A NEW HIGH

Since I arrived in Ecuador, my life seems to have taken so many different positive turns. Early last year, Sharyl attended a new comers luncheon. While talking to several people, the subject turned to hiking in our local mountains, "The Cajas"

She mentioned that I go all the time. She was then asked if I would be willing to take them. With her yes answer, another door has opened. I started taking friends and friends of friends. I now was receiving several requests each week to take someone with me

Most of you know I am a "birder" I love to go to all over the world to bird watch. This passion does not readily lend itself to taking hikers along. As a birder, I knew about the Cajas and I had found my way there. I was hooked and I was going twice a week hiking at above 13,500 feet. There were several trails I would explore. I could not get enough. So taking others was a natural next step, to share my new love                                                              "HIKING"


       

 This is the lower entrance to the park, requires walking along a cobble stone road and passing along farmland to arrive at the entrance A 35 minute bus ride from Cuenca. The buses are great, they stop where ever you wish and will also pick you up where ever you are along the road

                        Not always perfect weather, but beautiful none the less

                                          My son Glenn came to visit .

The Ecuadorians have constructed a wonderful boardwalk to allow people to transit a very difficult part of the hike arond the laggoon

I call this my "restaurant " A wonderful spot for lunch with a great view 

  My granddaughter, Jordan came to visit  She joined me on a hike to " My World"

                Here she is again with the view from my restaurant behind her

                   
I did fall one time and tumbled down the steep side of the trail about 70 feet  

You can see what happened, I leaned against the railing and it gave way and down I went . Hard to see in the picture but it is a long way down and very steep

As I was tumbling I said -------

" Boy I am really going fast"
Then I said

" Am I ever going to stop"
Then I did !!!!

Then I said

" How am I going to get back up "


Sharyl has now insisted that I do not go alone, so taking others allows me to continue to enjoy my new passion

 Perfect way to end a hike. best hot chocolate in Ecuador.

It can get really cold sometimes on these hikes. I can enjoy the cold, even the rain or hail, BUT I dont like it when there is any wind

                              Just a few of the scenes I encounter on my hikes 

THREE WHOLE YEARS

 YEP----- today marks exactly three years ago we ventured beyond the safe confines of our home in Tucson and risked starting our new life in the foreign country of Ecuador. Looking back I can now wonder " Why did we not do this sooner. " I could not be happier. I could not have, at the time, foreseen the positive changes that awaited us in this beautiful, friendly , welcoming country.
Now , I must digress into why I have not been blogging for awhile.
Last summer, we had a wonderful experience of travelling to a near-by beach resort with our new found friends, an Ecuadorian family. We planned a week long stay on the beach about a 4 hour bus ride from Cuenca. Upon arrival at the bus terminal in Machala I was rudely introduced to the seamy side of life here.
As we exited the bus and rounded up our suitcases, I became uncomfortable wearing my jacket as it was very humid and hot. I removed my back pack and stripped off my jacket and placed it in my back pack. I then placed my back pack on top of all our suitcases. There were 4 of us standing around, "guarding " our belongings. Just then a man said" Are these your keys" pointing to a set on the ground. As we all shifted our attention to the keys, his accomplice reached in and took my back pack. I lost my high end binoculars, my expensive camera with extra zoom lens, my e-book for downloading books to read, and to me, my valuable bird books with all my notes about bird sightings. I was devastated to say the least.However, since we were just beginning our trip and not wanting to spoil anyone's vacation, I sucked it up and bravely went on. It wasn't until I returned home did I really acknowledge my loss and feel the pain.
I am over it now.  I have replaced my binoculars and camera and have usurped Sharyl's e-book as mine. The loss of my irreplaceable bird books is still a painful reminder of this shocking and devastating event.
That is the big reason for this long hiatus from new posts. I was for a long time not able to take any pictures to illustrate any of my posts until I replaced my camera. I needed my binoculars first.
So that sad story is now well in the past. I do not harbor any hard feeling about Ecuador because of this difficult situation. It could have happened anywhere, and has. Now I just want to celebrate my new and continuing life in Ecuador. Stay tuned---

OUR NEWEST ENDEAVOR

Sharyl and I have ventured into the B&B business, joining AirBNB as hosts. Sharyl has always wanted to open our home as a B&B, and now that dream has come true.
We did some redecorating, and proceeded to go through the licensing process, still pending, and started advertising

 These are the three rooms we offer. All with queen beds  Come visit!!

 I thought we would attract mostly gringos, however so far most have been Ecuadorians, We have had 4 groups so far and each group has been so special. What a perfectly wonderful way to interact with folks here. The most interesting has been two young couples from Columbia, arriving on motorcycles.The first night, they did venture out to sightsee and eat, but the following evenings they just wanted to sit and converse with us for several hours. We learned so much about their lives in Columbia. Very interesting.
Other couples have been from Holland, another from the US travelling throughout South America. This couple stayed for 5 days to go hiking with Stan, AND they did most of the cooking while they were here. How special was that. We liked them the moment we opened our door to greet them.
Then a gentleman, has arrived for two weeks while he finds a permanent place to live. We have been helping him find the resources he needs to locate and settle into his new country.
We also have a young woman, who is a professional musician  staying with us for 6 months as she has been offered a teaching job at the close-by University.
So , we have now found another very special way to become more involved with the people here, and enhance our enjoyment of ECUADOR. How did we get so lucky!!!!!

VIVA ECUADOR Two years later

LOVE THE LIFE

TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Hard to believe that it has been two years since Sharyl and I made the decision to pick up and move to ECUADOR, but here we are with no regrets 

I came to Ecuador ...........for the standard of living. I can live much better here than if I had continued residing in Arizona or any other state in the US. The value of all our essential needs is much lower without having to sacrifice anything. Now many non essential items are more expensive, but we do have enough extra income to choose or not to purchase them.

I came to Ecuador............for the birds, my passion. Ecuador has the greatest diversity of birds of any other country for it size. I have enjoyed already, travelling here and there to watch and enjoy them.

I came to Ecuador.............for the adventure, enjoy a new culture, speak a different language, and the adventure continues to  happens every day.

TRIBUTE TO SABRINA

In Tucson, one of my joys was riding my bicycle. Arriving in Cuenca, I was of the opinion that I would not be able to ride a bicycle. The drivers here seemed to be quite manic, and very macho in their driving attitude. I was not as flexible as I was several years ago and was concerned that I would not be able to be safely aware of the cars around me.

However the idea kept gnawing at my mind. A friend had his bike and had been riding it many places and telling me how fun it was and he was now able to get more places more quickly.

THEN, I was talking to his friend who also had his bike. I asked him about his experiences and telling him about my concerns. He explained to me that the drivers here seemed to be aware of bikes and were giving him a wide berth. That he was very comfortable riding around.

So now I was really thinking about bringing my bike down here after all. We had been trying to sell it with no takers. So---- Sabrina was planning a visit---- so I broached the subject with her. Could she possibly think about bringing my bike with her. She said she actually had considered it,BUT between the cost of packing it and the cost of bringing it on board the plane it was going to be too expensive. That perhaps just getting  a bike here would be more cost effective. To say the least I was very disappointed. No bike here was as nice as mine nor as comfortable to ride  and they were not cheap.

What I did not know at the time I talked to her, was that she was already bringing my bike as a Fathers day gift. That was why she already knew so much of the cost. She already knew what was required to be able to bring the bike on the airplane. In fact it had already been boxed.

So imagine my joy when she quietly comes off the airplane and I discover that one of the pieces of luggage is "MY BIKE" I was speechless and overcome with excitement.

HEY

LOOK

AT ME NOW

 I have been happily riding my bike all over town ever since

They have special bike lanes on several of the main thoroughfares

---even some sidewalks will accomodates bikes

------and beautiful  bike paths along the rivers and parks

---and many of the roads are plenty wide enough to allow me plenty of room

So I am now comfortably riding to do shopping at the Mall where they have provided bike racks enabling me to lock my bike,( Sabrina even thought to bring a lock). Riding to visit friends and riding just for fun.

Life here has now taken on another whole dimension for me 

I will be for ever grateful to Sabrina for her Fathers Day surprise and the effort she made to transport " MY BIKE"

ANOTHER PAMPA MESA

Interestingly enough, I was invited by my landlord, an Ecuadorian, to join him and his family at a fiesta. Turns out the fiesta was for the baptism of several young people. One  was the child an indigenous family with whom they are very close.

The native family on the left and the In-Laws of my friend becoming God parents for the little boy.

After the ceremony, the family will put on a "PAMPA MESA" and feed   everyone and I mean everyone. There must have been well over 100 people who through out the evening arrived at their home to participate.

 The home 

 Food being prepared

The kitchen with more food cooking.

A simple table

With everyone gathered around to eat..

Now understand, I was the ONLY gringo attending this gathering of family members, close friends and it seemed like most of their neighbors. The food arrived in front of me. A full plate of rice-potatoes-shredded pork- and sitting on top was a "CUY"

Cuy is the national dish of Ecuador and is------

Thats right---Guinea Pig!!!!!!

Now I had never before eaten this animal  and really was not sure I wanted to, but what was I to do. There were at least  15-20 people watching this Gringo. What would he do ??????

Eat it of course-----

 This " delicacy" was enjoyed by everyone

-------especially my friend Felix

Me--not so much. I thought it was very salty and wondered " where is the meat"

Afterward we all danced the night away until 4am.

 This beautiful lady is teaching me some Ecuadorian dance moves 

Unfortunately this is where my camera battery died so I am unable to document the rest of the story.

However I am told that  I danced with almost all the ladies there including some elderly ones wearing their traditional dress, ---some younger ones who were even carrying a baby strapped to their back and best of all my friends teen age daughter who said to me " Where did YOU learn how to dance."

Now this was an experience of a lifetime.