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

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

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