Bank Day

Today we went out to spend some time in our new home and had a nice visit with the current resident who is a delightful woman from Virginia.  Bruce wanted to practice some power-lounging on the front porch and took a couple of pictures of the view from  his future power-lounging bench.

This afternoon was an appointment with our attorney who gave us a letter of recommendation to open a bank account.  When you open an account you need to produce a utility bill from the place you will reside and show your visa.  If you have a letter of recommendation from an attorney and a utility bill and your passport, you can open an account prior to completion of your permanent visa process.  It was quite an experience.  We were in the bank close to two hours.  We were first in the President of the banks office waiting for the young woman who would be helping us.  Then we were escorted to wait outside her office until she had finished with the current client.  When we  had our turn in her office, she was interrupted several times by people and phone calls.  It's interesting that there doesn't seem to be undivided attention given to the person you are currently dealing with.  We have been told it is the same way in the doctors office.  You can be in the middle of an appointment and have another patient just walk in, wanting the doctors attention.  Not the same sense of privacy or attention we are used to in the States.  One other interesting thing Bruce witnessed was after the bank was closed and we were still there he was sent down to one of the tellers to make the deposit into our new account.  He couldn't believe the piles of cash at all the teller windows being counted.  Even with his past experience working in the bank he had never seen that much cash in one place.

After leaving the bank we went to get dinner at an interesting brick oven pizza place.  You had to ring the bell outside a gate and be buzzed in to the restaurant which was located adjacent to a charming little courtyard.  After dinner we went to buy tickets for the English language movie at the new movie theater.  When we arrived much to our disappointment the theater was not open tonight. Guess we will just have to wait for our return in January.

We're back at the hotel hard at work studying for our Spanish class in the morning. 

View 1 from power lounging position. Cotacachi Volcano.

View 2, mountain adjacent the volcano.

Our pizza experience. Check out the oven.

Just Pictures...

Normal construction project...there are nearly as many unfinished building projects as finished.

Notice the patchwork of fields up the side of the volcano.  They grow pineapple as high as 12,000 ft here.

A great example of the contrast of our surroundings.  The horse is parked below the sign pointing to La Mirage Resort outside of Cotacachi.  La Mirage is a 5 star resort with rooms starting at about $400 per night.

Each of the doors in the Inn where we are staying has the number embroidered in a plaque attached to the door. 
Embroidery work is prevalent and quite beautiful here.

This has become our favorite restaurant so far. 
They serve great food and desserts including Creme Brule to die for.

Bruce's favorite coffee shop.  They serve an excellent Americano for $1.

This is the dirt road to our new home.  Imbubara Volcano is in the background.

A glorious example of the roses down here.

SIESTA DAY TODAY

Today was one of those days that had NO eventful things, just great rest and relaxation.  Another fine breakfast in the outdoor courtyard of the hotel, with our new friends from Colorado, the skaters, then spent some quiet time in our room.

Early afternoon we took a walk around town.  It was such a beautiful day, the sun shinning, light breeze, and lots of people enjoying the day.  Had another fine meal at the Serendipity, one of the restauaents we really like.  We went to visit a friend who we had met early in our stay.  They live in one of the nice condo complexes in town, with some great views.

Had homework tonight for our third Spanish lesson in the morning.. It has started to rain and things are good.

Imbubara Volcano

Hard to get a shot of the top - 15,000+ feet

Friends we see on our daily walk.  :-)

Courtyard was peaceful as the gentle rain fell tonight.

Hacienda San Isidro

Our Sunday started off with great worship with the regular minister conducting the service. We sang some old familiar songs and had a great lesson from I Peter. We met some new folks at church. Also had a bit of a surprise when in walked a couple we had met earlier in the week at the Inn. Later we ran into them at lunch and found out they had met people from the Bellvue Church of Christ who were helping with the orphanage in Ecuador. How's that for a small world!

Then after church we were off on a great new adventure. Our landlord, Michael, had invited us to be part of a group who were to attend a lunch at a hacienda on the side of Cotacachi Volcano.
Following is the invitation:

On Sunday, my best friend in Ecuador, Andres Jara, who has the wonderful, authentic hacienda up on the Cotacachi volcano, is having a special lunch -- he has 3 wonderful cooks - one used to cook at La Mirage and another in Spain in the royal palace in Madrid and later at the Portuguese Embassy in Quito) . The lunch will be all-organic, using products from the hacienda:

Appetizer of fresh trout Carpaccio (from their lake)

Chicken Cordon Bleu ( made with their free-range chicken, their homemade, organic Fontina cheese and chuleta (organic ham chop)

Fresh raw vegetable salad of peas, corn and green beens

Fresh, homemade Cinnnamon Cake with homemade ice cream

Beverage

I recommend this because it is the real, old Ecuadorian hacienda experience. The house is 350-400 years old ( 3 ft. thick walls, etc.) with it's own chapel, and the whole house completely restored this past year. Spectacular views ( it's 12,000 ft.+) on 1,250 acres.

There were about 38 of us that went up in a caravan of taxis over bumpy rock and dirt roads to this beautiful oasis on the side of the volcano. Andres the owner of the hacienda has a Bachelor degree from Georgetown University in Sociology, a Masters in International Law, and a Doctorate in Agricultural Economics. He speaks 7 languages and with all of this he served us our meal today with all humility and care. His kindness and hospitality were so genuine. We were there from 1:30-4:00 enjoying a peacful meal and good company. It gave us a chance to meet more Ecuadorians along with Gringos. Andre's family lives there along with his mother and father. The hacienda has been in the family for generations and it was fascinating to wander about. It was truly an incredible experience of stepping out of the modern and into the old world of Ecuadorian history.

When we returned to Cotacachi Bruce enjoyed an espresso in the little coffe shop around the corner and we strolled back to the Inn catching a street vender preparing corn on the cob and meat for passers-by.

Then the day had a perfect ending. Edwardo popped a big bowl of popcorn for us and we watched a movie. Can it get any better than that?!

Just one of the many rooms in the hacienda.

A view of the childrens play area and across the valley where Cotacachi rests. 

You can faintly see Imbubara Volcano through the trees. 
The large tree on the right is a Chilean Pine many hundreds of years old.

This is the suite for  mother and father.

The sink outside the bathroom stall...and you thought a sink on top of the counter was a new idea.

This is the family chapel.

Here is part of our caravan up the volcano. 

A view of the entrance to the hacienda.

An assortment of antique and new weapons.

And no this is not a guinea pig vendor.

 

Incredible Day

We arose this morning to the beautiful sunshine and had another great breakfast at our hotel. Met three more new Gringos, one from Canada and a couple from Denver, Colorado.  Glen, from Canada is a retired Chiropractor and now travels the world.. He has practiced Chiropractic in Malaysia for the past three years now travels around teaching a course  Learn to Speak Spanish in 4 Days with a new method using music.  He has also developed a weight loss program geared to fit the different age groups.  Robert and Dawn from Denver are here looking the place over, as a possible place to move. They are competitive Roller Skaters and won the National Title in 2006  in roller dancing.

We then met our new landlord (and friend), for an incredible day of exploration.  He knows everybody and so much about Ecuador and Cotacachi. He is a walking history book and a connoisseur of every kind of food you can imagine.  Our first stop was Lago San Pablo, a beautiful lake, with a volcano reaching to the sky on both sides of the lake. We stopped at a restaurant and lodge located on one side of the lake where many of the Ecuadorians go for their weddings and stay for their honeymoon.  It looks very much like a place you would see in Seattle or anywhere close to water that uses a nautical theme.  It was designed to look very American so the Ecuadorians love it.   We then went to the other side of the lake which is the location of the other excellent restaurant on this lake.  Cabanas del Lago, the restaurant where we dined, is a most modern, resort style facility, with a fine dining room, cabanas by the water, speed boats & jet ski's, and  fully equipped resort type cottages.  They also have a large pontoon boat that goes out at 6:30 in the evening with a mariachi band to entertain the guests as they drift over the lake.  We enjoyed a fine meal while taking in the sunshine and the natural beauty all around us.  It was so peaceful watching the shifting colors and shadows as they crossed the Andes  with the setting of the sun. We lingered by the lake until late in the day, then began our journey back to Cotacachi.. You do realize that all this exploring was done via Taxi, and remember that all the Taxis have one speed. :-)

On the way back, a stop at a special market in Otavalo was made to pick up some extra virgin olive oil from Italy, fresh Parmesan cheese and other special items for cooking.  Then on to our hotel in Cotacachi.

We have never been to a place like this..  There is poverty most evident; there is evidence of wealth; every place we have been has been clean and inviting; and everyone here is kind, friendly, and seem  so happy. We continue to enjoy every minute here.  Tomorrow is a big day.  Stay Tuned.

The following are three pictures of the first restaurant/hotel we visited.
These are some of the lodges.

This is the entrance to the restaurant.

A closer look at the lodges.

This is a view across the lake from restaurant where we ate.
Interesting side note this lake is approx 6 miles from the equator.

This picture was taken up the side of the mountain just a 180' from the above picture.

This is the boat that goes out on the lake in the evening. 

A New Home!

This will be our new home.  Yes, we signed a lease today that's starts Jan 1,2012.  It's a nice home on the outskirts of Cotacachi, the owner says about 1700 square feet, plenty of room for visitors. :-)  In fact it is much nicer than we ever expected to rent.  It is quiet and has great views of the volcanoes.  It's interesting the home is fully furnished right down to dishes, pots & pans, towels, and includes in the rent the following: maintenance, a gardener, weekly maid service, laundry service, high speed Internet, Direct TV,  cell phone and unlimited water supply.  The only thing not included is gas; a propane gas tank for stove and hot water is about $3 per month, and electricity of about $20 per month (Remember there are no furnaces or air conditioning because of the climate). Would you pay $800 per month for a deal like that? 

God lead us to this house through a number of interesting events.  One of the young couples we met forwarded our information on to a gentleman that has a network of people that he keeps informed on the goings on in Cotacachi through email.  This gentleman put out an all-call that we were looking for a rental and our new landlord, and several others, contacted us with housing possibilities.  This home wasn't going to be available until 3/1/2012, but while we were sending him an email letting him know we wanted something sooner, his renter was talking to him about wanting to move sooner and of course those dates just happened to be the same...Jan 1st.  We also believe that God has lead us to Michael for some reason we have yet to discover, and the caretaker of the property is a very well connected member of the Indigenous population which we are anxious to get to know.

Our new landlord is quite an interesting man. He hails from Hollywood.  He was a movie producer for TV mini series' and made-for TV movies.  Knowing what movie lovers we are you can only imagine how much fun we had talking with him.  He co-produced and cast Jesus of Nazareth, Marco Polo, and A.D. He is full of interesting stories and knows so many people in the Cotacachi area.  He also is part of a group who are trying to rescue the many stray dogs on the streets.  For years the stray dogs have wondered the streets and grown in numbers until the locals, who think of them only as animals not pets, have poisoned them to reduce the numbers.  The rescue group has secured some land and will be be building a structure to start a rescue and rehabilitation program for the dogs.  Then they will be adopted out to people.  They also just sent 20 dogs to Germany where they are being given homes by people in Germany who also want to take part in the rescue efforts.

We met some new people from the States at a coffee shop this afternoon.  They had been in Cuenca and three of them had decided to settle in Cotacachi while the other two who are from Brooklyn have decided the size of Cuenca fits them better.  It's always fun to compare stories and see what brings the people to this peaceful place.

In an earlier blog we mentioned the people who work at the Inn where we are staying.  This morning we were talking with Consuelo  about her family.  She is married with two children, 2 & 4yrs old.  Her husband is an artisan who makes jewelry and she walks 40 min each way to work every day from her home in the mountains.  Some days she has to be here at 7:00am and leaves at 3:30pm and other days she stays till 7:00pm. We have so much to learn from these people and there gentle ways.

It has been a great day of blessings, for sure..

Quiet Day

Today we had our second Spanish lesson.  Had wanted to impress the teacher but she threw us a bit of a curve and had a quiz to see if we could put together the numbers to pronounce larger ones like...956, etc.  WOW!  do we have a huge mountain to climb.  Good thing we have the free time to learn and an environment that allows for nothing less.  Very little English is spoken here so we will be forced to learn and that is very good.  Discipline is not our strong suit so necessity will carry us through. 

It was a slow day cloudy and cool.  We went for a long walk and sat in the park watching children play and various ages of people drift by.  We also saw one of our servers from the restaurant in the park who recognized us and was eager to greet us.  Then up drove a car and out stepped the minister from church.  He saw us and stopped to say hello.  He was on his way to a bible study up in the mountains where they are gathering 3 groups together to form a larger group who can reach out to more neighbors.  He said there are not alot of Indigenous people in the group mostly Ecuadorians.  Someday when we speak and understand Spanish we will be able to attend one of these which will be great fun.

We were reflecting today on the fact we had not seen any wheelchairs or walkers and only one cane since we had been here. The Indigenous people, even the very elderly walk many miles from up in the mountains each day and obviously are in much better shape than we are. Also we noticed that the children we see playing are clean and quite happy. We tried to take some pictures of them today but they were a bit bashful. Did however get a cute picture of a young boy all bundled up just hanging out.

Of course he was smiling until I took the picture!