Day to Day

Some of our readers have asked what do we DO all day here in Cuenca.

For those who know us well, you'll already know we start and end our day on the porch -- we LOVE the porch!

(View from porch)

We watch the sun rise and set

(Some days it REALLY looks like this~!)

... and the construction across the

way has provided us endless entertainment, too.

The crew of 'many' (50+?) hardworking guys are now pouring concrete for the 10th and last floor. No one seems to ever take much of a break... and several of them are often still on the job after 5pm. Even during the torrential rains, these guys very rarely run for cover. They just pull up their hoods or get their slickers and keep on working.

We read somewhere that the construction should be done in another 18 months or so... most of the units are already sold. Right on the river. The complex is huge!

Now that we bought the apt. and are moved in, we need living/dining room furniture... so, the past few weeks we've been looking and deciding...Last week, we *finally* decided on a kind-of modern style living room set. We wanted a light gray fabric but that wasn't available, so we settled on a sage-y/gray-ish microfiber, a little darker than the drapes. It'll be just fine. Delivery is set for end of month. The set is couch, 2 loveseats, chair. Two tables, too.... both glass top with matching wood base. There is a little wood on the furniture and they can match the color and type. Our 2nd choice was a modern sectional, but we decided in the end to do separate pieces.

We also ordered a wood, 5 panel screen, handmade here in Ecuador. It's also set to arrive end of month. It's pretty! The artists are adding some little flower medallions to it, kind of like the ones at the bottom of the ranch gate. We'll share pictures upon arrival.

The whole furniture experience is interesting, frustrating, enlightening... prices, styles and quality are all over the place... we have notes from visits to about 8 places around town (some we visited more than once, and we took pics so we could remember...) Everyone was very nice and helpful... well, except one place. I think the gal was just having a bad day... their furniture was the most expensive we've seen...nice stuff, but goodness! The dining set was almost 3-4 times more expensive than similar sets we'd seen around town...) I think the gal also wanted us to work through a designer...which we don't want to do. Well, maybe later we might, depending... But, we're having such fun learning the city through the furniture search. And, we have time...

Next up is a dining room set, rugs and light fixtures. We are narrowing it down and should get these on order next week.

During one of our walks along Calle Larga, we did find a sculture in one of the galleries that could work as a coat rack... There are no closets on the first floor, so what do you think? (Imagine a smiley-face here.)

And, we've added a bit to the vast array of kitchen stuff the sellers left for us... we added a toaster and microwave...

One day we stumbled upon a 12K race... all kinds of folks were racing (kids, adults of all ages and shapes, disabled in wheelchairs, etc.) Drew quite a crowd of supporters, a brass band and several street vendors. What a celebration at the finishing line! We were cheering right along with the crowd. Hard for us to imagine running at this altitude of 8300 ft.

On that Sunday, we located a recommended European bakery, but they were closed. So, we went back the next week... Here's Maria's Bakery.

Everything just delicious... they serve savory snacks, too.

On the home-front, we're getting into the routine... SuperMaxi has just about everything we need. We've gotten that errand down pretty good... we walk to the store, shop, and take a taxi back. We just click the taxi into the garage, get a building-provided cart, unload and take the elevator up. Easy.

We're also learning to communicate with Miriam, our cleaning lady who comes each Tues. Each week is easier as our Spanish gets better.

We're also getting the gist of how to pay utility bills and association fees and the guards are getting used to us, too.

Some of you have asked how much it costs to live here, and we'll give you an idea in the next update.

==N