Retire to Ecuador? Why not!

Even the medical supply stores show their Ecuadorian spirit during the World Cup.

Just a quick note explaining our absence lately. I hope to get more caught up after the holidays, adding to our move/mule page as well as our budget page. Oh yeah, the WHY....LOL! We are taking Spanish classes, our first. The classes are two hours a day but we have to allow an hour to get a bus and our classes, the classes are from 11-1 so when we are done it's lunch time. Then we usually take a bus home. Thus we are often gone from ten to four, five days a week. By the time we get home we are beat...our brains stuffed and our bodies beat. We are off Thanksgiving week, the US day, then two more weeks of classes. So how are we doing? Not sure...our pronunciation is better, we know a few more words but verb and tense - oh my! We've been out of formal school for a long time. Time will tell. The good thing is all our Ecuadorian friends are now helping us practice and aren't shy about correcting us. Life is good!

Street performers at Don Colon Restaurant This is the same couple we saw on the bus months ago. Quite good!

Anybody know what time it is? A local department store in Cuenca.

...or Provincial Federation of Professional Craftsmen of the Azuay. We went into El Centro today to buy a washer/dryer for our new apartment. Our good friend, Emilio, was with us and we headed towards the same place we bought our stove with his assistance. We had barely stepped out of the parking garage when we heard what sounded like a marching band. Another block, turn the corner and this is what we see! After snapping a couple of shots, we continued down the sidewalk and realized this was a whole parade and we made it just in time to see the procession. Today the parade was to honor the professional craftsmen and trades, ranging from tailors to beauticians to leather workers to metal workers and much more. Here is a sampling of what we saw - click to enlarge any photo or check out the entire SmugMug album . At the end there were several floats and a couple of cars. This one was really fun, the Ecuadorian version of a "Rat Rod". Notice the references to

Continued from Part One in our US Blog.... Our Prime Years . So, we arrived safe and sound in Cuenca mid-afternoon on Thursday. The apartment was in great shape and we were happy to be home. We unloaded the footlockers and suitcases before we crashed. The skies let loose and since we had nothing much available to eat, as soon as the weather cleared we called Fabiano's Pizzeria for delivery. Phew! Good dinner and a good night's sleep. Friday we started handing out some of the stuff we muled back for friends. Saturday we headed out to Popacuchu to meet up with some friends and give them their items. We enjoyed a good meal and a great chat for several hours before heading back home. Today we ventured into El Centro. Why? Cuenca is celebrating it's 194th independence anniversary. Thousands are in town and there are vendors and shows/parades everywhere. We spent a couple of hours wandering, bought nothing and took a lot of photos. Here are a few thumbnails, click

Surveying his territory from up on high