A roasting pig is a common site in the villages of Ecuador. Oftentimes as we drive through a community, we will see several restaurants displaying their menu in this fashion. This particular restaurant was someplace between Cuenca and our destination, Cańar. Some of our group bought a snack. As I had eaten breakfast prior to leaving on our excursion, I had to pass this opportunity for some freshly roasted pork. On a ... Read More
Ecuador
Gasping for air: The challenge of adapting to life in the Andes
CUENCA, Ecuador — By the time we had walked the half block to the corner from our building gate and up the slight grade of the next block, I could already feel my lungs calling for oxygen. "I can feel it already," I called back to my wife, Char, as we tread single file along the narrow, uneven, chipped-paver sidewalk of Hermano Miguel. "The altitude. I can feel it already." "So can I," Char called back. This long ... Read More
We’re headed south for winter in the Andes
The Ñucallacta Café is a delightful, and popular, eating establishment in Cuenca. There are two restaurants, one more or less on either end of the El Centro (center) district, where we stay. This particular location is in the same building as our apartment, and we received a $10 courtesy voucher, which paid for the huevos rancheros and cappuccinos Char and I enjoyed on our first morning in the city. Ñucallacta also roasts ... Read More
More observations from Cuenca
Cuenca is very conducive to exploring on foot, especially the historical central city. It's laid out in a grid, which makes it easy to find your way. It is a city of 400,000 people, with 700,000 inhabitants in the larger metropolitan area. The temperatures, on average, hang between 50° and 70° year round. The city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its many historical buildings. (Note: Char is ... Read More
Starting to feel at home away from home
After our trip to the grocery store, Char cooked up a pot of lentil soup. This is part of our easy-meal-on-demand strategy. It keeps for days in the fridge and provides an easy answer to the most common question of all marriages: What's for dinner? The aroma of lentil soup fills the apartment this afternoon as it drifts toward the open window overlooking the courtyard. A trip to the grocery store refreshed our ... Read More
Exploring El Centro
Two university students, Kevin (left) and Alexis, stopped us on the street for a class assignment. Kevin struggled to ask us questions in English while Alexis served as videographer. We took a walk this afternoon along the Tomebamba River on our way through the central city to the Panama Hat Museum (Museo Del Sombrero) and factory. Along the way, we provided an interview for a couple of university students who must ... Read More
Moving in and getting settled
Traveling is a lot of work. Listening to stories of travelers often evokes a kind of glamour, but the truth is, the act of traveling can be rather tedious. The process of moving your body and your belongings thousands of miles requires quite some energy and is tiresome. As it turns out, our trip to Ecuador transpired about as smoothly as a journey can. We were en route for 22 hours from our house to our new digs in ... Read More
Enroute to Ecuador
We have set off to Ecuador for the winter. Just now we are in Atlanta. So far, things have gone smoothly (that comment is probably the kiss of death). We left the house at 10 a.m. and by 10:40 we had checked in, checked our bags (all automated now--only a few Delta attendants hanging around to guide you through the process), and gone through TSA security, which today was as good as it has ever been (TSA employees did not ... Read More