LIFE ON OUR NOT-S0-LONELY PLANET

“So, what’s up, guys? “Have you dropped off our “Planet Cuenca?” 

This brief email message came from our good buddy Edd who, despite a busy life too, was sweet enough to take the time to reconnect. It sure seems like we’ve been out of touch forever, that’s for sure. Unlike me, however, Edd would never have thought to abandon his fantastic “Edd Said” blog for well over a month like I did ~ no matter what what was going on.  But that’s what makes him such a premier blogger. So, after duly chastising myself for awhile, and a promise to all get together with him and his wife soon, all I can say is, I’m happy to be back. Hope you are, too!

Okay, so what HAS been going on?  First of all, we've had a string of really special visitors to brighten our holidays. It’s always a treat to get to share our new lives with people we love so much, taking them around to visit favorite sites and restaurants. Just after they left,  though, we, too, were able to explore new horizons on a fantastical trip to the Galápagos Islands. It’s been quite the whirlwind time for sure, but we love it. I'll be telling you all about the journey over the next few blogs. 

It all started when Jeff’s 85 year old mom hopped on a plane all by herself to spend Christmas with us. She’s a pretty adventurous spirit, but still, we’re incredibly proud of her. Despite a couple of travel “hiccups” (like  having to wait three days for her baggage because it somehow stayed in Miami; or dealing with the logistics of staying in Quito overnight on both legs all alone before flying to Cuenca), she took everything in stride. What a trooper.

Cuenca’s a wonderful walking city, but we didn’t want to push Mom’s limits by traipsing her all around ~ especially while getting used to the altitude. So we did what we usually do in the first days of someone’s visit ~  jumped onto our favorite Cuenca city bus tour. The bright red, double-decker, open-topped bus is run by Pazhuca Tours and to us, it’s the best $5 you’ll ever spend. It’s a great way to get a “lay of the land”, and offers a fabulous birds-eye view of the Cuenca and its history. A definite “must do”.

We then took easy going day trips to give her a glimpse of the dramatic beauty of Ecuador. One day we showed her our new property in the Andes. She actually promises to return when the house is built. We’re definitely holding her to that!

We also took a drive through the tundra-like mountainous Cajas National Park, catching a llama sighting to boot. Of course, we just had to take her for a dinner of fresh trout at our favorite elegantly rustic “Dos Chorreras” restaurant just outside of the park, too.

 Life is Good!

The friends we’ve made here are another part of our new life we love to share, so we spent a lovely Christmas dinner together with Mom and dear amigos Joe and Cindy, Dave and Janet. But alas, just days later she had to get back to her “children” - two little doggies just aching for her. And what did she tell us she did after a tiring day of travel? Why, hug her doggies and have guests over to play Mahjong, of course. Too funny. Can’t wait till her next visit!