Week 2: Reality sinks in

Everything is exotic when visiting any region for the first time, as one absorbs the best it has to offer. We are thoroughly enjoying the weather, the city life, restaurants, churches, museums, the rivers, walks around the city and parks, and a lot more.

The city is very clean, very easy to get around, lots of events, and also has a decent soccer team in the Ecuadorian league. We also ventured to take the local buses to nearby towns of Chordeleg and Sigsig. The ride through the mountains and highlands had spectacular scenery.

We find very friendly people everywhere. And we did meet a dozen or so couples from North America, each one with their own stories of how they made it down here and off course full of good advice for us.  Lots of Gringo activities in town.  One of them was a visit to local nursery with our friends.

We found a reasonable 2-bedroom apartment across from Rio Yunancay in a nice quite neighborhood walking distance from center of town. We are using that as a base while we continue to explore.

And we have walked all over the town of Cuenca to the tune of averaging 5 miles a day, talk about healthy lifestyle. By walking we observe every little tiny details the town has to offer, some good and some not so good, definitely assisting us in understanding what we miss being away from home.

The honeymoon period is over and now starts the day to day experience to determine if we can live here long term. What I feel is that this area is a rough diamond that needs us to expose its full potential to meet our desires.

We have another seven weeks to continue in our exploration. This week we travel for a few days to smaller town of Vilcabamba about 250 km south of Cuenca. Vilcabamba used to be a playground retreat for the Inca royalty. It is also extremely fertile, being fed by mineral rich lakes within that area. I feel if going rural and back to nature is in our future, then Vilcabamba may be the calling for us.

Though I feel that it is hard to beat living in Del Mar, CA, Ecuador does have a lot to offer to expand one’s horizon, especially if I can go beyond what I can venture into in California.

What we miss are our boys, family, and friends. We miss the comfort of our home. The ease of getting what we want so easily. For instance, bread and cheese in Cuenca are not of any quality worth talking about. Though there are a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits in many farmers markets, the variety choices are not the same as we get in San Diego. The housing has very little yards, if any, and surprisingly very few windows. The walls around the housing are high, obstructing any of the spectacular views. Go figure, I am told the purpose is privacy and security. Chatting with working youngsters here, the common story is that it is hard to find a good job and make decent money. What I can say is we are spoilt living in California.

 

Finally the big issue I am trying to overcome is the Spanish language. What I find is not as much me trying to speak, it is the listening that is the biggest problem. Understanding what the locals are saying is the biggest obstacle. They can easily understand my broken Spanish along with my hand signals. Reeta is just a pro. Locals think she is local. Interestingly when I ask a question they turn and answer to Reeta, as though they already know I will not understand their answer, extremely hilarious. I am glad Reeta is my defacto interpreter. But I find I am learning little by little, surprisingly not too frustrating. Both Reeta and I feel strongly in mastering Spanish, as it is the key to merging into this rich culture.

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Week 1 was progress, week 2 bit of a regress, week 3 – we shall see.

Nuestro viaje continua …