Chordeleg Adventure

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck read in the newspaper that there were going to be some "goings on" in Chordeleg last weekend.  We decided to ride up there and check it out.  We invited Gayle and Paul to come with us.  Gayle and Paul are renting the condo and are planning to move to Ecuador real soon.

When we got to Chordeleg we saw that the "goings on" were religious in nature...like most celebrations in Ecuador.  They had set up the alter for the church outside on the plaza.  There were food vendors all around and occasionally a firecracker would go off.

Then here came Christ being carried through the plaza to be put on the altar.

This was not a procession with the whole congregation joining in.  It appeared that the people were probably one family.  Posssibly they had donated money to the church for this privilege.

After the Christ was put on the outdoor altar, the service began.

All those umbrellas were not because it was raining, but to protect the congregation from the bright mid-day sun.

We did a little window shopping in the jewelry stores surrounding the plaza, but since gold and silver prices have soared, the jewelry was just a little too rich for my blood.  Especially since I hardly ever wear it in Cuenca.

Chuck drove us through Gualaceo and down by the river park.  He was able to find the old Spanish built aqua duct.  It is over 500 years old.

We came back to Cuenca and went to our favorite ice cream parlor - Mixx.

We set in San Blas plaza enjoying our ice cream while people and pigeon watching.

On Sunday morning, Rich, Nancy, Chuck and I walked to the Kookaburra for breakfast.  We are going to miss this wonderful adventure every Sunday while we are away.  We couldn't ask for better friends, just love them to death.

While walking we passed a little pet shop.  They had little pens with puppies for sale and one kitten.  Nancy and I just oood and ahhhhhd over the little kitten and puppy snuggling up to keep warm.

I guess it is time to start thinking about what to pack for our upcoming trip.  We have to remember to pack voltage converters for our electrical items....Kindle, computers, cameras, etc. 

Luckily, this is a trip that if we forget to pack something, we should readily be able to buy it.  We are spending our first week in Madrid. 

Clarke and Brenda ordered all sorts of travel guides:  DVDs, Rick Steve's Spain travel guide.  The other day we got an email from Clarke...he had taken his travel guide and had it copied so that we could have a copy.  How sweet is that????  Thanks guys.

We are leaving this Sunday, October 2nd.  I'll be posting again before we head out.  I'll share a little more about our travel plans later. 

Love,
Nancy