Yes, We Went to Loja - But, No, No Dishes!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Once again we made a trek to Loja to buy dishes.  Once again we turned lemons into lemonade.

We picked up Howard and Barbara around 7:30am.  We decided to have breakfast in La Paz.  They have a restaurant there that has a cowboy theme.

Then we drove on to Saraguro and stopped for a second cup of coffee.  We arrived in Loja just after noon.  The first item on our agenda was to check out the pottery.  We went to the university campus and we were informed by the guard that the pottery store was closed and would not open until 3:30pm.

We had lunch at the Uruguayan restaurant and then we rode around Loja checking out the town and viewing the beautiful parks.  At 3:30 we headed back to the campus only to find that the store was being remodeled and would not be open for three more months.  Oh well, Plan B.

We checked into our hotel and rested before having dinner on the terrace by the pool.

Saturday morning, we met for breakfast and then loaded up Puff-Puff.  We went to the south end of Loja to see the arboretum that we always pass on our way to Vilcabamba.

We had a terrific morning strolling through the beautiful trees and plants.

Here are Barbara and Howard posing by an overgrown houseplant.

We paid 50 cents each for the privilege to enjoy the morning.  Here are some pictures I would like to share with you.

After we left the arboretum, Chuck took us to the Unidad Parque Recreacional Jipiro  at the north end of Loja.  We have been here several times and wanted to share it with Barbara and Howard.

The most unique thing about this park is the minature replicas they have of international landmarks.

They had horses and children could ride them for 50 cents.  One was left behind.

We went back to the Uruguayan restaurant for lunch and then headed back home.

We stopped in Saraguro on the way back and bought a few treasures.

It was a nice trip.  Mission was not accomplished, but we had a great time.

Barbara, it looks like we have a another trip to Loja to count on in about three months (or three years.)

Hugs,
Nancy