OK, we have been here in our new home in Cotacachi, Ecuador for one week. It has been the best week. Things here are just so beautiful. There is still a volcano out our front door and one out our back door. Every day is an adventure to see if we can figure out where to get something we need. Will it be in Cotacachi, Ibarra or Otovalo? We have met all of our neighbors, a very interesting bunch - all very kind people.
We arrived in Cotacachi around 9:30pm on Saturday night.. Our landlord had offered a few days prior to have some food for breakfast for us so we would not need to go shopping right away. So, we had fresh eggs, bread, butter, milk - along with a dozen fresh white roses - waiting for us.. It was a good thing we had what we did because nothing was open the next day, New Years. One of our neighbors came over to check on us on Sunday and kindly offered a couple of frozen hamburgers so we wouldn't have to eat eggs all day. Monday we were able to get a few things in Cotacachi and Wed in Ibarra more esentials were added. We didn't have internet access until Wed due to some technical problems (that being we couldn't figure it out so the "computer guy" took care of it) but all in all everything went great.
I remember as we shared with so many, that the question was -"Is there anything that is not just perfect down there?" Well, we found something.. They are called "noseeums" - a little, invisible bug that bites. Some people react with furious itching, while others have no reaction at all. You guessed it, Claudia is one who reacted with furious itching; Bruce really no reaction at all, just a bunch of bites. Guess this is why you see no shorts in Cotacachi. :-)
Today we went to the open market and here is what we bought. 1 large zucchini; 3 large tomatoes; 10 large carrots; 3 red onions; huge head of cabbage; 1 head of red cabbage; 3 red peppers; 3 garlics; bunch of radishes; couple handfulls of green beans; two mangoes; two pineapples; 10 bananas; bunch of grapes; 7 mystery fruits; and 30 eggs. ALL were fresh, locally grown and all for the whopping cost of $14.50. (the fresh pineapple were .50 each)
The weather has been beautiful every day. Warm 70'+ during the day; 50' at night. Great sleeping..Imagine living in a place where no one has a furnace, just a fireplace for those times it may be a bit chilly. Most days are clear and both volcanos are visible from our picture windows. Even with a few showers in the night, every day is special. We are together. What can we say we feel so blessed. This place is already home and we are loving every day.
Almost forgot, the few hours before our departure from Federal Way, we spent weighing and re-weighing our six checked bags to make sure we were within limits - add some, take some out, what is important now, what was not. In the end, we did get six checked bags and four carry on bags all the way to Cotacachi, with no incident. We did leave a few things behind, that we will get at one of our future visits to the States.
You must know that we miss family and friends very much, but you also know that we are enjoying this new life, being together 100% of the time, no schedules, in a beautiful place.. We give thanks to God every day for this amazing blessing.
More to follow,
Bruce & Claudia
Glad to hear that you arrived safely. Our weather in Seattle is exactly the same as yours, except 30 degrees cooler and wet! Linda and I look forward to hearing your further adventures in the land of noseeums. I suppose if they were a tad larger they might be called seeums? All the best and looking forward to your next blog entry.
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