Uzhupud Visit for Nancy's Birthday

February is a month of birthdays and we headed off to Hosteria Uzhupud to begin the celebrations! 

Several of our friends have February birthdays, beginning with Nancy's.

Nancy wanted to go look at the flowers...

Hacienda Uzhupud is a gorgeous, peaceful place, full of flowers in bloom, lots of history and delicious food. 

We had delicious lunch there. 










For more info, you can go to the website here:
http://www.uzhupud.com/inn/uzhupud_magico/?lang=en
We've been there before...you can also go back in our blog for more pictures and stories.

Courtyard is beautiful, with a fountain in the middle and lots of flowers and art.

Love this old sewing machine!  Rich learned to sew on one like this from his Mom.

Another fun day!  More February birthday pictures later...the month has just begun!

Another Week, More Pictures

There is always something fun and interesting to share.

Along Av LeMar... we see broken glass on top of walls all the time.  It's meant to deter trespassers.

More renovation projects waiting to happen...

A picture of a shop sign for you-know-who!

Another couple shots of last week's progress at the round-about road construction.

Moving right along.

A skinny Christmas tree still up in a shop.

A lovely country garden.

This week's flower bouquets. The apt smells heavenly!

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It's been a busy, noisy week here on Av Los Pinos.  We have 2 big apt complexes in the neighborhood, now in the process of move-in's.  Which means...huge container trucks (and smaller ones) coming and going at all hours.  Our street is now (officially) a one-way street, as some traffic is diverted around the nearby road construction, but some trucks didn't seem to care.  At one point, we had trucks, all sizes, jockeying for position and parking all over the place.  Lots of horns blaring and loud 'discussions'.

Also, our 2 neighborhood doggies now have a new puppy friend. 
They all romp and play and really get along great.  That is, until the owners next door take the puppy to the other side of the fence.  Then, the dogs howl and howl and bark up a storm...what a racket. 

(Picture of the new puppy above; below is the Daddy doggie.)


We suspect that, with all the new folks moving into the neighborhood, the internet up-time has been affected.  We were down for almost 3 days.  Could have been other things?, but makes one wonder (we got no explanation from the service company).
Maybe it was just 'our time' to be down, who knows.

One more picture from the neighborhood...we love these kinds of pictures!
A very modern new gate with colorful laundry (clothes dryers are uncommon for most families). 

A picture of the new and old ways...

More fun street art...

Just in time for Valentine's Day!
















From one of the walks to downtown at San Sabastian Square. 

A heavy green load...bigger than the woman carrying it.

A beautiful RED shawl, perfect for a chilly morning.

Cherry vendor.

Another heavy load.

Mom and Daughter.

Salon also at San Sabastian.

Another race... Our friend, Linda, went whizzing by, making good time!

Little tiny hats...wall decoration at Tiestos.

More pictures later...Have a great weekend!

Mary, South of Zero, Visits Cuenca

We were absolutely delighted to finally meet the award-winning blogger, Mary, of South of Zero. 

She, with help from husband, Steve, puts out a daily summary of many blogs on Ecuador.  We always start the day by checking in on her blog to see what everyone is up to.
(Link to SOZ is on the right hand side of this page.)




We're sure hundreds of folks follow Mary's blog, from those who are looking at Ecuador to visit or move to, as well as those of us who are already here.  She provides such a great service to us all.

Thank you, Mary!  We're looking forward to welcoming you back to Ecuador, next time with Steve,  in the very near future!

(Picture of Mary with another award-winner.  Juan Carlos is the talented chef at Tiestos.)











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 Mary joined us on our traditional Sunday walk with Chuck and Nancy.

We are including some fun pictures of yet more holiday parades! On Sunday, there were several in progress.

We never tire of all the colors, the decorated horses and vehicles and all the darling children. 










It was fun to share a couple parades with Mary.  Always fun to see Cuenca through a visitor's eyes.

On stilts.

Santa's Helpers are still here in Cuenca.

The hard-working street workers that usually follow each parade.












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We are beginning to see the beginnings of the Carnaval season.  Our Christmas season will be rolling right into the Carnaval parades and celebrations soon.

Fun costumes in the shops.

Carnaval means water!  We're already seeing the kids getting their water games ready...be careful out there!  Everyone is a target.  No fun getting drenched in chilly weather.

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 Safe, happy travels to Mary, we'll see you back here in Cuenca soon!