Sunday, January 8, 2012

Last Day in Cuenca.

Yesterday we had planned on going to Cajas, but the day decided something different. Since we were trying to not buy anymore food before we left we went to San Sebas again for breakfast. There were a ton of gringos. Since we have been getting up so late and since there are three of us to one shower we always get a late start. After breakfast we headed to the market to pick up some last minute gifts. We dilly dallied around the market for awhile, so that when we got back we couldn't really get our act together to go to Cajas. We putzed around a bit and then decided to go to Feria Libre. Feria Libre is the biggest market in Cuenca. And by big I mean BIG. It is at least one whole football field long and I'm not sure that even includes the inside stalls. Going on a Saturday was probably not a good idea. There was so much going on that it was completely overwhelming. In one section aisle after aisle of just potatoes. In another section, every fruit imaginable over and over again stacked sky-high. Then there was the meat section, and the fish section, and the section for baskets. Then the puppy, kitten, chicken, guinea pig, bird, bunny section. After only 15 min. we had had enough sensory overload and headed home. We managed to buy two mangoes and one pineapple.

We had planned on having dinner with Erin. (Michele...Erin is a woman we met who is adopting a little Ecuadorian girl. Adriana has down's syndrome and she is 4. She has completely charmed me. Our Erin did not come with us.) Erin also invited her interpreter, Carmen, and her boyfriend, John. John is building a house in the hills of Paute. Supposedly he is building this 2 bedroom 2 bath house for $35,000. We are going to go see it when we come back. It will probably be done by then. Carmen was lovely and I really enjoyed meeting her. She has a son who is Patrick's age and she is eager for them to meet. We went to Raymipampas for dinner. We just love it there. The food is super cheap and fantastic. I got a chicken crepe for dinner and a banana, chocolate, creme crepe for dessert. Yum!

It was a great evening and a great way to enjoy our stay in Cuenca.

I can't remember what day we did this, but I forgot to mention that Jemma took us to see Lily's house. Lily and her family own a house a bit outside Cuenca is San Joaquin. They are going back to Maine in July for two months. Jemma thought it might work out for both families if we were to rent their house for those two months, so we took a drive out there to look at it. The house is in a really pretty area with Eucalyptus trees in the backyard and a great view of the mountains. It has a nice back and front yard and it is very pretty inside. They might leave their dog or dogs for those two months, so if it works out Scout would have a buddy. We'll see.

On Sunday we got up early because our van was supposed to pick us up at 8:00. I confirmed it with the company, but when 8:00 came around no one was here. We asked Sarah to call and it was such a mess not being able to communicate with her. I couldn't figure out what she was trying to tell me after talking to the company. Finally I asked Patrick to take out his computer and I used Google Translator to communicate with Sarah. Thank you, Google! The van arrived 20 min. later and we were soon on our way.

I was really enjoying the ride down the mountains. It was a beautiful Sunday morning. There was very little traffic and the mountains were breathtaking. I started to feel a bit queasy after Donovan, our driver, took a few more turns at high speed. I realized that I forgot to give Finn his Dramamine. I could have kicked myself. Soon he wasn't feeling well at all and we had to stop and let him get out. I tried to get a Dramamine into him at that point, but there was no use. It kept coming back up and it tastes terrible. I gave him some gum to chew and that seemed to help. For a little while anyway. Then he started breathing heavily and Patrick was talking him through it, but soon he threw up anyway. Luckily Patrick moved like lightening and most of it went into a bag.

We drove about 6 hours to get to Montanita. I think Salinas might be closer, so maybe we will go there next time and check it out.

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