We are off to Europe in a couple of days...yes/no?? ---- Troubles in Ecuador

Dear Family and Friends,

We returned home from our USA whirlwind tour one week ago today.  We are scheduled to leave on our next trip in only 2 days. 

We are packed light (backpack and carryon luggage) and are flying to Amsterdam and then taking the train to Heidelberg, Germany.  Chuck is going to get his fingers straightened one more time.  After spending 4 or 5 days in Germany we will train back to Amsterdam.

Then we fly to Dublin, Ireland. We have a Gate 1 tour in Ireland and most important we have a granddaughter living in Dublin.  We will spend a couple of days with her and her husband before returning to Amsterdam.

We will take a train to Leiden, Netherlands for a few days before returning to Amsterdam to fly back to Ecuador.

I guess you could say this is another whirlwind trip.  We will be gone a total of 23 days.  

Now the reason I said scheduled regarding the upcoming trip is because there are protests taking place all over the country of Ecuador.  Cuenca seems to be one of the areas that is most effected.  When we returned from the U.S. last week the only reason we were able to make it to Cuenca from Quito was because we were flying.  All incoming roads to Cuenca are blocked by protesters.  This has left the people of Cuenca short of food, propane gas for cooking and heating water, gasoline for cars, etc.  Restaurants have had to close because they cannot get food to cook.  The most tragic thing I have heard is that hospitals were not able to receive oxygen tanks and were running low.

I choose not to get into the politics of this protest.  I am only reporting the effects of it on us.

When we arrived home last week our house was empty of fresh food.  We had heard about the protests before we left Tucson, but had no idea how much it was effecting the people.  Chuck suggested we go ahead and do some grocery shopping so that we would have some food to eat this week before we leave again.  When we got to the supermarket I remember commenting about how empty the parking lot was.

When we went inside there were no eggs to be had, very little meat and no fresh chickens.  There was no fresh produce at all.  We were shocked!  We were able to get some smoked pork chops, some packaged pulled pork and some boxed milk.  We brought it home knowing we would not starve in just one week.

What I learned from my neighbor is it is best to shop the little mom and pop stores.  These stores are plentiful, at least one small store per block.  It is hit or miss so you have to go everyday, but some days one will have eggs, another may have a bit of fresh produce, etc.  My neighbor goes out every morning to buy fresh food.  She kindly gave me enough eggs to have one egg a day until we leave.  I found a cabbage and am making coleslaw to go with our meat.  It is not too bad, it reminds me of being a pioneer.

Our building has a tank of propane on the roof.  The admin. put a sign up in the elevator reminding us that there is no propane to refill this tank.  When it is gone, we have no gas for cooking, hot water for hot showers, or even drying clothes if our dryers are gas.  

Chuck and I made a pact to conserve as much as possible.  Luckily I did all our laundry before we left Tucson. We have not washed clothes since we have returned.  Anyway it is winter here and we are traveling to warmer weather.  The laundry can wait.  I wash dishes in a small pan and heat the water with our electric tea pot and rinse them in cold water.  We have used very little gas and are very proud of ourselves.  

Just yesterday the building started rationing the propane to just a few hours a day.  The tanks are obviously getting low.  Also, there is no resolution in sight that will bring the protests to an end.

On some days, without warning to us, the buses stop running, even the tram has stopped some days.  Also, one day this week the taxi drivers showed solidarity with the protesters by blocking round abouts and intersections within the city.  This does not happen every day thank goodness but we never know when it will.

William has offered to take us to the airport in Cuenca on Saturday morning.  Now we can only think positive that he will be able to have gasoline in his car and that the roads will not be blocked to the airport and that either of our flights to Quito or Amsterdam are not cancelled.

We are all packed, believing that all the above will go in our favor.  I don't even want to think about if it doesn't.

It seems like I say this every trip, but I am taking my new light weight laptop and hope that I can post about our travels while we are on the trip instead of having to wait until we return.  Fingers crossed.

Love,

Nancy