this last Friday. We have explored the market, met lovely young neighbors, been to the SuperMaxi and watched the young teenagers of the city begin to celebrate Carnival because Easter is early this year, and lent is just around the corner.

Our drive from Guayaquil to Cuenca through the Caja Mountains was very beautiful, we were driven by a van driver who obviously knew the road and was not afraid of the foggy narrow roads or the big trucks he had to duel with, in order to move with speed and grace. I counted three different ecosystems that we traveled through. I have confirmed that, sense arriving in Cuenca. We will go back when we can stop and do more photographing. Although Bill got some good shots as the driving sped past various items of interest.

We are on the 7th floor of a 7 floor building in a lovely apartment, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, nice kitchen with laundry room off kitchen. Dining Room and Guest bedroom have sliding doors to a long narrow terrace that affords us a view of the four brothers and sisters, of a Doctor and his family who live in a 4 story house across the street. The children dropped water balloons on passing cars and buses yesterday afternoon. That is part of the Carnival Celebration. This family is great to observe, since the family dog has just recently produced five little puppies, the pups and Momma are housed on the spacious terrace, a birdseye view from my terrance. Daddy scoops poop at about 10 a.m. every morning before he leaves in his suit with his briefcase, we think he is a lawyer (abogado) or maybe a doctor. Mama is also a professional and a housekeeper cleans and washes clothes during the day.

The very first day we met a lovely young couple with a 1 1/2 year old little boy. Robert, Fernanda and little Robert have become new friends. She is a native of Cuenca and is studying for a PHD in law. Robert (Dad) is a very interesting man, who is Canadian originally. He has a job as a diamond driller, he is called to work by his Canadian Company all over the world. He drills looking for minerals. Just two nights ago we were honored to meet her parents. Her mother is a teacher of elementary students, her father runs a family business that he has run for 40 years. They are lovely, speak very little English, but we communicated fine. They are looking for a house to rent for us. More on that later. We have been doing lots of fun stuff with them and exploring the city at the same time.

The first Saturday we were here we went to find the centro of the city, where the old churches are and the seat of the government and the most beautiful park I have ever seen, Calderon Park. It is beautifully planted with great variety of blooming flowers and trees, lovely benches tucked in so you can sit and "people watch", one of my favorite pastimes at parks, airports, train stations, etc. Just off the park about 1/2 block we found a textiles market. We felt the apartment needed some color. The man that owns the apartment is American, but lives in Japan, the whole place is done in browns and beige. Those of you who know me, know I do not do much beige. So we invested in a beautifully woven table cloth in turquoise, reds, yellow, greens, blues. It is perfect and I bargained down from $25.00 to $21.00. Just around the corner from the textile market is the flower market. At the moment the plaza where the indigenous women usually sell is being redone, so they are a little to the side and a bite crowded. But, the flowers are spectacular to see and very fresh and very inexpensive. I bought two bunches, one for the dining room table and one for the bedroom. They were each $2.00 each. They would have been $15.00+ in the U.S.

On Monday, Robert and Fernanda wanted to take us to a market that is quiet and not crazy busy. So we drove across town in their car and visited one of the many open air markets that exist in this City. It was clean, well organized, no flies and very fresh. Women were shelling peas, some were peeling garlics, (I bought some of both items) The best bargain was 4 avocado (aquacante) for the grand sum of .32. Yes, you read that right, .08 each. I made a wonderful guacamole on Wednesday after they has sat on my window sill and softened up a little. I also purchased spices: cumin, cloves, oregano and one more I am forgetting. Each little sack was .25. I told Bill the next trip we were going to splurge and get the .50 size.

I know in a earlier blog I said that Bill was going to post some pics. But, he has been very busy getting all his
electronic gadgets up and working. You know he is not complete unless all the gadgets work. So we'll see maybe my getting ahead of him will motivate him somewhat. Two quick final things. I have a cleaning lady coming tomorrow, Monday. We have been told by Fernanda to pay her $12.25, the .25 is for her bus ride home. She will clean from about 8-1 p.m. the whole apartment. The Supermaxi is the grocery store, very expensive, but carries what the markets do not. All for now. CIAO, Dean and Bill

PS Here are some pics at this link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47316820@N06/sets/72157623371632296/

We Have Arrived in Cuenca

2010-02-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

Hola! What can I say? The adventure has begun and it is wonderful. We have so much to share, we plan to break it up into sections, so we are not overwhelmed and you will not be either. Bill has taken lots of photos that we are planning on posting , for you to see.

We arrived on Friday afternoon about 2:30 p.m. Our time here is eastern time, so I am the same time as my mother who is in Knoxville, TN. She is thrilled, I am not sure why, I think she thinks that makes me closer, but it is a mental illusion. Our three days on the road to get here was a mini adventure unto itself, lots of interesting observations comparing the American service with the S American services in the hotels and restaurants.

Our first day on the road was from Tucson to Miami, with a plane change in Dallas. We did not have a lot of time between the flights, but due to divine intervention and my cane we were swooped up and placed on a disabled/crip mobile and were whisked off down a concourse, for about 20 miles, or so it seemed to the next plane that was to take us to Miami. Those of you who have seen me walk lately, know I do not need the cane, but when it came time to pack it, the answer became carry it on. So it turned out to be very fortuitous.

When we arrived in Miami we took a cab, a large cab, we had 10 pieces of luggage, 2 of which were cat kennels, housing Clive and Reginald. The services of the cabbies and the hotel were less than stellar, since as you know service in America has vanished with the "Howdy Dowdy Show". I will compare this when we reach S. America, service is alive and well in S. America. The small Art Deco Hotel located in Southbeach did not have any bellmen or anyone even willing to hold the door. No one spoke English, but no one spoke Spanish, it was a mix of French, Portugese and Italians staying their. I love these off beat out of the way places. But, I was determined to see the Art Deco architecture in the Southbeach area, and I did!

In south beach we explored a wonderful pedestrian mall and kept our eyes out for Nathan Lane and Robin Williams, we did not bump into them, but did see several of their neighbors. In addition we saw wonderful art deco architecture, which is one of my favorite American architecture periods. Our plane to Guayaquil, Ecuador was to leave at 6 p.m. So we got ourselves to the airport and established in the waiting area for our plane, to discover a wonderful gathering of lots of interesting people, all going to Guayaquil. Of course, we all started talking, very much a party atmosphere. We have bonded with some other expats who do not live here yet, but have a house in Olon, on the Pacific Coast. Also met an Ecuadorian, MD woman who lives in the states and was coming home for her mother's 91st birthday, finally a lovely young french woman who lives in Cuenca and works for the International Red Cross, so you can see the adventure has already been rich and rewarding. However, the plane was delayed, then we were boarded, again, we got to go on first due to EL CANE! I will never go anywhere again without it. As we taxied out to take off, suddenly the plane stopped and the Captain came on to tell us we had a leaky toilet on board and we were going to turn around so maintenance could look at it. At this point Bill read a review of the hotel we had booked to stay in Guayaquil. It was a rather scary review about how they had stolen a guests credit card numbers and racked up $6,000 worth of airline tickets. So we decided we had to move to plan B. OH! the wonderful world of electrics. By this time we could no longer access the net. So we called our friend Lorna in the states, who is very worldly and has traveled lots. She got on the phone for us and created all kinds of alternatives and booked a new hotel. So when we arrived at customs, again we got escorted to the shorter line for the elderly and pregnant mommas. Cleared customs without opening a thing, with cats and all. When we exited the terminal there was the Howard Johnson Hotel man with our name on a sign. I have always wanted to be met at an airport like that. Thanks to Lorna we had a restful first night in Ecuador. This has already been too long. But, I must add that the service in S. America was immediately noticeable for its excellence as compared to North America. The bell staff were wonderful, the dining staff was very welcoming and we have found the Ecuadorian people to be very gracious and accommodating. More on all of this later in the next few days: we will be adding other blogs that will include our ride over from Guayaquil to Cuenca, meeting some lovely new neighbors and some shopping trips for fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Ciao for now, Dean and Bill

Last Three Days Before We Fly

2010-01-24T01:08:00.000-08:00

The shippers came for the household goods on Wednesday. Everything was packed up. Although I am still finalizing the list of all the contents, so it can be translated into Spanish before the goods can clear customs in Eucador. The goods will now wait in Long Beach until we have residency status in Ecuador. Then we will notify the shipping company to load the container and ship it to us. By that time we will of acquired a house, probably for rent, in Cuenca Ecuador. We may have exceeded the space we had reserved, a 1000 cubic foot, shipping container. We were feeling very proud of ourselves, because we had gotten rid of so much stuff. But, maybe not enough. SALE on the Long Beach Pier may occur!!! More to follow when we know what is going to happen. At this time we are camping out in our rather empty house, sleeping on an air mattress. Will break camp on Tuesday and go to a hotel near the Tucson airport. We are attempting to keep the cats as calm as possible. They are already somewhat freaked out, since everything they know has departed, with the exception of us. Then all of us fly to Miami at noon on Wednesday for the first leg of the trip. Thursday night we fly to Guayaquil, where we will clear customs. Friday morning, January 29 we will reach Cuenca, Ecuador via van that is picking us up in Guayquil. We have reserved a furnished apartment so we will be deposited there. Probably very tired by that time. More later.

Cleaning the oriental rugs and Taking the cats to the Vet

2010-01-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

The weather ha been beautiful here, sorry to the family and friends in the midwest who are suffering under lots of snow and very cold weather. We have taken advantage of the weather and shampooed the oriental rugs. We always do this before a big move so they are clean when we unwrap them in their new home.

Yesterday we had an escapade that is all part of the great adventure. We took the cats for their shots and the international health certificates. The only time these two cats, Clive and Reginald, go out of the house is when they go to the Vet. So needless to say it is not often and the DO NOT like it one iota. But, that is done and we can move it to the next bureaucratic agency that needs to authorize it. I am predicting that it will cost more to get the cats to Ecuador than it will to get me there.

The shippers come for the pick up of the household goods on January 20, it will be a truck that will take it to the warehouse in San Diego. It will remain in storage until we have a permanent address in Cuenca and have received our resident visas. Then we will notify the shipper to send the goods. It is supposed to take about 45 days on the ship. We will then have to meet the goods in Guyaquil, (this is the port city) so we are there when everything clears customs. Then the shippers will load it on a truck and take it to our residence in Cuenca, it is a four hour drive from Guyaquil to Cuenca.

I continue to pack on this end knowing that when I unpack it will be on another continent. All for now.

Update on moving to Cuenca, Ecuador

2009-12-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

We were supposed to be in Houston at our daughter's this week. But, we have experienced a snafu on the visa front, so we have stayed home to chase doctors, lawyers and Indian Chiefs. Actually Bill came down with the cold that I had last week and we felt it was better not to spread the germs over three states. So we are taking advantage of this time to continue packing and getting the visa applications out the door.

We have secured a furnished rental apartment in Cuenca, as of Sunday, December 27. Here is the link to it:
http://www.cuencarealestate.com/Rent/124
We will be in this unit until we find a long term rental that is unfurnished. Then we will have the household goods shipped from San Diego/Long Beach.

We are very excited, a lot like children waiting for SANTA! All for now, Dean and Bill

The Countdown HAS BEGUN!!!!

2009-12-24T07:50:00.000-08:00

We are packing, going to Houston the day after Christmas to see our oldest daughter and her family before we fly to South America on January 27, with the two cats. We are breaking up the trip and doing it over three days in hopes that the cats will survive without too much stress. We are both so excited we can hardly believe it is happening. I retired, officially, December 18, then promptly got a terrible cold, but I figured it was probably the last of the AVHS germs trying to reach out and slap me for leaving them. Today; Christmas Eve day is when the children of Cuenca dress like angels and parade. I am sorry to be missing it. But, I will be ready next year and will look forward to it all year long. Besides I will bet that someone will post photos of the whole extravaganza. We are working,via internet, with Chela at Cuenca Real Estate, to find a suitable place to live for 90 days until we can get our residents visas and have our household goods shipped from the states. Blessings to you all for the New Year. Dean Keyes

Contemplating Our BIg Advesture

2009-11-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

I am Dean Keyes, who is Bill's wife, of a long time. We are in the midst of planning, getting physicals, preparing Visa applications, connecting with an attorney in Cuenca, Ecuador as well as selling lots of household goods and "junque". We both love an adventure. This can be traced through our married life. In 1970 we bought an 1893 Victorian Romanesque Revival townhouse in Lafayette Square, St. Louis, Missouri. This is the last Victorian walking neighborhood in America. We paid $8,000 for the house so you can imagine the ADVENTURE. We moved on 23 years later after having enjoyed the experience and having adopted two daughter at ages 4 and 6 in 1983, another life adventure. They are birth sisters of each other. So now we are about to retire. But, in the process of preparing we moved from St. Louis to Tucson, AZ. This was 10 years ago. Bill has loved Tucson. Me not so much. Although I have had very interesting jobs here. Now we are preparing to travel to Cuenca, Ecuador to live permanently in late January, 2010. We will take with us two 7 year old male cats, who we are trying to prepare for the adventure. We will plan to return to the U. S. a couple of times a year for visits with two daughters and their husbands, a total of 6 grandchildren and my Mother "Big Min" short for Minnie who will be 90 years young in April. She is in better shape than most 65 year olds. Also on the list to visit will be my younger sister Stephanie, who I still take lessons in "fun" from. I am the oldest, she is the youngest of four of us. So I needed to be taught to have fun. However, I have mastered it and plan to practice it everyday for the remainder of my life, I am catching up with lost time in the first half of my life. So get on board for the ride and we will share the ups and downs with you.

Dean Keyes, wife of Bill