Oh the Places We Go...and the People We Meet

It continues to be a busy life here in Cuenca.  Everyday we discover something new and meet so many nice, kind people.  Last Saturday we finally had the opportunity to meet up with our new friends Roz and Ken.  We went to the Jazz Society to hear a duo from Southern California.  It was nice to catch up with them and hear about their past year in Cuenca.  They have always been so kind and  helpful to Lance and myself.  We appreciate their friendship and hope to see them as often as possible, even though they now live on the outskirts of Cuenca.  Sorry...no pictures of the event...I didn't think to bring my phone.

Sunday Lance and I headed down to the Inca Lounge and Bistro for lunch.  As we passed the park we could hear music playing.  We were surprised to see two native (North) American men playing instruments and entertaining a small crowd.

A little bit later, I received a text from my daughter, Erin, asking if anyone watches the Packers in Cuenca.  As we approached the Lounge, here is what we saw...

it was Mike, the owner of the place, wearing a Packers jersey.  I asked if I could take his picture and he happily posed.  Mike hails from Alaska, and he told us that some girls from UWM had given him the shirt.  The Inca Lounge is part restaurant, and part sports bar.  They are one of the "go to" places if you want to watch North American football.  Mike is very friendly, and runs a nice establishment.  He referred to living in Cuenca as an expat "lite" experience.  I would have to agree.  Despite our lack of the language, we have found it very easy to get around and the people most helpful.  I'm sure it would be much harder in other countries.  While there we met a couple from Cleveland who are interested in moving to Cuenca, so we sat with them and shared a little bit of our experience.

Monday, we had lunch with another new friend, Barbara, that we met on our previous trip to Cuenca.  Barbara is originally from Germany, but she has lived in many different and interesting places.  We had a nice conversation and will no doubt get together with her again sometime soon.

Tuesday we paid a visit to the Mall del Rio which is the biggest and fanciest mall in Cuenca.  They have a Coral store there...which might remind you of Walmart...and many other upscale shops that display items and brand names that would be familiar to people back in the states.  Most of the stores at the mall and in El Centro are already preparing for Christmas.  We saw a huge Christmas tree being assembled in the mall and the Coral store had large displays of candy and animal crackers.

 Here is a picture of the food court at the mall.  It has a large screen T.V. and many familiar fast food restaurants, including McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway etc.  It also has a car dealership.

These pictures show Lance holding the large sacks of candy and animal crackers that can be found in the Coral store.

Wednesday, we had to take our unexpected trip to Quito to get pictures for our residency visa.  We flew with another couple, Glenn and Mara, who also needed photos.  Glen and Mara moved to Cuenca a few days before us.  They were very nice, had interesting stories to share, and had much more knowledge of Ecuador due to several trips they had made in the past.  They were also very good at speaking Spanish...which was a great help to Lance and myself.  Interestingly enough, Glenn had gone to school in Oak Creek, WI and Mara had gone to Northwestern University, but also spent some time in the Milwaukee area while dating Glenn.  However, they spent most of their married life in Alaska.

Mara taught kindergarten...go figure...and I believe Glenn worked with computers.  They are both musically talented.  In fact, Glenn's brother, Gordon, is in the well known Milwaukee band, The Violent Femmes.  We appreciated having someone to spend the day with while we took care of business.

   

 It was our first visit to Quito, and we were amazed at how close the mountains are to the city.  Parts of it are very beautiful.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit the historic center.  Instead we flew into the new airport...which is many miles away from the city.  After a long cab ride we arrived at the old airport, met someone from Gringo Visas who was there to help us, then drove with them directly to the office where we had our paperwork and pictures done.  Afterwards, we went for lunch with one of the helpers, a very nice gentleman who had previously done mission work in Cuenca.  When lunch was done, we headed back to the airport where we sat and visited for the afternoon, waiting for our 6:00 flight back to Cuenca.  I wish I could have gotten some nice pictures of the area, but we spent most of the time in a car and it was hard to get a good shot.  Someday we will have to return to Quito for a longer, more relaxing visit.

We continue to enjoy our stay at the Gran Colombia Suites.  There are so many nice and helpful people that work here.  One of our favorites is the handsome gentleman who works at the front desk.  His name is EnZo and he always has a smile on his face, is impeccably dressed, and goes out of his way to help everyone.  He grew up in Cuenca, but speaks very good English...which is helpful to us.  We LOVE EnZo!!!

Today is Thursday...and Lance and I have our second Spanish class.  It is going to be a challenge.  We attend as true beginners, but there are many in the class that clearly have more experience than us.  We will continue to work hard at this because it is important that we know how to talk to the local people.  That does it for today.  Tomorrow we take another exciting trip with Roz, Ken, and friends of theirs.  I will have a new post about that experience in the days to come.

If you are a friend of mine and following this blog...please let me know by becoming a follower.  It's nice to know who is taking the time to read it.  On a personal note...Mrs. Weaver, if you are reading this, please email me...I would love to hear from you.  I hope you all enjoy a nice weekend.  I'm sure it's starting to get cold in Wisconsin...here the weather seems to get nicer each day.  :)