"But, What Do You DO All Day?"

Starting out with walking pictures...

Along Av 3 Nov, lots of construction. 

We took these pictures a couple weeks ago, so there is probably much progress since then.  We'll have to check later.

Fixing another old building.

New sewer lines going in.












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Nancy talked with a family member in the US recently.  The big question:  "So, what do you guys DO all day there in Ecuador??"
We always smile when we get that question.  Maybe it's hard to comprehend if you're not here but, we do pretty much what we used to do back in the US.  We walk (not just the ranch, but a whole, vibrant City!), we read, we get online.   We visit with friends, we cook, we shop.  We fill the day with fun activities and we're not bored.
We welcome each morning from our porch and watch the sunsets, back on the porch, each evening.  Just like we have done almost every place we've lived.  With little twists and turns, we're pretty much the very same folks, with all the same interests and foibles, we were in the US.
But, we don't worry about the weather in hay season or yet another farm repair, like we did on our ranch in Oregon.  We don't worry about good, available and affordable medical care or the variety of other US-style expenses that we don't have here.  We do still worry about our friends' health and well-being, here and there.
Yes, we're still eating our veggies, but they actually taste like something here!  Tastes just like those from our garden in Oregon, home grown. 
Yes, there are horses here, too, and llamas, cows and goats, birds, kitties and doggies.  We enjoy them all and we still fret if they don't seem happy and well.
Yes, speaking Spanish is probably one of our big challenges, but we're prodding along, getting better each day.  We are a little miffed at ourselves for not paying more attention to Spanish 'there', especially since we grew up in California...But, we're stretching our old brains and it's sinking in.  Spanish is so much more useful here than French or Mandarin, Inuktitut or Farsi.  (Spanish is probably easier to learn, too.)
We think our lives are easier, much more simple and even more fun (if that's possible!) here, than 'there'. 
Our computer counter tells us we've been in Ecuador now for almost 1100 days!  'Guess you could say we're liking it here just fine. 

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Fun art in a restaurant.  Kitties and crows for Mom.

Our beautiful river.

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One day this week we headed out to meet friends for lunch.  We decided to explore another route to town this time.  We walked through a neighborhood near the Feria Libre (huge people's market), on to Av. Loja, to Av R Crespo, on to the Stadium. 

The Loja neighborhood is the latest area to be added to the historic designation, with several old adobes and historic buildings. 

A long and often too hot walk, late morning.  But, by the time we hit the restaurant, it was clouding over.  Halfway through the meal, it was raining hard and cold.  As we were leaving the restaurant, rain had stopped and the blue skies had puffy, white clouds.  Another typical weather day at this time of year.

These are pics from this route (took us about an hour of walking from our apt.)

Along a side street in the Feria Libre neighborhood.

Pretty church in Av. Loja neighborhood, pink flowers to go with the pink marble.

Lots of new-to-us fun street art.

Our favorite fun car on Av R Crespo.

You can see the changing skies from these pics...blue to almost rain, all within the hour walk.










We're looking forward to our traditional Sunday walk with Chuck and Nancy soon!