Trip to Vilcabamba and Loja

Dear Family and Friends,

Ever since our last visit to Loja Chuck has been wanting to return to buy pottery for the garden. Jim mentioned the other day that he would like to see Loja and that was more than enough incentive for Chuck to rent a double cab pickup for the trip down.

We left on Saturday around noon. Chuck thought we should go to Vilcabamba (about an hour further than Loja), spend the night and then go to Loja to look around and go shop for pottery.

We got to Vilcabamba about 5:30 or 6:00pm. We stayed in the hostel that we visited on a previous trip called the Jardin Escondido. It is painted bright blue, one block from the main plaza and has a wonderful garden space with an outdoor restaurant inside.

We had dinner and then settled down for the night.

On Sunday morning we walked around the town.

Here we are on the main plaza looking around.


There is a lovely church at the center of the town.


If you walk just off the plaza, there is an old west, rustic feeling to the town. It is warmer there with many tropical plants and is surrounded by mountains.



Since we had our own transportation we drove into the mountains outside of town. We found a most delightful hostel, Izhcayluma, that is owned and operated by a German couple. The beauty of this place is that it has a wonderful view and excellent facilities.

Chuck and I fell in love with the place and we have booked a cottage for the first week in February.


We drove back to Loja on Sunday stopping to enjoy the beautiful view.


Monday morning we started out with a cup of coffee near San Sebastian.


San Sebastian is a wonderful plaza in the historic part of Loja. Below is the San Sebastian church.


We walked down Lourdes Street. This street is the same as it was 100 years ago. Unlike Cuenca which is full of colonial buildings, Loja is more modern. This street, however, has been preserved.
Loja has some beautiful parks. We took Audrey and Jim to the Unidad Parque Recreacional Jipiro. Here is Audrey and Chuck enjoying a paddle boat ride.


In the afternoon we went up to the pottery store. The pottery is a whole blog in itself so I am going to tell about that later.



We left Loja, the truck loaded down with boxes and returned to Cuenca on Tuesday. It is a long ride, even in a truck. The road was good. There are just a few places yet that need to be paved. But even with a nice highway there are obstacles that slow one down.


Love,
Nancy

I GOOFED

Dear Family and Friends,

I broke a cardinal rule.....never, never promise something while posting a blog. I last said that I would post pictures of Jim's dinner. Well, I got so absorbed in the evening that I absolutely forgot to pull out my camera. I thought it about as Rich and Nancy started to leave. It is a shame too because the table was absolutely beautiful.

Yesterday, Chuck and I went to visit our friend, Brian, in the hospital. We found him sitting up in a chair and waiting for Shelley to finish the paperwork so that he could be discharged. Other than being groggy from the pain medication, he said he felt alright. We are wishing him an uneventful, rapid recovery and bright days ahead.

Last night we went to Gringo night at the Eucalyptus Cafe. We were going to try and hit both venues, but after we go settled at the Eucalyptus we decided to just stay there and eat. Before we left, a group of friends came into the Eucalyptus from Zoes (the other venue). We were very tired, so we gladly gave them our chairs. We took a taxi home and wasted no time getting to bed.

The four of us, Chuck, Jim, Audrey and I are planning a trip to Loja for a few days. Jim wants to take a look around there. Hopefully we will make it to Vilcambamba for a day or so while we are down that way.

Later.

Nancy

Just When You Think Things are Settling Down......

Dear Family and Friends,

After the new years celebrations Chuck and I were ready to settle down into our usual routines. On January 5, Chuck read in the local newspaper that there was going to be a procession commemorating the three kings (wise men) arriving to see Jesus.

I decided to take the bus to San Blas and check things out.

It turns out the procession was a parade of children, dressed in costumes, walking with their parents to take the baby Jesus to another church and eventually to a neighborhood.

I had more fun photographing these children before they headed out. I have to share these with you. I will mark this date on our calendar so that we will not miss it next year.

Yesterday, the 6th of January, is the actual celebrated day of the three kings arriving to see Jesus. It is also the day that is marked that King Herod had all the male children under 3 years old slain. So last night there was a "Parade of the Innocents." This parade was so different from the previous religious parade the day before.

Young people (teens through twenties) dressed in every costume imaginable paraded through the streets. They had elaborate costumes and floats. They poked fun at any and everything....religion, politics, the media, the world.

We viewed the parade from Rich and Nancy's adobe. It was a perfect location to be able to look down on the parade and get an unobstructive view. The parade lasted for hours and we were getting too hungry for dinner to wait for the end. We weaved our way through the crowds of people and ended up at a steak house for a fabulous dinner. Charlie, Bruce, Rich, Nancy, Jim, Audrey, Chuck and I closed the place down and were thankful they called us a taxi to get home as it was midnight.

Since the second parade was in the night, my pictures were too blurry. That is too bad because it was a hoot.

Tonight, Jim is cooking dinner and Rich and Nancy are joining us. I can smell the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen as I am posting this blog. I'll make pictures and share with you tomorrow.

Love,
Nancy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

Dear Family and Friends,

Today is a very special day. Today is my mother's birthday. She is 88 years old today. Happy Birthday Mom.

Here is a picture of Mom holding me 63 years ago.


She is as pretty today as she was back then. This is a picture I took when she came to visit us in Ecuador last year.

Mom you are very special and we all love you so much.

Thanks for all the love you have given us.

I hope your day is very very special.

Love,

Nancy and Chuck

New Year off on Right Foot

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I celebrated New Year's Eve with friends at the Mediterraneo Restaurant. We had a wonderful meal with great friends. We all left the restaurant just before midnight so we could walk the streets and witness the burning effigies. We enjoyed this last year and if you want to know more about this Ecuadorian celebration on New Year's Eve click here.


On New Years day we invited our friends, Larry and Linda, over for a traditional southern US New Years day meal. It consisted of black eyed peas (for luck), pork chops, cole slaw, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, corn bread and iced tea.

After lunch we played a table game called Upwards. It was pretty much a laid back day and we really enjoyed the day.

New Year's Day night, Audrey and Jim (Chuck's sister and her husband) arrived around 8:00pm or so. We hugged them good, chatted awhile and then fell into bed.

On Saturday, Chuck and I threw the "1st Annual Trailer Park Trash Scrambled Dog Bash" party. I served scrambled dogs to friends in February and decided it was time to do it again.

We invited as many people as we could seat in our condo. Wish we had more space because we wanted to invite many more. We had table inside and outside. We covered the tables with plastic table cloths. Put a sheet over the sofa. We asked people to feel free to come in appropriate attire....."trailer trash."

Charlie, we all agreed, was the "best dressed." Here he is, in character, dunking Oreo cookies into coca cola. Yum Yum.

Other than the provided scrambled dogs, Holly brought a wonderful potato salad and everyone brought good junk food....chips, dips, cookies and candy.

We all had a fun time. The only thing we decided we would do different next time is the time of year. I think right after New Year's Day everyone is pretty much partied out. We certainly will do this again but not at the end of the party season.

Sunday morning, Audrey, Jim, Chuck and I walked over to meet Rich and Nancy for what is now becoming our traditional Sunday walk to town.

There is one uphill stretch at the beginning of our walk, but luckily we have benches half way up the hill so we can stop and catch our breath.

Here are Jim and Rich resting a bit.


We walked on to town and rewarded ourselves with a delicious breakfast at Kookaburra cafe.

After breakfast we walked around the city center and then Chuck, Audrey, Jim and I came home on the bus and rested.

Hope your New Year is off to a great start.

Love,
Nancy