Aunt Opal's last week.

Dear Family and Friends,

We are heading into Aunt Opal's last week in Ecuador.  We have been having a wonderful time.

Here is Aunt Opal and Chuck at Turi.  The city of Cuenca is in the background.

We had fondu at a Swiss restaurant with old friends and new friends.

We took Aunt Opal to Eduardo Vega's gallery.  While we visiting, Eduardo Vega, a world famous ceramics artist, posed with Aunt Opal. 

We went to Clarke's and Brenda's house for homemade doughnuts.  Here is chef Clarke making sure we had fresh hot delicious donuts to eat.

He used his grandmother's recipe.  They were very, very good.  Thanks for inviting us Clarke and Brennie.

We had a nice dinner at Tiesto's.  The most famous restaurant in Cuenca.  Here is our table.  No one was paying attention to the camera, we were all busy yaking it up....as always.

Here is Aunt Opal with Chuck.  Our friend, Nancy Hamm, presented Aunt Opal with a token gift for her to take back to Georgia.

Best of all Aunt Opal is staying hydrated.  She is making a lot of friends too.

Love,
Nancy

Sig Sig and more....

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a very nice time this past weekend.  We took Aunt Opal on a day trip to Sig Sig to see where panama hats are made.

With so many hats available, choosing the one you want can be difficult.

Here is Chuck showing Aunt Opal how they use heat and a mold to form the shape of the Panama hat.

On our way home we crossed the Paute river and went to Hacienda Uzhupud.  Nancy and Rich joined us there for a delicious buffet lunch.

Sunday morning we met Barbara and Howard at San Sebas for breakfast.  After breakfast we went to Parque Calderon to have Aunt Opal's picture made. 

 

 She is now adorning our refrigerator "visitors of fame" wall.

Sunday afternoon, Lourdes and William came over and cooked a wonderful traditional Ecuador coast dish, arroz con cameron, which is a stirred fried rice with shrimp.  We had a wonderful meal together and even Aunt Opal had second helpings.  

We still have road trips to take and places to visit.  So glad Aunt Opal has the time to have a relaxing visit.

Love,

Nancy

Sharing Cuenca with Aunt Opal

Dear Family and Friends,

Last Sunday evening I flew from Quito to Atlanta.  After arriving in Atlanta at 6:00am Monday morning, I rented a car and drove to Columbus, Ga. to pick up Aunt Opal.  Aunt Opal is my mother's younger sister and she has always been a special person in my life.

On Tuesday, Aunt Opal and I drove to Atlanta and started our journey back to Ecuador.  We arrived in Quito about 10pm.  We spent the night in Quito and continued to Cuenca on Wednesday.  Although we were both tired from the travel, a good nights sleep brought us both back up to speed.

Thursday we headed out for a little adventure.  A little each day, with time for naps in the afternoon, seems to be working real well.

Here are some pictures so far.

Aunt Opal at the flower market downtown.  She wants her kids to know that she is drinking a lot of water.  

Aunt Opal is taking a lot pictures to share with her great grandchildren.  Here she is photographing musicians from Peru playing pan pipes on the street.

Today, we went to the 10 de Agusto market.  Besides looking at all the fruits and vegetables, we ran into some little children playing with baby chicks.

Aunt Opal formed an instant bond with them and they with her.  She photographed them and then showed them their pictures.  They could not understand a word she said nor could she understand a word they said, but believe me there was communication (via the heart) that was taking place.

Here is Aunt Opal at a store that sells the skirts that the indigenous women wear in Cuenca.  The embroidery is beautiful and the colors are spectacular.

Tomorrow we are driving into the countryside.  I will share more later.  For all the family following Aunt Opal's adventure I want you to know that she is having a great time and we are loving having her here.

Love,
Nancy

Aunt Opal, Here I Come!

Dear Family and Friends,

I am leaving for a quick trip (arrive one day and leave the next) to Georgia.  There is an exciting reason for this quick trip.  I am flying down to escort my Aunt Opal to Ecuador.

Aunt Opal has been wanting to visit us since we moved down here and now is the perfect time for her.

Aunt Opal is such a beautiful person....inside and out.  Chuck and I admire her adventurous spirit. She will be visiting us for almost three weeks. During this time we plan to share a lot of the Andes mountains, especially Cuenca and surrounding areas with her.

We love you Aunt Opal...can't wait to see you on Monday.

Love,
Nancy

The New Round About is Finished - Time to Celebrate

Dear Family and Friends,

We read in the newspaper that the new round about was going to be opened today.  A celebration took place this afternoon starting at 6:00pm.  The work is done and it was completed 2 months ahead of schedule!  A tremendous effort with wonderful results!! We are all happy that the traffic will now flow better.

Chuck and I walked down to see what the celebration would be like.

There was music and folklore dancing.  The dancers were televised on a big screen so everyone could see them.

There were a lot of people enjoying the festivities.

There were banners hanging from a nearby building thanking our president for leading Ecuador in the right direction...providing the infrastructure necessary for this wonderful country.

The military band was standing by waiting their turn.

Here are some of the beautiful plants that beautify the new round about.

This round about is just one of many improvements coming to Cuenca.  Things are really looking up regarding traffic control.  The next big project is the light rail which will keep the bus traffic down in the city center.  There was someone handing out these cards to children.  When it is punched out and folded it makes a model of the new light rail cars.

Speaking of traffic control, I thought it was fitting that these bikers came as a group.

I especially like the sign on this bike......"one less automobile."  I understand there will be bike lanes in Cuenca soon.

The last opportunity to walk through the underpass was tonight.  Starting tomorrow it will not be possible because of all the car traffic.  Chuck, and friends decided to stroll the underpass....just to say "I did it."

The arrow is pointing to Bill Keyes, Chuck and our neighbors Bea and Bob.

 Here is a close up of the happy pedestrians.

All in all, it was a fun evening.  We left fairly early.  As I am writing this post, we can hear fireworks going off down at the round about.  Starting tomorrow that intersection will never be the same.

Love,
Nancy