JEWELRY, MUSIC, VIEW AND MORE ART - PART 3

Lots of Jewelry and Beautiful View - What's Not to Like?

Chordeleg:
One day last week we traveled on a tour bus (very comfortable & only 75 cents each) to the small town of Chordeleg, which is about 1 hour from Cuenca.  The highway was very winding along the mountain side.  (There were times when I couldn't look).  We were stopped along the road for about 10-15 minutes due to a bus/car accident.  All the bus passengers were standing along the road waiting for another bus.  The car was really smashed up and on it's side.  There was an injured man sitting on the side of the road.

The population of this small town is about 3500.  The Incans inhabited the area between 500 and 1500 BC.  The town is quiet, clean and has a really quaint and family atmosphere.  The little shops are around a lovely plaza/park.  We sat and rested on a bench there for an hour or so and 'people' watched - met some folks there.  A couple from the Cuenca Christian Church live there and met us at the bus stop and took us around.  Susana is from Tasco, Mexico and Gary is from Alaska.  They have lived in Chordeleg about 6 months and in Ecuador several years.  They have been married 22 years.
We also met Lewis and his 18 month old daughter, Brittany.  (I thought John was going to kidnap her).  Lewis owns a jewelry store on the square.  His family lived a few years in NY where he made a living preparing Passover meals - this is where Brittany was born.  Happy, smiling people.  We had a lot of fun cutting up with 3 giggly high school girls.

There was gold and silver mining in the nearby mountains.  This is the place to buy jewelry.  There specialty is filigree work.  The lamp posts in town have 'condongas' hanging down.  They are large replicas of the many earring styles made here.  They also have artisans that make pottery, straw hats, shawls, hammocks, blankets and ponchos.  Some of the clothes there offer 'ikat' - aka "tie dye". Remember that?

We walked to Gary and Susana's house - straight down the hill.  (Which means we walk straight up the hill on return).  They have a gated 4 BR, 3 bath home with a large kitchen and yard and patio in the back.  Outside the upstairs master BR is a terrace that has a beautiful view of the mountains.  The home is only 6 years old.   Beautiful place to start the day with a cup of coffee gazing  at the majestic moutains God created.

Our day in Chordeleg was great and the weather was warm, dry and sunny.  We would visit there again.  It is very lovely, laid back, safe and relaxing.

Susana and Gary in Chordeleg Plaza

Lewis, Brittany and Gary.

The one John wanted to bring home.

They were having such a great time and we loved watching them.  So eager to have their 'foto' taken.

Three pots with silver flowing down.  Beautiful, colorful tiles.

One of the many styles of filigree earrings depicted on the lamp posts.

Clean and quaint and lots of walking.

Did I say "relaxing" day?

Music on the Streets of Cuenca
Saturday morning we walked up to the center of the historic district (Parque Calderon) and had Huevos Rancheros (without the flour tortilla) for breakfast.  Across the street was a Pan Flute player in full dress.  We listened for a while.  We really enjoyed the music  He played many different instruments - all of which he made.  We couldn't resist taking pictures or buying a couple of the C.D.s.

More Art in Cuenca - Part 3

Murals on the wall across from Coffee Tree - a local ex-pat hangout up one of the 911 stairs from us.

Well, you guys, I am closing with a snapshot of the last bouquet of flowers we will have in our apartment before leaving here.  They last 10 days to 2 weeks and for only $2.

 

 

 

Threw this in just because he is so cute!  Certainly not the local attire - thank goodness.

Until the next time - luv you and miss you all.  John will be sending a blog in a couple of days.

(Happy Birthday R-3.  ILY)

Jean

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."  Ps. 46:10

CELEBRATIONS, FOOD, AND MORE FROM JEAN

Hey Everyone

We are still in Ecuador and still on the go.  So much to see and do and little time left to do it all.  We will be returning to our home and our Dixie girl October 1.

Pampered But Much Needed
This great salon was recommended to me.  I had a haircut and manicure, both for $15.  I would go back again for both.  The hairdresser goes to NY periodically to work and get additional training.  John and I both went back for long pedicures and foot massage.  Wonderful!

Celebrations
Cuenca Celebration---
On a Friday night we walked to the Flower Market area to watch the Kaypimikanchick practice their folklore dance in full colorful dress.  They are a local group that will participate in competition in Peru later in the month.  Well, true to Ecuadorian tradition - no practice.  So we walked on down the block to Parque de Calderon (plaza in the center of the historic district).  We were delighted to see there was a candlelight celebration/parade in progress with military band, singing, and a group of young people (girls and boys) all dressed in colorful outfits with flowers and ribbons dancing.  The procession ended up in the new cathedral for a coronation and service. (We didn't attend.)  This was the 25th anniversary of the sighting of the "virgin" in Cuenca.  The celebration actually lasts for 3 weeks.  During this time, people make a 3-day walking pilgrimage (at any time they choose).  Most begin in Cuenca and make the mountain trek to Loja (about 100 miles).  There are shrines along the way.  We still have plans to see the folkloric practice.

J&J Celebration---
On Monday 9/2 we celebrated 5 Wonderful Years of Marriage.  We were honored to be recognized and celebrate with the pastor's wife, Sue.  It was also her birthday.  Some of the folks at the Cuenca Christian Church arranged a very elegant and delicious dinner at el Restaurante Creta.  John and I sang the special "Big Sandy Happy Birthday song to her".  She liked it very much, but refused to answer 'how old are you?'  Sue sang a lovely song to us.  We loved being included.

 

Would you believe this is sugar-free?  Not!  We each had a bite.  It was like a lemon mousse cake.

 

Birthday girl Sue and her husband Pastor with Ecuadorian friend Elisa.

 

 

 

Secret Place

We had another wonderful dining experience (yes we eat a lot here) with a couple we met (Cindy and Jim Wilkins from Atlanta),  They invited us to join them for dinner at Joe's Secret Garden.  It is owned by Joe and his son Joseph.  They bought a lovely large home with a beautiful garden.  The restaurant is only open on Saturday night with a fixed menu and fixed price.  Each room of the house is a separate dining area with lovely furnishings and very nice china.   The food is all prepared by Joe on his outside grill/oven and served family style.  The menu is posted on line  a few days ahead and they take only 80 reservations.  Meet and Greet and socializing is in the garden beginning at 5 pm and dinner is served about 6:30 - or when it is ready.  From appetizers to dessert and coffee.  After dinner Joe plays the piano in the parlor.  Fine time, good company and great eats.

 

 

At Joe's Place with Cindy and Jim.

 

 

With Miss Tammy Faye - Joe was her manager for a while.  She's the one with the big nose.

 

More Art Around Cuenca - Part 2

I am including some more shots of the art around town.  We accidentally happened upon the DAWI Gallery.  Ariel Dawi is an abstract artist from Argentina, who now lives and paints in Cuenca.

 

 

 

 

Large painting hanging from lamp posts along the river.

 

There are more galleries and more museums to see.  We're trying to see them all.

 

Miscellaneous Stuff

The last 2 weeks the days have been wonderful here (most of the day).  We have had warm, sunny days with beautiful skies - and an occasional sprinkle.  Spring is very close!

 

Today I attempted to make bread - we have been so hungry for our wheat-free bread.  This was a real challenge.  We only have a counter top toaster oven.  There is no almond flour here, but plenty of almonds.  I ground blanched, sliced almonds and made flour.  In addition to this, we are at a really high altitude.  It worked!  We are having bread tonight and toast for breakfast tomorrow.  Couldn't wait - I tried a really tiny piece.  It is good.

 

One more picture - this one is adorable.

 

We were on our way to meet some folks to attend a wedding (John will blog about this).  I was taking a picture of my handsome hubby and 3 women walked by (one in the indigenous clothes of the Incans).  There were 2 little boys with them and the boys stopped and looked at us and smiled.  I asked if they wanted their 'foto' made and they smiled and shook their heads yes.  I asked the mother if this was OK and she said yes.  Took the first one of just the 2, then John went over to join then for another shot and the little one ran to his other, but she coaxed him and told him it was OK - so he came back and posed.  I love the picture of these 3 kids.

 













 

From Guapondelig to Cuenca

The city was first called "Guapondelig",  which in the Canari language means "a plain as big as the sky".   The Canaris were the indigenous group that lived in the region before the arrival of the Incans.  In the last decades of the XV century, the Incans built the city of "Tumipamba" ("Tumi" meaning ridge and "pamba" meaning plain).  When the Spanish arrived, they called the city "Tomebamba".  Finally, it was baptized as the city of Santa Ana de los Cuantro Rios de Cuenca (Santa Ana of the Four Rivers of Cuenca).  Our apartment in on the Tomebamba River - one of 4 in Cuenca.

---all of this just in case you are interested---

 

Well, you guys I gotta close it up now an try some of that wonderful bread.

 

Love you all and will post again soon.

 

Jean

 

"......let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven"      Matt. 5:16



TURI, VEGA'S, RUINS, YASUNI', MISC. - FROM JEAN

Hola Y'all
As you can see from John's entry - and the time lapse of our posting - we have been pretty busy.  We are just about to wear the rubber off of our tennis shoes.

Turi
Friday morning was such a beautiful warm and sunny day. We hopped a 12 cent bus and rode up to Turi (a small village and craft/shopping area at the top of the mountain).  There are shops, eating places, event area that is being remodeled, and a chapel - all built on the hillside.  We did a little shopping, walked UP to a leather shop and stopped in at a coffee bar for a cafe' con leche and enjoyed the view overlooking the village below.  A short walk down the hill is Internationally known ceramist Eduardo Vega's workshop/studio, gallery and home.  The beauty of his work is breath-taking - ranging from mugs,  jewelry, plates, dinner sets as well as wonderful murals that show the lushness of the Ecuadorian landscape and traditional costumes, customs and way of life.  It's a 'I want one-of-each' kind of place.  He is a wonderful artist.

 Beautiful view of central Cuenca from Turi.

UP the stairs to leather shop and coffee bar

Chapel in the Plaza.  We see this everyday from our apartment.  When the sun is out, it is lovely and white sitting on the hillside between the mountains.

Vega's Home

 

Entrance to Eduardo Vega's Gallery.

Mural at gallery entrance.

Then we had a really nice surprise!

Her name is Nina and we got to love on her.  What a great treat!

Pumapungo
When we went on our bird-watching hike in the Cajas Moutains, we met Peg Rockel.  Last Sunday she and her husband, Mike met us after church.  We had lunch at the California Kitchen (owned by Americans) then walked to the Ruins of Todos Los Santos which are only about 5 blocks from the center of the historic district.  (Also known as the ruins of Pumapungo).

The site has ruins of the Canari, Inca and Colonial Spanish constructions layered one over the other.  The only evidence left are layers of stones that formed walls and living spaces.  All beautifully kept.

Then we walked through the gardens.  All kinds of flowering and fruit trees, shrubs, bedding plants, vines, vegetables and cacti were in abundance.  Didn't see a weed anywhere.

The next area was the aviary.  There were many beautifully colored parrots, toucans, condors. 

The entire area was clean and well cared for - and free to the public.  Great Day!

Mike and Peg Rockel have been here almost 3 years.  They are from North Carolina.

Looking toward the ruins.  Vegetable garden on the right.

More evidence of the past.



Lamas grazing inside the park area.

Lots and lots of birds - too many to share on this blog.



The vegetation is so lush and huge.  Great place to come on a pleasant day.

Yasuni'
Tuesday while walking in El Centro, we came  upon a protest/parade.  Many different indigenous tribes were represented.  They were speaking out about the country drilling for oil in the Yasuni' preserve.  The government says the resources are needed for Ecuador to provide for the country.  The indigenous are afraid the preserves will be destroyed.  The group was very well organized and civil.  There was another at the same time in Guyaquil and in Quito.  The number of participants in Cuenca was in the 100's.  They chanted, carried flags and posters, and played music.  There were so many they were solid from sidewalk to sidewalk in the street and extended about 7-8 blocks.  The different style dress and hats depicts the different areas.  Very colorful.

Mercado
We then visited an exceptionally clean market in the "hood" area.  The fruit and veggies were fabulous.  We came home with 2 bunches of really fresh green beans and 2 broccoli heads for a total of $2.00.  We can attest to the freshness and wonderful taste of the green beans.  We had them for dinner last night with John's fabulous meatloaf and creamed cauliflower.  I think we may have over eaten a little.  Oh well, we will walk it off tomorrow.

Well, so long for now you guys.  We miss all of you very much and think of you each day.  We pray all your needs be met.  We ask you keep up in your prayers.

Hasta luego,
Jean

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer"  Ps. 19:14

Blessing to you all......

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES HERE.

Well,  bet you thought we had fallen off the map down here.  We have just been running and staying busy with all sorts of outings of which I will now try to bring you up to date on.  I'm getting to do the first half and my sweet Jean will finish up with hers.  Wow, where to start!

 

As mentioned previously we went on a mountain trek outside of Cuenca to a remote area that was once the home area of the indigenous "Canari" tribe.  They were a large tribe and resided over much of the Southern Andes Highlands.  Encampments were usually along one of the many rivers.  Predominately cave dwellers, their homes were in cliffs and ledges slightly above the rivers.  Sometimes there were networks of caves.  Our trip was to only one such cave area.  Before we went on our trek we were taken to a local small museum that was put together by villagers from this area to remember their ancestors.  There was a local woman who gave us a tour of the little museum. It was quit fascinating.

 

 

She spoke only in Spanish and we had several people to help us with most of the translation.

They had many historical artifacts from this area know as "Chobshi" or "Morning Star". Many were dated back to 500 BC or before.

Of course a lot of the things were more current such as my Jean(circa: 1944).

 Many things were donated by local families in the area.

 

 

 

 

You can see the beginnings of some small hats

being woven from The Torquilla palm fronds.

This is the area that still weaves the famous "panama hats" for the stores in Cuenca.

 

Indigenous woman starting a straw hat beginning with the crown shape.

 

 

These are some arrowheads found in the caves.

 

More tools and axes.

 



 

 

 



                                              

Skull and teeth dating back to 250 BC.

 



Many different platforms for food prep, grinding, garment washing and other chores.  They only used certain vessels for certain things never cross contaminating the vessels use.

 

We then began the long trek across a trail that was hardly big enough for a goat in some places.

 

 

 

Some places there was a sheer drop off to valley and river below that in some places was about 1,000ft.

 

 

If you zoom on the bottom left of this photo you will see something that looks like colored paper on the green grass just above the large boulder.  It is actually some young people laying out and relaxing by the river.



 

 

 

See what I mean about narrow.  To my left is a wall I could touch with my hand and to my right is a sheer drop-off to the river.  We had one couple turn around and go back down to the trail head.

 

 

But where you could stop and look out, the vistas were beautiful to see.

 

 

 

Up here this is how a family of 4 gets around.

 

 

 

We finally made it to the bottom 2 1/2 hours later and of course it was Saturday and what do all the people do on Saturday...Yes, they do the laundry.

 





 

The men as well as the women all pitch in to get it done.  They sometimes spread it all out on the rocks to dry, or pack it up and take it home to dry on a line or their fences.

 

 

We did get to see one cave but because of past looting they had it pretty much roped off to visitors. Many artifacts were found in this cave alone.

 

 





 

This trek was most demanding and we may not have done it if we had known the difficulty involved.  We are glad we did and came home stronger for it.  We didn't go anywhere for 2 days afterwards.

 

So, onward with our stories around Cuenca.  At home Jean and I go to a wonderful dental clinic in Mineola, Tx.  Since we were coming down here we missed our last dental check up at home.  Through our Texas friends here we learned of a great dentist named Dr, Gracie.  Trained in the USA, Dr. Gracie spoke flawless English and we made appointments for check ups and cleaning.  She has a great office less than a 10 minute walk for us.  When Jean and I go at home it cost us $ 265.00 for both of us.  At Dr. Gracie's it was $ 70.00 for both of us and we both felt is was very thorough.  She is very gentle and is talking all the time to make sure you are O:K.  She is no bigger than a minute and makes Jean look tall.

 

 

She can perform any service you might need from her well equipped and modern office. Having been in the dental business for a few years we had a great discussion about evolving equipment and I checked out her office pretty well.  We are very pleased.  Believe it or not we were told afterward that she may be a little "high" on her services.  Not for us though.

 

 

O:K, we have more to share but that will have to wait til later.  We are headed to Wednesday Bible Study at our church for now.  Jean has a great post coming up about more of or fun and friends we are meeting from all over the place.





Until then we miss and love each one of you and think of you often.

May GOD bless you all.

John