Long Day

This trip is about seeing the city, but it is also about seeing if we can live here. So, the only way for us to do that is to walk the city and become familiar with it. Which means A LOT of walking. We got up fairly late today and headed out after a breakfast of bread. The Ecuadorian diet is very heavy on starches and carbohydrates, and as many of you know...I am addicted to carbs, so this will be a lifestyle adjustment for me. I will have to learn to shop and cook in a way that will meet my family's needs as it did in the states.

We walked all the way to the end of town to visit the Museo de Banco Central. On the way we saw a small aboriginal museum and stopped in for $2 a piece. The inside courtyard was stunning with greenery and skylights. The museum was very nicely done and worth the money. It is interesting to walk down the streets and look into doorways only to see hidden areas that are like nothing you've seen. Inner courtyards with beautiful gardens, well-appointed stairways leading to very expensive inner houses, etc... Before going into the museum we wanted to get lunch. We have been dying to try an almuerzo. An almuerzo is a very cheaply priced lunch that usually includes soup, a meat dish with rice, juice and something else like a banana. When we asked about the almuerzo he pointed us to a place on the menu and we ordered from there only we weren't ordering the almuerzo, we were ordering something more expensive. Scammed! we are learning though. Knowing the language better will help.

The Banco museum was okay. I liked the floor that had histories of all of the different indigenous groups of Ecuador. What I didn't like was a modern video installation on the first floor right as you walk in of a woman being tortured with submersion in water. It took place in Guatemala. It was real and it was horrendous. I have no idea why that is considered art. It made my stomach hurt.

I had a great idea to then walk to the mall and check it out. See what was there and what to expect when we move. I thought I knew where it was. Just around the next corner. So, we walked and walked, and then hailed a cab. Turns out it was a lot farther away than I thought it was and we were happy to have gotten a taxi. The mall was a lot larger than I thought and had everything that you expect to be in a mall. We did a walk through and compared prices. There is a bungee jumpy thing in the mall that we had seen on a video back in Ohio and Finn really wanted to do it. I was glad it was still there. He had a blast. They were really throwing this one little girl around. I was worried they were going to snap her neck, but she was fine.

Attached to the mall is a huge supermarket/walmart-type store. We priced things there and then got a few groceries. Some orange juice, yogurt, a pineapple and some hand-cut bacon. Milk comes either in boxes or pouches and is very expensive. We will definitely need to get a goat although I have seen more cows in backyards than goats. Yogurt is a big thing. Any toiletry type thing is expensive. Hairspray, deoderant, shaving gel, etc...

We took a taxi back to the hotel and then caught our breath before heading out for dinner. Right now Finn and Tali are playing with a message kit they got in their stockings, Mark and Pat are fraternizing with the neighbors (there is some kind of a potluck tonight - they brought our freshly cut pineapple) and I am updating the blog. Patrick met some kids when he went to watch them ride their bmx bikes. He met a guy named Byron. He is 20. They are going to meet up tomorrow night and do some more biking. No language barrier for Pat!

Tomorrow we're going to see if we can catch a bus that will take us to Banos. Banos is a small town about 30 min. outside of Cuenca where they have thermal spring baths. You can also get massages, have lunch, etc... It should be fun.

We are already hearing fireworks in anticipation of tomorrow's holiday. When we walked to dinner some people had cordoned off a part of the parking lot that led to the pharmacy. They had bottles of wine, a sound system that was booming music and an effigy that they were taking pictures with. I wondered if it was their boss as it was a man. After they took the pictures they started getting ready to burn it. Different strokes!