New Friends and Totorillas Revisited

*South of Zero blog roll readers - I was a blogging fiend two weeks ago trying to get all of my thoughts and pictures about our trip to Puerto Lopez down before I forgot.  I blogged three posts in one day and through no one's fault two of the posts did not make the blog roll.  Please check out posts "Whale Watching and Isla de la Plata" and "Last Day in Puerto Lopez".  I got some nice shots of the whales and a cute video of the Blue-Footed Boobies.  Hope you enjoy.

After recovering from the trip home from Puerto Lopez, things have fallen back into a routine.  The kids and Mark are continuing Spanish classes and we are still continuing to look for a farm.  I have written our vision and goal, as well as a 5 year plan.  This week I'm going to start the business plan.  I am using a Wisconsin pdf booklet on Starting a Dairy Goat Business, but so much of it doesn't apply here in Ecuador. I am muddling through with a lot of unknowns. 

Here are some random pictures:

Parrots in a tree across the street from our house.  I have
been trying to get a picture of them forever.  They
were so green they blended in with the tree.  I knew they
were there because they are loud, but couldn't see them.
I zoomed in my lens and this is the picture I got.  Not bad.

This square is on Padre Aguirre and Gran Columbia.  We ate
our Live Organico smoothie there.  All the kids were out of
school.  Reminded me of Mary Poppins.

Harvest Moon (or whatever they call it in the Southern
Hemisphere.)

 

 

Back in June on our first day living in Cuenca we met a really nice family that lives in Salinas. They were checking out Cuenca as a new home and this week came back to try to find housing. We went out to dinner twice with them and had a great time.

 



 

Finn and Tali with Morgan and Liam.

Mark (no comment) with Neil and Stacey.

Our friend/realtor Aaron owns many, many hectares in Tortorillas, the area where we would love to have our farm.  He was willing to sell us a portion of the property so we went out to take a look.  On the way Aaron needed to drop two kittens off at his farm. 

Here is where they are supposed to be, on Oscar's lap.

 

 

Here they are making there way to Mark, who can't stand
animals. (Exception: goats and donkeys)

And here they stayed.  Nice and comfy.

 

 

This would be the goat pasture were we to buy.

 

 

Looking down on Tortorillas valley.

I love this picture of the kids.  Armando, Aaron's guardia, said
there hasn't been rain in the region for 3 months and yet
it is still so green.  The pasture is fed by the spring above.

Gorgeous bromeliads.

 

 

This hill is a lot steeper than it looks.  They are about
to roll down.

Oscar riding Finn.

One of Jemma's horses.  A beautiful guy - Hanovarian
two year old.  He is going to be stunning.