We had come
to Cuenca not only to reconnect with an area we loved but also to get a few
things accomplished that we found hard to do in Salinas. Of those on the top of
the list was getting a haircut (it is impossible to find an English speaking
hairdresser in Salinas), check out different porcelain tiles for our summer
condo renovation and go shopping at Sukasa ( a kitchen/home store) for hard to
find stuff. We had accomplished most of these as our last week came closer.
To our
delight, our good friends Connie and Murray from Salinas were coming up to
visit us for a couple of days. They took a bus from Salinas to Guayaquil, spent
one night there, and then took a van for the 3 ½ hour trip through the
mountains to Cuenca. They arrived around noon on Friday to a wonderfully sunny
day! Have I complained about our lack of sunshine and amount of rain this past
month? Hmmm, let’s leave that topic just be aware that our umbrellas had had
quite a workout.
After some
lunch at home we all walked along the river to reach the historic section
downtown. We had a beer at a nice outdoor restaurant and then went to a shop to
buy some wall hangings I wanted for our 3rd bedroom. And the sun
shone on- whoohoo.
Connie &
Murray on one of the historic streets.
In Calderon
Park.
Our Pub
dinner at a local restaurant.
Next day we
decided to take the 2 hour tour bus that takes you all around Cuenca. The bus
leaves at Calderon Park and costs $5/person. Uwe and I had done this before last
year but it’s a great way to introduce new people to Cuenca. And once again it
was a bright sunny day- wow, two in a row. Our friends had obviously brought
the Salinas’ sunshine with them.
After a trip
through many Cuenca neighborhoods, we went to Turi- high on a hill overlooking
Cuenca. Amazing scenery.
At the end
of our trip, we all met Cody and Michael at the new location of California
Kitchen restaurant owned by yet another expat couple.
A small jazz duo
entertained us while we ate some delicious food.
On Monday
after Connie and Murray left for home, Uwe and I had to go to the Cuenca Visa
office to have our picture taken. Yes, I know, I haven’t said much about the
visas that we had applied for back on October 25,2012. That whole process when
it’s finally finished will become an entire chapter in this Blog. Suffice to
say, somehow? Our pictures were lost in the system and our lawyer had gotten us
permission to have them retaken in Cuenca. We went to the office as early as
possible and after explaining what we needed, were told to come back at 3PM.
We returned
at 2:30PM, explained again that we required ‘foto solo’, and were directed to
sit in the waiting room. There were approximately 6-8 people waiting already.
We waited almost one hour until the guard positioned us in order of
first/second etc. and somehow we managed to get at the front of the line. We
were soon called up, spoke to a competent young woman who spoke perfect
English. She checked our lawyer’s letter and our notarized passport copy- our
actual passport was with the visa people in Quito. Our pictures were quickly
taken, put into the ‘system’ and we were on our way. Wow! Where were we? Could
this efficient office actually be in Ecuador? We were impressed as an hour’s
wait was next to nothing.
On our last
day in Cuenca, we and our friends, Cody,Michael, Donna and Larry, decided to have a farewell dinner party along
with the condo owners, Ray & Maryse, of the place we were staying. After making sure they had
no objections our plans went ahead. Some of our group.
Appetizers
at Donna & Larry’s condo.
Cody &
Michael supplied a delicious lasagna big enough to feed 9 of us (did I mention
an additional guest, Priscilla).
The dining
room table with all nine of us.
A perfect
way to end our month in Cuenca! Tomorrow home to Salinas.
No comments:
Post a Comment