A Cuenca Thanksgiving

To those of you freezing in the USA or elsewhere, I can only say be thankful for this Thanksgiving for heaters!  Homes in Cuenca do not have heaters.  We broke down and got two little electric ones to take the morning chill off but 40-78 degree weather is hard to complain about too much!  We had a great Thanksgiving day:  Chatted with friends in Oregon who told of freezing weather.  Chatted with friends in Montana who were thankful they did not have to go out, Meals on Wheels delivered dinner to them, it was 0 last night and they had 3 inches of snow for Thanksgiving.  Cuenca on the other hand as I said was georgous.  Made a trip to Coral for last minute pyrex to make the apple cobber in and a few extras. 

The frozen turkey was thawed in the refrigerator . . . guess I did not have it a big enough container and ended up washing out the whole refrigerator due to a leaking bag.  Anyway, the Pavo was taken from the bag, washed, and much to my surprise included with the usual bag of gibblets . . . turkey feet!  Guess the more for the broth pot the merrier!

Our friends from North Carolina, Gary and Sue, who now live just down the street brought half the meal.  We feasted and remembered all we have to be thankful for in our new home.

Chao for now!

Another Beautiful Day

The sun has greeted us again this morning.  What a beautiful day in Cuenca.  Our weather has been sunny mornings with showers in ther afternoons.  On my bus ride/walk to the Coop and Coral the benefit of the rain shows in the river.  Last week there was more rocks than water!

Today I tried out my new asperador (vacumn cleaner)  worked great.  With Thanksgiving tomorrrow I wanted to get the house clean before the cooking begins.  Sue down the street and I will share the cooking.  We have so much to be thankful for in our new home and new counrty.  Good food is abundant and very reasonable, people generally are very kind an helpful, we have made many new friends in the three weeks we have been here and have been able to renew friendships with those that welcomed us last August when we visited.

Speaking of good food, shopping at the growers coop is a great exerience.  As I mentioned, it is only about three blocks away.  The only problem is my eyes are usually bigger than I can carry comfortably. This little trip cost $7.34 and $3 of that was the chicken breasts!  The food is fresh and the people there are great with this gringa, answering questions about the various produce and trying to explain what to do with some of the fruit that I have never seen before.

Time to kick back and enjoy the evening.  We were going to go to a puppet show but got involved with dinner with friends and the time got away.  View of the skylight in the den will have to do for the night along with my Kindle!  Got to love that electronic book!

Hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow and take the time to reflect on the many people that bless your lives, the health you have, and all the good the year has held.  You that are following this bless us with your interest in our adventure. Thank you.

Chao!

Reasons to Celebrate

What a week we have had. Our guests from North Carolina, Gary and Sue have been very busy looking for thier own base of operations and settled on Thursday with a very nice house just down the street from us. We are learning the buses and the Monay shopping center together.

We went for a celebration dinner at Mangire Bene (Estevez de Toral 8-91 y Bolívar). Great lasagna! They will move in on Monday, a pretty easy move with just suitcases to roll down the street!

The weather has been mild with sunny mornings and rain in the afternoon. Today, Saturday, was especially nice in the morning so off we went to downtown to pick up my replacement laptop and enjoy the sun. Had a great pizza for lunch, stopped at the Panadería (bakery) and then Jack sat in the Parque while I ran to the tourist office for a bus map, then to the plaza to get a new poncho, stopping for flowers at the flower market. Jack owed me two bunches ($2) as the deal when we decided to move to Cuenca was I would get flowers every week . . . you gotta love it here!

Home by cab, Jack and Iggy are napping and I am typing as the rain falls! Sorry no nap picture - but can you hear the snoring? Not sure why the blog spell checker has suddenly decided that it should check this all in Spanish . . . oh well. Chao for now!

Cuenca At Last

In case you were wondering we are alive and well and living in Cuenca! Oh want a story we have to tell if I can only get it all straight! Apologies up front for the long narration but some of you want to know the details . . others just skim and thanks for reading anyway!!!

The last days in Grant s Pass were crazy, filled with hugs and a few tears and promises to say in touch. We had our plans all set as I shared before to get Iggy's health certificate done on Friday before we were to leave followed by a mad dash up to Salem to get the USDA to certify the certificate, then church on Sunday, pick up the van early Monday, load, drive to San Francisco, appointment with the Ecuadorian Consulate on Tuesday to get Iggy's certificate stamped, fly out on Wednesday at 6 AM which meant, a 4 AM airport arrival. Good plan right? Got a call from the Consulate Friday a week before we were to leave saying due to the Ecuadorian Independence Day (Nov 3rd) celebrations the consulate would be closed on Tuesday could be come later . . no, well then just mail the document....uh OK change all plans. Rescheduled the vet and USDA for Monday, called to pick up the van late Monday, cancel on night of hotel reservations in SFO . . no problem! Well the hotel reservation had to canceled and remade and yes we got a refund for the whole reservation but the nightly rate went up $15, good news was the van offered us a rate that was $120 less so we are ahead!

Monday saw the vet then drove to Salem to get the certificate stamped and the cost had gone up $1, money order or credit card only . . had gotten the money order . . . OK they could take $1 cash. Mad dash to FedEx to overnight the health certificate to SFO with prepaid return the only problem there was which page of 5 did they need. Called the Consulate, I'm sorry the person who know about these things is not in call in 10 minutes, 10 minutes later no answer, it's now 10 til 2 when the Consulate closes. Called again, I'm sorry the person who knows is not in call tomorrow . . . sorry, have to do this NOW so sent money order for $50 and all the pages praying they would return the pages we needed. FedEx delivered by return mail on Thursday, all the pages with the necessary Consulate stamp...Iggy now had permission to enter the country!

Spent our last days in Grants Pass trying to wrap things up, get extra time and hugs with those we love, stuff the last few things in our 10 suitcases, two carry-ons each, and Iggy's kennel! Sunday was a special time with Church family and friends, the pastor prayed of us joking most people retire to Grants Pass, so if you are from Grants Pass guess you have to retire to Ecuador!

Monday Jack and our dear friend Ken went to pick up the van. We had reserved a Dodge caravan or equivalent . . . when they got there there was no van but they were sure we would be happy with the mini SUV. NOT! After a calm threat to own the company and a call to the president they left with a 12 passenger van that was designated for in Oregon use only!

Ken did a fabulous job packing the van, Iggy even had his own seat way in the back.

The drive to SFO was gloriously uneventful. Did a dry run to the airport so we knew the ropes for in the morning, had a great Italian dinner after we bought a new cane for Jack as we (Claudia) had left it behind the door in Grants Pass.

I wish I had not had my hand so full after the driver from the rental car agency dropped us off on the sidewalk in front of the terminal at 4 AM so you could see the suitcases, dog kennel, and us. No porter on the job yet, so Jack went in and sat down, I sat with the luggage and dog on the curb . . . waiting for the port and a wheelchair.

Finally got all the luggage weighed and checked in, paid for the one over weight bag (85 pounds!), 6 excess bags, and Iggy. Iggy got his TSA inspection and off he went. The first leg of the flight had its excitement, as we approached Miami - residual turbulence from tropical storms had the flight attendants told to stay in their seats . . what fun!

From Miami to Quayaquil, Ecuador seemed to take forever but did enjoy talking to an Ecuadoran neurosurgeon along the way.

Landed in Ecuador on time, wheelchair waiting at the gate and off we went to immigration. No problems, gave them our address in Cuenca. Next stop baggage claim. When I told the fellow pushing Jack we had diez (10) suitcases plus the dog his eyes got real big and I rented 4 carts and he found a friend to help. We finally cleared customs with a miracle of no duty charged for our excess baggage and no fee for Iggy an hour later!

The Grand Hotel had a van waiting and off we went. Iggy was quit an oddity as few people have dogs and certainly not as large as he. We dropped into bed over 20 hours after we started a little numb and realizing we were really in Ecuador! In case you lost track of the days it is at this point Thursday November 4th. The Iguana is a mozaic above the pool at the Grand Hotel.

After an included lovely breakfast buffet, the van picked us up and we enjoyed the drive over the Andes, through the Cajas National Park to Cuenca. We arrived at our new house to find it still under preparation for our arrival....we only rented it two months ago but we did not expect it to be done . . . this is Ecuador after all. Since there was no gas for the kitchen we enjoyed a great dinner at the California Kitchen and said "Hola" to new old friends. To make a very long and trying portion of the story short, the owner of the house we rented in August was a thief: the promised repairs were not made, and not likely to be made. It was the weekend from Hell. Welcome to Cuenca.

Tuesday we had an appointment to be driven to bank by a bilingual Ecuadorian who know someone with a house for rent so after the bank we went and saw the house. It is much smaller than the one we had but just the size we really wanted! Without shopping around we took it on the spot. It is located across from the Paraiso Park where the rivers of Cuenca come together, convenient to major bus lines, a growers Co-op, and a Coral which is a Wal-Mart like store.

Now the only problem was we had company coming to stay with us, arriving on Friday from North Carolina with their dog, and our second bedroom only had a twin bed. Fine for the dog but not so for the people. Wednesday Arturo, our new friend and "facilitator" took us to a furniture maker to order a bed, no metal frames here, then to a store to order a queen bed, back to the original house to move our 10 suitcases plus all the goodies we bought for the kitchen to the new house. What a blessing, a quiet nights sleep with hot water...

OK, house tour: There is a park that runs all along the Tomabamba River and it is just across the street. Yes the cows mow the lawn in the park.

Our entrance is gated with a remote door opener in the house to let folks in. We have a lovely formal living room, dining room,what we call den with a fireplace, kitchen, two bedrooms. The master bedroom has a solarium I guess you could call it and the second bedroom opens to the back patio. There is a laundry room, cold water washing only but that's OK! There is also a one bedroom apartment upstairs so "Come to Cuenca" is still an offer!!!

Our guests arrived on Friday afternoon, the bed frame freshly stained and still a bit fragrant was delivered at 9 pm but the mattress was delayed so wonderful Arturo brought a mattress over to get buy with . . . the new one was delivered on Monday.

You can read some of the blogs I follow and read about the weather we have been having the International Food Festival we attended etc. If I don't get this posted soon I will never get caught up! Hope to post as there is good stuff to share. Thanks for reading!!!!!

6 Days to Ecuador

What a month October has been! Our progress toward the goal of moving has had quite a run this month. October has included Claudia's birthday (October 6th), packing, visiting friends, attending a Gaither Homecoming Concert, packing, garage sales, packing, and so much more. Each day brings new challenges, new twists to what we thought the plan was, but also one step closer to the goal of Cuenca!

We had multiple birthday celebrations with friends Connie and Mike joined us for dinner. Then Claudia shared a birthday with Dawn who's birthday was on the 15th.

We had friends from Fresno California along with our son and daughter in law from Salem Oregon stop by to share int he excitement of our packing and say Hasta la vista! As with Ecuador friends, food is always involved!

Back in May we bought tickets for a gospel concert to celebrate Claudia's birthday so on the 15th we took a break from selling, packing, and giving away stuff. And how profound I might say the word is stuff. The bits and pieces of our past. It was a great time!

A word to those who are planning to move with a pet, be flexible. We had it all planned to get the health certificate signed by the vet on Friday October 29th, then drive to Salem to get the USDA to sign the certificate, drive to San Francisco on November 1st, appointment with the Ecuadorian consulate on the 2nd and fly to Ecuador on the morning of the 3rd. Last week we got a call from the Consulate saying that since the 3rd was a Nation Holiday (Independence Day) they would be closed on the 3rd - suggested we do the Consulate certification by mail. Change of plans: call Vet, USDA, motel in SFO, and Budget rent-a-car to change the whole plan....not a problem!

I am elated to report that the Consulate returned the pet health certificate using the prepaid FedEx envelope we sent and now Iggy is certified to travel next week!

Dogs are so smart they speak the same language all over the world!

It is had to believe we have only a few more days. Our 10 suitcases are packed, our carry-ons are half packed and we are excited to be leaving and also experiencing inexpressible emotions about leaving friends and family. Thank God for modern technology - Skype, email, magic jack!

Cuenca here we come!

38 Days to Ecuador

Just a quick note. We have started packing and the 4 suitcase scenario has grown to 8 plus the carry-ons. We did get our marriage license and retirement paperwork back from the Ecuadorian Consulate and off to the attorney in Cuenca.

Our daughter who just moved back to Grants Pass and son who is in Salem, Oregon are putting their names on things and hopefully will be taking them to their storage lockers soon. Our garage sale is scheduled for this Friday and Saturday.

We have been excited keeping up on our new friends blogs, as we can, in the midst of our chaos and also spending as much time as possible with dear friends here.

Our schedule includes driving to Salem to get Iggy's health Certificate signed the week before we leave. We have rented a minivan to drive to San Francisco on the first of November, appointment with the consulate to get Iggy's papers stamped on the 2nd, and then off to Ecuador on the 3rd - got to love those 6 AM departures!

More to come . . pictures TOO.

The Countdown Begins

It is hard to believe we have been home in Grants Pass over a week, now almost two! Grants Pass is a great town with many friends we will miss. We are having Cuenca weather now, cool and nice: strange for the first week of school!

The process of getting back to Cuenca has begun, we are in highgear. The first lesson learned is that a marriage certificate issued by the county can not apostiled by the Secretary of State, it has to be a certificate issued by the State. Sure glad I called to clarify before we drove 200 miles to Salem to get it done. The correct document is now been returned from Salem and in the mail to the consulate in Washington DC to be legalized!

We ordered suitcases to accomplish the move and they arrived today! It's a good thing as it took about 4 hours on the phone to get our travel arrangements accomplished. Traveling with our dog Iggy makes for problems as many airlines will not take the larger dog and one would not guarantee he would be on the same flight and could not even make his reservation until three days before travel....now that's service! As you can see he is too cute to leave home!!

Other little joys so far have been getting Jack's blood type for the visa application. Since neither of us could remember we had the doctor run it. Of course, in the good old USA you do not own your medical records so the lab could not give us that information, we had to wait for them to transmit it to the doctor, then his nurse call us back, the problem was the tranmitting did not happen properly, and it took 5 days to get a simple A, B, or O out of them! Oh how we long for Cuenca.

Our flight is nailed down now. We should arrive in Guayaquil on November 3 at 0'dark thirty at night as most flights but at least we have a count down started!!!!!

More to come! Chao!