WANDERING WITH WILLIAM
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Concluding Days & Return to US

3/12/2023

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We enjoy the concluding days of this Cuenca trip.

On Sunday we relax in the Airbnb with some coffee and tea then take a taxi to Cafe San Sebas on Parque San Sebastián.  During our 10 minute ride it begins pouring rain the drops off to a pleasant shower.  We dash from the taxi to the restaurant and are pleased to find a table for two on the second floor.  The breakfast is very good and during our meal the rain slows to a light sputter.

We leave Cafe San Sebas, setting the Mercado de Artesianes Rotary as our destination.  It’s a 21 minute walk according to Google Maps.  The streets are glistening due to the rain and are quiet due to the timing, a late Sunday morning.  It’s a perfect time for a stroll.
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Mercado de Artesianes Rotary is a local crafts and home goods market, with perhaps 40 outdoor booths and a dozen or so storefronts on the perimeter.  Local women are selling fruits and vegetables on the sidewalk.  The assortment of baskets, kitchen and outdoor tools, and ironwork are seemingly hand-made.  There’s some booths with clothing of various quality and origin.  We spot several grills designed for preparing cuy, a popular festive entree of guinea pig.
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Monday afternoon we think we’ll enjoy Museo Pumapungo.  The sky is threatening rain, but that is very common during our visit in the rainy season.  I check Google for the hours of operation - yes, it’s open.  However, when we arrive at the museum we are told that it is closed on Monday’s.  Bummer.  We talk about options and agree to just return to our Airbnb, a 20-30 minute walk.  Less than three minutes into our return the sky opens up in a downpour.  William has a compact umbrella and I have a hip-length rain jacket.  Needless to say when we arrive at the Airbnb we are mostly soaked.  We change and throw our clothes and running shoes into the dryer.  For dinner we stay nearby, trying out a very local restaurant, La Casona Del Puente Roto.  It has mixed reviews on Google, but it is open on a Monday at 5:30 pm and is less than 3 minutes away.  The owner is delighted that he has customers and we find that the service is great (we are the only people in a restaurant that holds 100) and the food is decent.  A good option for a wet night.
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Tuesday we pack and then have dinner with friends David and JJ at Capitan’s restaurant.  We order a bottle of good white wine as a bit of celebration and each of us has an entree.  The food is generous, beautifully presented, delicious, and the company of our friends is even better.  William laughs out loud when the bill arrives.  It is only $105.  He knows the check would be almost double if we were in the US.  The owner presents JJ and myself with chocolates and flowers in honor of International Women’s Day.

Wednesday and Thursday are travel days.  Javier picks us up on Wednesday at 9 am in his taxi.  We discuss the mudslides that have been occurring on the highway through the Cajas and agree to take the longer route to the north, which makes it a 4.5-5 hour drive to Guayaquil.  We spend the night at the Courtyard hotel and the next morning the hotel transports us to the airport.  We arrive back at our US home at midnight after connecting through Miami.  A long day.

Our bed feels soooo good!
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Good Friends and New Experiences

3/5/2023

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We start the week wishing Lois, our very good friend, a happy birthday on Sunday.  Although she is thousands of miles away her voice and laugh brings us together.

The expat newsletters have been advertising a Newcomers luncheon on Monday at a restaurant in the neighborhood nicknamed “Gringolandia”.  We decide to see what it’s all about and grab a taxi for a 10 minute, $2 ride.  

There are 50-60 people in attendance, with a few familiar faces in the group.  We grab two seats at a table and the wait staff takes our order. We soon learn that this is the first Newcomers gathering in over a year and that prior to Covid the meetings were held quarterly.   Short presentations are made by approximately 25 people selling products/services or representing service organizations ranging from soup kitchens to pet adoption agencies.  Two-thirds of the presenters are English-speaking expats.  The other third are Cuencano’s who either speak English or have someone speaking for them.  As a result of the presentations and the accompanying handouts we learn of a few items of interest.  The whole meeting (including lunch) is concluded in less than two hours.  

Tuesday afternoon is cribbage time!  It is more of a pick-up group, and there are only five of us this afternoon.  We break into groups of two to a game and three to a game.  As we finish games we rotate players.  William and I each win one of our games during the three hours of play (and talking), a 25% individual success rate.

Wednesday our friends David and JJ have invited us to their condo to make Chinese dumplings from scratch.  We are joined by their friends Ron and Sharon.  We know it could be an interesting afternoon when David starts us out with one of his signature mojitos.  JJ has pre-made the pork filling for us as well as mixed up a large batch dough.  In the background she is whipping up a pot of egg drop soup.  
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After cocktails we get to work.  David, Ron and William tackle further kneading the dough and rolling out the wrappers.   JJ teaches Sharon and I how to fill the wrappers and ensure that the seams are fully closed.  It becomes clear we won’t keep up and William comes over to help us.  When we’ve completed enough JJ cooks the dumplings - a couple of batches are fried and then she switches over to boiling.  As the batches are completed we take breaks to enjoy the products of our work - delicious!  Between all the cooking and eating we exchange life stories and personal perspectives - interesting!
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Friday evening there is another concert of the Cuenca Symphony at Teatro Pumapungo.  We meet up with expat friends who are also in the audience.  This evening we have Patricio Jaramillo as guest conductor and a guest pianist, Cosié Aguirre.  The Symphony starts with a piece from Mozart.  Cosié joins for the second piece, Hayden’s Piano Concert No. 11 in D Major.  She plays with confidence and vigor, receiving a standing ovation at the completion of the piece.  The final piece for the evening is Beethoven’s Symphony Number 8 in F Major.  Once again a very enjoyable evening of good music.
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Our Fourth Week in Cuenca

2/26/2023

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The last days of Carnival (Monday, Tuesday) leading up to Ash Wednesday are pretty quiet.  They are holidays with government offices, most banks and many businesses closed.  And while there are still people spraying foam for fun, the big partying is over.  We see families out taking walks or hanging around the parks and riverfront.  The traffic has mostly disappeared and the city takes on a very relaxed feel.
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I take advantage of the quieter city to take photos of the street art I see on my daily walks.  Cuenca is arts-focused and the quality of much of the street art is a degree above what I’ve seen in many other cities.  

We also use some of the quiet time to continue pressing our university for William’s letter describing his ISCED field of study.  No response to calls and e-mails. Silence.  Not a good sign.  Anne has a Master of Science degree from another university.  We begin the process of obtaining documentation on that degree as a fall-back.

Friday is a very busy day.  We start by meeting our Ecuadorian attorney to discuss visa options and our status in obtaining necessary paperwork.  She is very informative and we map out next steps.

Museo Remigio Crespo Toral is less than two blocks away, so off we go!  We have been in the museum many years ago, but it has been restored further and the collection expanded.  It only takes 30 minutes to leisurely walk through the museum - it’s enjoyable as a “bite” of history.  

It’s close to lunch time and we’re hungry. Capitan restaurant is six blocks away, which we visited it in 2016, enjoyed, and heard that it is even better now.  The doors to the restaurant are closed, but after I pull on the right door the chef’s wife comes and explains that they are cash only.  Fine with us; we anticipate that 50% or more of the businesses in Cuenca operate solely on a cash basis.  We order our beverages and entrees and sit back.  Some delicious garlic bread is delivered and a while later our beverages.  We sit and talk, we sit some more and talk, we smile as we overhear the conversation of a young family who recently relocated to Cuenca from the US with a two-year old.  We talk yet some more, eventually quietly discussing the necessary time commitment of dining out in Ecuador.  Our meals arrive and are beautifully presented.  They taste even better.  William has about a pound of shrimp with a modest amount of linguine and mushrooms in a light sauce.  I have at least eight ounces of Corvina with garlic and six shrimp accompanied by a dollop of mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley.  The food is worth the wait.  Total bill with two glasses of wine and sparkling water is less than $50 - wonderful!  We will return in the future.
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Around 5pm our friend JJ messages us that she and David are about to go into the Indian restaurant we’ve been hoping to try.  The restaurant is a 15 minute walk from our Airbnb.  We immediately put on our shoes and head out the door to meet them at the Indian restaurant Barbecue Palace.  I order the butter chicken and William has the chicken tikka masala.  Both come with garlic naan.  Mmmm!  Another restaurant to return to!
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The Cuenca Symphony plays Friday night.  The evening features the winners of a young artists competition.  There are three violinists, a pianist, a trombonist and a young man who plays the clarinet.  The ages of the winners appear to be between 10 and 19.  Each one plays a solo with the full orchestra.  While the 10 year-old is playing the piano I whisper to William that at his age I was playing very simple pieces and dreading recitals while this boy is playing with a full orchestra in front of hundreds of people.  Amazing!

Saturday we spend the late morning and afternoon meandering around the city.  We start with a taxi ride up into El Centro.  We enjoy Parque San Sebastián where William discusses purchasing and trading 1/10th ounce gold coins with a fellow expat.  I start to get a little hungry, so we walk toward Parque Calderòn and stop at Le Bistro Café for a crepe and some coffee. After the leisurely snack we stop at a cheese shop and then start the walk toward our Airbnb.  Along the way we pause at a bench to enjoy the Tomebamba river.  There are families and friends dotting the park along the riverbank, and everyone seems to be enjoying the beautiful day.

​On Sunday afternoon William decides that it is time for him to attempt an uphill walk into El Centro.  He maps out a path that takes us up a ~30 step staircase and then an uphill street for four to five blocks.  He stops and rests a few times along the way but feels okay.  At the top we stop at Cafe de Museo for a coffee and a glass of wine, then we go downhill out the “back door” to the park along the river for our walk home.  Yay! - such a big difference from four weeks ago when we arrived in Cuenca.
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Experiences & Carnival

2/19/2023

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This week we return to Cribbage and the Symphony, William does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for the first time and we watch the Carnival parade and check out the Azuay Community Theater.

Tuesday afternoon we return to the Coffee Shop Cribbage group for a couple of hours of fun.  The pairings of players are mixed up from our first visit two weeks ago, and we are able to learn more about the lives of the different players.   The conversations often turn to why people first came to Cuenca, where they’ve lived in Cuenca, and where else has been “home”.   The majority of the group rents their apartments/condo’s here, and I find it interesting to learn how often they switch to new places and what drives their decisions to move.  There’s a story or two of acquaintances who made significant improvements in their rental (in one case $18,000) only to have the owner dramatically increase the rent or refuse to renew the lease.  The consensus around the cribbage tables is to try to get the owner to do the improvements before starting a lease or only make small improvements yourself.  Seems like common sense to us.
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A new experience is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). William has been reading about the benefits of HBOT for many years.  Although he’s talked about pursuing it in the US, when we saw a local physician in Cuenca offering the service he had to investigate, especially after his Covid experience.  I went with him to the consultation appointment on Wednesday morning.  That afternoon he decided to make an appointment and try it out. 

We arrived 5 minutes early on Thursday morning.  The physician and his assistant were ready - a positive sign given typical Ecuadorian timing of being 20-30 minutes late.  Dr. Flores explains the process again and he assists William into the unit.  The oxygen begins flowing and Dr. Flores slowly increases the pressure to 50 psi.  After 45 minutes at 50 psi the pressure is slowly released and William emerges.  He feels great.  He said he wanted to wait a day or two before making any subsequent appointments.  An HBOT session in the US costs $250 to $600.  William pays the doctor here $50 for the session.  By Friday afternoon he still feels good and has decided to make an appointment for next week.
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Thursday evening, we attend the Cuenca Symphony.  It is the kickoff of Carnival in San Francisco Square, so the Symphony is lightly attended.  But the guest conductor is energetic and the music is beautiful.  We’re delighted.
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Saturday the Carnival festivities are in full swing.  Carnival is the celebration leading up to Ash Wednesday - in New Orleans it is Mardi Gras.  Here there are no beads being worn or thrown, it is much more a family event - especially during the day, though there is much foam at all hours.  The parade begins at 10 am in Parque San Blas.  We take up a viewing spot 6 blocks away, across from Parque Calderon.  The vendors are out hawking their snacks and cans of spray foam.  Around 10:15 the parade arrives in our area and the foam really is flying through the air.  Foam hits people in the parade as well as along the street.  Foam is so much better than the tradition from an earlier visit where buckets of water and water balloons were thrown!  There are concerts around town beginning at 11 am and continuing through the afternoon.  After grabbing lunch William and I make it home with only being foamed in the back.  Success!
 
Sunday, we attend the Azuay Community Theater, which is an expat group. The venue allows for 36 - 42 seats and all are taken.  Prior to the virtual curtain rising we meet Dale and Judy from Saskatchewan, Canada for the first time.  They are snow birds who spend approximately two months in Mexico prior to coming to Cuenca for four months.  They have been doing this for a number of years.  We also meet Jane and Nancy from the Cribbage group.  The program includes four short plays.  Three are enjoyable while one is painful - not from the performance perspective, but rather from the subject matter.  Overall, we rate it a “ok” experience, but not something we would be disappointed to miss.
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Health & Chocolate

2/12/2023

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One of the primary goals for our trip to Cuenca is to see if William can breathe and feel well at the high altitude (2,560 m, 8,400 ft).  He has had trouble in the past with altitude, and after his month in the hospital with Covid in early 2022 we are concerned.

During our first few days we learned that walking uphill is very tiring for William.  We develop a strategy to taxi up into El Centro and then walk downhill to our Airbnb.  This works well, and we continue it during the second week of our stay.  William’s strength is improving - that is until he comes down with a stomach bug.  After a week of over-the-counter medicines, he breaks out the antibiotic we always bring on our trips.  It’s just been two days on the antibiotic, but he is feels much, much better. 

The down-time while William suffers with the stomach bug gives us time to focus on the documentation needed to obtain an Ecuador Professional Visa.  This visa would allow us to come and go as we choose (the tourist visa allows only 90 days) and if we only leave Ecuador for less than 90 days in the first two years after the visa is issued, we can obtain residency.  

A first step in the Professional Visa is documentation from our schools regarding our degrees.  We both graduated with bachelor’s degrees from the same university, so we have obtained official copies of our transcripts, diplomas, and letters explaining that we took classes in-person from the Office of the Registrar.  This year Ecuador instituted an additional requirement of an official letter from the school certifying our studies relate to an international standard (classification) of fields of study.  This proves to be a stumbling block which the Office of the Registrar is not willing to provide.  We’re directed to our school advisory offices.  Anne’s advisory office basically says that they can’t help because the university uses a U.S. classification and not the international standard.  The head advisor for William’s school is more understanding and indicates she will try to help, recognizing that the Office of the Registrar has abandoned his request.  We’ll need to wait until early next week to see if she comes through with a letter.
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Some of our plans are cancelled or put on hold due to William’s stomach issue, but on Friday he feels up to going to a chocolate and wine tasting at IdiomART.  As the group assembles, we meet expats who have lived in Cuenca for years as well as snowbirds from Canada, the US, and Iceland.  The tasting is led by Melissa Perez-Singer, a Guatemalan-American who is now living in Ecuador.  Melissa discusses the history of cocoa, the chocolate-making process and the company Kamm, which works with the Chachi Community to source cocoa directly from the indigenous farmers.  The most valued variety of cocoa is the “fino aroma” representing 5% of world production, of which 63% is in Ecuador. 
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Melissa explains the chocolate tasting process: sight (no white), snap, smell, taste.  We start with 85% chocolate.  The group of 16 of us practice with one piece, then she gives us another piece for our official tasting accompanied by a glass of wine.  The fino aroma chocolate is incredibly smooth and not at all bitter, as one could expect with 85% chocolate.  We go on to taste flavored chocolates including chai tea, ginger lemonade, salty caramel and big mango.  The 85% and the ginger lemonade are our favorites.  The tasting concludes with a small cup of hot chocolate - 100% pure powdered cocoa in water.  It is a fun two hours.

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Since William is still feeling ok and we’ve already thrown diets to the wind we splurge with pasta dinners at Mangiare Bene.  William selects the pasta carbonara while I have the meat lasagne.  Wonderful treats!
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We Finally Return to Cuenca

2/3/2023

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In early Spring of 2020, we returned to the US from almost three months in Southeast Asia.  Our plan was to spend about six weeks seeing our families and friends, then fly down to Ecuador.  The idea was to have fun in Cuenca and also to see if we were ready to make a base residence in the near future.  There was this new virus called Covid that was starting to cause issues in the world, but we thought it would be all taken care of before our flight to Ecuador in late April.  Oy!  As we all know, Covid had a huge impact on the world and our lives.
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We finally return to Cuenca on January 27th, 2023.  On our first evening in the city, we meet up with friends David and JJ to attend concert by the Cuenca Symphony.  They start the program with the 1812 Overture, play some additional pieces then bring on two talented singers.  It is very enjoyable and amazingly, the Symphony concerts are still completely free.
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Saturday, we have opportunity to dine in the home of friends Burt and Evelyn, who we met on our first visit (and their first visit) to Cuenca in 2012.  They made Cuenca their full-time home in 2013 and we have stayed in touch over the years.  The domes of the New Cathedral are always inspiring, and Burt and Evelyn have a great view from their living room.  This is followed on Sunday morning with brunch at a local restaurant with Burt, Evelyn, David and JJ.  

Tuesday afternoon we join a group of ex-pats that play cribbage every week.  Some are permanent residents while others are visiting as part of their search for a second home country on a full-time or part-time basis.  Interestingly, almost all of the attendees are originally from Canada.  Some have lived in Cuenca for over 10 years.  In addition to fun games (William won all of his), we hear stories and learn more about life in Cuenca.
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Thursday, we attend another concert of the Symphony.  It’s a little different as some of the pieces include performances by three pianists. There’s a special tribute to Luis Verdugo Rojas.  We gather from the tributary speech that he was one of the founders of the Cuenca Symphony and very significant in the Ecuadorian music scene over many years.  Again, a very enjoyable evening.
 
To round out our first week in Cuenca, on Friday evening there’s a native dance group performing in the Flower Market square.  Lots of family-oriented fun.
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Last Few Days in Nashville

9/18/2020

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We spend this trip’s last few days in Nashville primarily revisiting spots we have enjoyed.  

On Monday we go to The Row for the bbq and the music. They have a rotating group of performers who do a 50 minute set working for tips. The music is from 6-10pm every night. The food is decent and the entertainment is usually pretty good.
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Each morning I take one of my favorite routes for my walk. One takes me past Barcelona restaurant where we had a good meal of tapas and paella a few weeks ago. Another slips through Vanderbilt University, and a third routes through The Gulch and back up Broadway.
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A new destination for a walk is Belmont University, a mile from the Airbnb apartment. Belmont is a private Christian college and the site of the Belmont Mansion. It housed the first radio station in Nashville in 1922 and will be the site of the third presidential debate of 2020. I walk through part of the campus and catch some photos near the mansion.

Friday afternoon after doing the laundry and completing most of our packing we walk back to Casa de Montecristo. Unfortunately William twists his foot on an uneven spot in the road and takes a rolling fall. Fortunately he doesn’t break anything. Faced with the choice of continuing on to the cigar lounge or returning to the apartment he decides to press on. We have a relaxing, enjoyable time then summon an Uber to take us back. A dramatic finish to a nice month in Nashville.
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Cheekwood Estate

9/15/2020

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Cheekwood is a historical estate with large gardens located in Nashville. In non-Covid times the estate is a venue for concerts and many group activities. Sigh. Happily the estate is at least open to visitors with pre-purchased admission. The timed tickets provide access to the 55 acres including gardens and entry to the mansion. An added bonus is the Chihuly glass which is on display in the mansion and on the grounds.

The mansion was completed in 1932 and occupied by Leslie and Mable Cheek and subsequently members of their family until 1957 when it was proposed to become a public garden and fine arts center. Fun fact: Leslie was born into a wealthy business family, but he made most of his money from his stock in Maxwell House Coffee when it was bought by Postum Company (later renamed General Mills).
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We spend an hour meandering through the 36 room, eleven bedroom, twelve bathroom mansion. Several rooms have been converted into galleries of artwork, notably Chihuly glass at this time. We particularly like the Loggia room with it’s wide doors and windows leading to the Swan Lawn.
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​The gardens are very beautiful and the Chihuly glass is very interesting. The Estate has a separate evening program with the glass illuminated, something that could be quite fun. For today we walk through some of the gardens and enjoy a beautiful afternoon.
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Vanderbilt University

9/14/2020

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Our Airbnb apartment is just a few blocks from Vanderbilt University. So in addition to the small number of tourists in the area we are provided with plenty of students for our people-watching activities.

Vanderbilt was founded in 1873 by the Methodist Church using an initial $1 million endowment from Cornelius Vanderbilt, the shipping and rail tycoon.
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​There’s evidence that on-campus activities are very different due to Covid-19. A mask is required everywhere, indoors and out. Students are allowed to remove them in their dorm rooms. 😁 Even the statue of Vanderbilt wears a mask. Huge tents have been setup in the Commons for students to social distance while eating their meals or studying. It may be the time of day that I normally walk through, but I rarely see them used. Mostly I see students with cafeteria take-out meals headed back to their dorm room. A bellwether of the times is a sign encouraging try-outs for an a cappella group - which will be conducted virtually. Let’s hope that the school doesn’t have an outbreak which causes administrators to require all classes to go virtual.
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Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage

9/10/2020

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It’s a pleasant morning as I pack a picnic lunch for our outing to Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. Like many tourist locations in these Covid-days, tickets must be purchased in advance online, so I also take care of that detail and around noon we jump into the car for the short 14 mile drive.
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Beginning in 1804 Hermitage was the home of Andrew Jackson, who became the 7th President of the United States. From 1804 - 1821 he and his wife Rachel and their family lived in a log cabin on the estate. There were also log cabins for their slaves and work buildings such as a smokehouse and barns. We walk through this section of the property listening to a self-tour while we wait for our 1:30 pm tour of the mansion.
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Following the tour we stroll through the garden and visit the tombs of Andrew and Rachel as well as the small family cemetery.
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​We’re getting hungry and it is easy to find a table under a nice shade tree. We pull out our picnic and enjoy the lovely estate on a pleasant day.
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    Hi.  I'm Anne.  I wander around the world with William.


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