OFFICIAL GUIDE TO CUENCA, ECUADOR

It was recently brought to my attention by a friend, Al Bourassa, a professional photographer, (Shameless advertising for photos we have for sale:http://saccc05.tripod.com/)  that the city of Cuenca issues a monthly calendar of events produced by "Official Guide to Cuenca, Ecuador".  

"Gringo Tree", which emails one to three times a day to those who sign up for its email list, does a fine job of listing events, rentals, items people wish to buy or sell, or people just looking for particular services.  However, social and cultural events are often times not submitted to "Gringo Tree" until days before the event, which means people are not alerted until almost the last minute about such events.  A monthly calendar allows for people to plan their schedules around any particular event that transpires in any given month. The calendar also provides the user with a graphic web page of all events in one month.

The monthly calendar offered by the "Offical Guide To Cuenca, Ecuador" unfortunately is quite sparse in the events listed for the month of July.  Certainly major city-wide and neighborhood social, athletic, and cultural events should be listed.  Workshops and other things of that nature should be listed as the sponsors present them in the prior month to the officials responsible for the publication of the "Official Guide".  Since the calendar is a computerized web page, events can be added as they are submitted, and the viewer can click on a particular event and additional information is provided.  Nevertheless, it is the convenience of early listings at the beginning of each new month that allows the viewer to make ample use of the calendar.

Officials need to work closely with the universities, the Cuenca Orchestra, and other concert venues as examples of events which should be submitted to the Guide Office well in advance, so that the events can be placed on each monthly calendar in a timely manner.  For example, I would think the Cuenca's professional futbal team and those of its two major universities, as well as the venue for the season of the Cuenca Orchestra are set months in advance.  I would suggest that somebody working in this department should have the responsibility to follow-up on procuring the schedules for these type of events from these major venues rather than wait for them to be submitted.  The monthly calendar can be a valuable asset to residents and tourists alike, but only if the events are listed.  

I know from the last two years that this is the month where I believe it is called the Church of St Carmen on the square of the Flower Market, which will be having cultural and religious activities on the square each evening for a week.  Some of these activities involve music, traditional dance, plays, etc.  It would be nice to see what is being offered each evening and approximately the time, so people can plan ahead to whatever nightly program may appeal to them.  Tourists, for example, would only stumbled across nightly activities like these by chance, and I know people living in Cuenca who are unaware that such events are even taking place.

The "Official Guide To Cuenca, Ecuador" does a very good job of offering a number of informational tabs that once again can  prove of interest to both residents and tourists.  Below is a copy of just one example on Geography taken from the "Official Guide".  The Guide includes tabs that provide information about hotels, transportation, Carnival, Handicraft Basin, history, Basic Cultural Heritage, places to visit, other activities from churches to adventure tours, etc.  There is also a tab that deals with services from the consulate, to mail, to hospitals, to laundry, and a great deal more.

If you have not already visited the "Official Guide to Cuenca, Ecuador" site and live in Cuenca, or plan to visit Cuenca, or are seriously thinking of moving to Cuenca; I would encourage you to browse this site.  My congratulations to the officials responsible for putting such an attractive and informative site together.  Make the monthly calendar more useful and complete with events, and the site will be perfecto.
Here is the link to the site


 http://www.cuenca.com.ec/cuencanew/
 

http://www.cuenca.com.ec/cuencanew/calendar 

 

Geography

Cuenca Ecuador geography & climate

Geography

The city of Santa Ana of the 4 Rivers of Cuenca is located between 2.350 to 2.550 meters above sea level, in the Southern area Ecuadorian Andean Mountain range.  It was built on the ruins of the old Guapdondélig of Cañaris, which means "great valley of the sun". This gives us an idea of the valley. 

The area is surrounded by a complex of terraces, 4 altogether, which offer a great layout to the city. Most part of the city is located on flat areas, surrounded by mountains. These terraces are bathed by 4 rivers, which give their name to the city: the Machangara (to the north), the Tomebamba which splits the city in two areas, the Yanuncay and the Tarqui (to the south) which join together in the Tomebamba River.

This valley enjoys a great climate, along with a great availability of water, and fertile ground, allowing lots of green vegetation. This is the reason why the Cañaris, Incas and Spaniards took advantage of the area.

A cliff divides the slightly elevated second and third terraces, which constitute one of the most interesting characteristics of the geography of Cuenca and it is the present boundary between the colonial city and the new city.

There are two noticeable climatic stations. The dry season affects Cuenca from June to September.  During the rest of the year it is variable rainy, with heavy rains during the months of October and December and from March to May. 

RETURNING TO CUENCA

I haven’t blogged in some time.  I was way too busy while in the states, and working through my usual computer problems, which for me is a way of life.  First, I stayed with a friend for three weeks who had no Internet connectivity.  My days and evenings were busy, so I accessed the Internet when I could visit at a commercial establishment like “Starbucks”.  Since late in the evening was usually my best time to access the Internet, these places were usually closed.  I had better access during the week I spent with my one brother, and the weekend with my son was too busy to worry about the Internet, except for quick email checks.  While in Miami, I faced more connectivity problems at the hotel I was staying, and by the last four days, my computer went into a permanent sleep mode, and I or no one at the hotel had any idea how to wake it up.  After returning to Cuenca, it took Jose Cortez, the computer whiz, less than two minutes to fix the problem.

Technology problems were not helped any when after buying time to reactivate my Trac Phone from my last visit to the states, it wouldn’t work after I enjoyed one successful call from my son.  I finally had to have the company send me another phone, and go through the whole process of reactivating, and then getting my minutes transferred from the old phone to the new phone, as well as getting a new number.  By the final days of my trip, I had all these unused minutes that will expire in seventy days and are only usable in the states.  I also managed to leave a power cord at my son’s home.  Me and technology, the miscues just never end.  Other than the usual technology problems, everything else went well.

May was definitely a summer month in Chicago.  Except on the day I arrived and the day I departed, which were extremely cloudy and rainy, Chicago had beautiful weather with no rain all the other days of my three week stay.  Oh so much sunshine, and temperatures that ranged from the 60’s well into the 90’s.  I remember five days of 90 degree temperatures, with two of the days setting new records, one of which reached 97 degrees.  The beauty of it was that it was warm or hot without being humid.  Everything was so clean-looking and green, and in full foliage a month ahead of schedule.  It was really nice to be away from the daily rains of Cuenca.  I read at the beginning of my trip that an Ecuadorian meteorologist had stated that by the end of May, Ecuador should be over its La Nina.  Since I’ve returned the fall-off in rain has been very significant.  I hope I’m not jinxing us in Cuenca by even bringing up the topic of rain.

The big event while home in the Chicago area was the surprise celebration of my mother’s 90^th birthday.  It was definitely a surprise for her, and it was great visiting with old family friends, some of whom we had not seen in years, as well as the many relatives from my mother’s and late dad’s side of the family.  The dinner was followed with socializing with out-of-state guests into the evening and over breakfast the next day, as out-of-state family members made their way back to Wisconsin and Ohio.

My mother's sister, Dorothy, and her husband Bob along with some of their adult children put together a printed family album of photos, most of which we do not have in our own family albums.  This was a really appreciated surprise.


A special thank you to my niece, Jennifer Banham, who spendidly handled the design and printing of the invitations, the mailing, and the RSVP's.


Also greatly appreciated was the gift of the Brownd's, Ron and Sandy, who did a professional job of taking the photos of the day's big event.

These are some photos from the big day:

                  Mom at age two or three.

Jim Mola and Bernice Weber married on October 12, 1943.

            Greeting Table at the Birthday Party





Gamba's Ristorante Reception Room

Mom enters with my brother, Ron, thinking she is attending dinner with just the immediate family.





Mom is one of nine children.  Her brother Harry, and Ken (Duke) Weber are still with us, although unable to attend the event due to advance age.  The youngest member of the family, Dorothy Wick, mom's sister who will be 81 in November is having a little fun with mom as the various guests approach with hugs and well wishes after having shouted "Happy Birthday",  when she first entered the room.

Mom's sister, Dorothy Wick, Mom being hugged by her niece, Carmelina Spiccia, and Mom's youngest son, Ron.

Various toasts and testimonies were offered during the dinner.

               We only made mom blow out one candle from the birthday cake.






Mom thanked everybody for their coming and having been a part of her life.  Mom was not short on words once the microphone was placed in her hands.  Her last comment was, "And I don't want to wind up in no damn nursing home."





This is my brother Leo's family with his wife, Carla; his daughter, Jennifer and her   
husband, Dominic Banham on the left; and their son Brian and his wife, Christie on the right, with their two children, Joshua (21/2 years old) and Toby less than two months.  Their son Danny, and my two sons, Marc and Chris were unable to attend the event.  

Mom with her three sons, Ron, Jim and Leo

The oldest generation and the youngest generation--Mom with the youngest of her two great grandsons, Toby.


The greatest gift my mother and father ever gave us three boys besides their love was a strong sense of family pride and responsibility, which was handed down to them and their siblings from the generations that came before them.




Like the last time when I visited home, we experienced great weather the two days we traveled into Chicago, and the day we spent in Indianapolis as well.  With my brother, Leo and his wife, Carla, we walked along the three mile round-trip canal, the countless townhouse and condos, and the new museums—all of which were beautifully done and examples of the reconstruction and beautification that has taken place in so many American cities over the last twenty years in their efforts to revitalize downtown and nearby areas.  I only wished I had a few more days to spend at home with family, friends, and an additional trip or two into Chicago.

My brother, Leo and his wife Carla, who visited me in Cuenca about two months ago managed to locate the only Ecuadorian restaurant in Chicago called, “La Pena”.  It proved to be a very good choice and the food was delicious, and so were the martinis.  Our waiter’s family lives in Banos just a half an hour from me in Cuenca, once again a small world.  He also informed us that there is one other Ecuadorian restaurant in Chicago.

I visited my eldest son, Marc, in southern Maryland for a prolonged weekend, which went so fast, I felt like I was leaving as soon as I arrived.  Our first evening together, we ate at one of the best sushi places that was on par with the best I’ve had in Chicago and Hawaii.
 

I enjoyed meeting many of Marc’s friends and acquaintances on Friday evening as about two dozen of us attended a fondue party, followed by a symphony concert by the Baltimore Orchestra, and a return to the fondue party.  The rain was down-pouring heavily and assisted by a tornado as we left the symphony, and we were soaked to the skin getting to the bus stop and then walking back to the party, but we were having fun.
  

Baltimore actually runs bus lines into the downtown city, as a way to get cars off the street and to encourage more of its residents who live on the outskirts of the city to come into the city for evening attractions.  Would you believe the bus fare is free, so that certainly beats the twenty-five cents charged in Cuenca, even at the half-price senior-citizens rate.
 

Marc and I also dined at “Fogo de Chao”, which is an upper scale Brazilian steak house chain found in most large American cities.  The meal was excellent, with a salad and appetizer bar arrayed with high quality selections.  I really went for the cheeses.  The wait-staff at various times brought seventeen varieties of meat to our table and sliced them from the skewers.  Having the opportunity to particularly eat tender meats of sirloin, rib-eye, filet-mignon, shrimp, pork, beef, chicken, ribs, and my favorite, the garlic sirloin was a feast.

I continue to hope that Marc will come to visit me in Cuenca this summer.  There are places I would like to go in Ecuador that I’m just waiting for him before I tackle the rain forests, big Banos, etc.  Marc is coming out of the Air Force this summer, and the uncertainty on whether he will have the vacation time from his current job available makes a visit unlikely.  Just hoping a miracle happens.

I arrived in Miami on my last Sunday evening in the states, and I stayed in the art-deco historical district of South Beach in Miami Beach.  It was extremely busy with tourists and extremely humid.   I ventured out for only an hour to ninety minutes at a time.  I was left very exhausted from the heat, and couldn’t wait to get back to my very nice and very air-conditioned apartment.  My hotel, Casa Grande, was located on Ocean Drive, with restaurants, bars, and clubs running continuously for blocks.  Every establishment has an outdoor eatery, with the sidewalk cafes hugging the buildings separated by a three feet space for walking down the center and then more tables and booths along the curbside.  When I arrived Sunday evening, the place was hopping.

The greenway and beach was across from the restaurant establishments on the other side of Ocean Drive.  There are all kinds of high quality volley ball courts and interesting work out equipment in the parks.  The ocean is hidden by what appears to be man-made mounds of sand covered in grass, so one has to make their way through various paths through the mounds to get out to the beaches.  I rotisseried myself twenty minutes on each side and headed back to the hotel.  It turned out even twenty minutes was too long, as my ghostly white body parts that are normally covered by clothing instantly became barbequed red. 

I had done way more than my share of eating for the past month that I had been in the states, so I was glad I had a kitchen and fully furnished apartment that allowed me to eat-in and avoid the egregiously expensive venue of food, drinks, and entertainment.  A chicken wrap with a large coke costed as much as a dinner with alcohol at Tiestos in Cuenca.  


I actually lost weight while in South Beach.  True to my luck with technology, when I returned to my home in Cuenca and got on the scale, the disk battery was dead.  It took investigating three stores before I found one that carried the disc size I needed.  It was worth it, I was actually down a pound from when I left Cuenca.  How does one accomplish such a feat after eating three major buffets, indulging shamelessly in the dessert bars, and eating all the ethnic cuisines I can not get in Cuenca?

I must say this being my first time anywhere in Florida, besides traveling in and out of the airport, the city of Miami and its surroundings is very impressive by night with swaths of various colored lights which bring a glow to buildings and in some cases stream across bridges and areas that elicits an excitement and attractiveness to the city.  The city also has some very interesting architecture, and I love architecture.  As I mentioned I was staying in the Art-Deco Historical section of the city.  I was going to show you a smathering of photos of some very impressive  Art-Deco facades as well as photos of a small section along Ocean Drive in South Beach, but as only I can do, the photos were eliminated when I tried to transfer them from the camera.  Oh well, some things with me never change.  So that's it folks.  I'm back in Cuenca, getting settled, resting up, looking forward to seeing friends, and eagerly waiting to see what unfolds next for me in my life in Cuenca, and what role this city and its people play in my future endeavors.

SEDER DINNER 2012

Easter season seems like a distant memory as time-travel moves the universe at an accelerating pace.  First, I immersed myself in a whirl-wind week of social activity, and then I have been busy preparing for my return to the states for a month, beginning May 6^th and returning to Cuenca on June 9^th.  I’ve also taken time trying to organize a great deal of paper work I’ve accumulated since arriving in Cuenca back in March of 2011, along with all the other sundry things of life that takes up ones day-to-day activities.  As a result, I haven’t posted as much, and my last post started out as a personal email in which I couldn’t stop writing, and finally decided to make the email a post.  However, there was an event during Holy Week that I attended, and did not find the time to share, and although it is out of place chronologically with my other posts,  I very much would like to share it with you today.

I was quite surprised without any prompting from me at the dozens of readers who recently read my post from last year entitled, http://cuencaperspectivesbyjim.blogspot.com/2011/04/passion-of-christ.html.  Last year I lived for two weeks in the heart of El Centro, and was overwhelmed by the numbers of people, church services, processions and activities that took place in Cuenca during Holy Week, which began with Palm Sunday and ended with Easter Sunday.  On Good Friday, I had even made the traditional visit to seven churches that so many Cuecano Catholic devotees fulfill on that day of the year.

This year I was looking for a new spiritual experience for Holy Week.  A Seder Dinner was advertised in “Gringo Tree”.  I had not attended a Seder since the 1980’s.  I thought that would be a nice, intimate way of memorializing the Holy Week.  Credit for the organization of the Seder went to Claudia Coplan, and the Seder was held in Emanuela Levin’s home in the Palermo.  The Seder meal is done in remembrance of the Passover, which was the Jewish celebration each year of the freedom of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery.  The Passover is a reminder according to Biblical teaching of the final plague against the Egyptians as the Angel of the Lord passed over the slaying of the first-borns of the household, where the blood of the lamb had been brushed over the door posts of the homes whose occupants obeyed the injunction of the Lord.

Now the surprise was that I had no idea this was a Jewish Seder.  The advertisement in “Gringo Tree” just said “Seder”.  I assumed wrongly that Seder was a term used by Christians in commemoration of the Lord’s Supper.  Remember, Jesus and his twelve apostles were Jews, and kept the Jewish law and holy days.  What Christians call the “Last Supper”, was basically Jesus and the apostles celebrating Passover.  I assumed that Jews simply called the holy day Passover.  So after I arrived, it became clear that the Seder was intended as a Jewish event.  However, I was welcomed and treated with respect.  There was also a lady of Irish-Catholic background in attendance whose spouse was Jewish, a young Ecuadorian male with a very pretty little daughter, whose attractive wife was Jewish, and a gentleman who was half-Jewish.

 

We went through the ritual of the Seder, which was very much like the Christian Seders, I had attended decades ago.  The primary difference in Christian Seders is the addition of some prayers that tie the Passover to the Christian heritage and Jesus Christ.  Also, some Christian evangelical groups will substitute grape juice in place of the wine.  We all took turns praying and reading from the book that was provided, which I will have more to share with you at the end of this post.

Deke Castleman’s mother had baked matza bread, and it arrived just in time for the Seder.  The bread was delicious, and I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t a connection there between that matza bread and Deke’s love of Pizza and its crust.  Matza bread is the unleavened bread, for when the time came for the Hebrews to pick up and leave Egypt, in the rush of departure there was no time to allow the bread to rise.  Matza bread was also on hand at our dinner from Israel itself; but in a taste-test, Deke’s mother’s matza had it beat by a mile.  After the rituals were performed and the readings were completed, we shared a dinner together beyond the items that were used in the ritual Seder.  The evening was very meaningful for me, not only as a student of history, world cultures, and religious studies; but also on a spiritual level as well.  This is a Seder I will remember for a very long time.

I don’t know what beliefs were brought to the dinner by the Jews in attendance.  Obviously, there were no Hassidic Jews in attendance, and probably no one who might be identified as an Orthodox Jew.  These attendees appeared to be more of a liberal persuasion where their Judaism was freed from the highly ritualistic practice, for example, of various dishes having to be used and washed for various items, and someone had commented how when they were children the elders were involved in prolonged readings and prayer sessions that did not apply to this abridged edition of Seder.  This appeared to be a faith practiced without the many legalisms of traditional Judaism.  Among those in attendance, some may have attended out of deep faith; and others may have attended to simply share memories of childhood rituals and religious beliefs that may not have any significant impact on their lives today; or they may have attended simply to be part of the Jewish community in Cuenca, and to share a solidarity with their brethren over all that the Jewish people had to endure over the many past centuries, and continue to endure in the world today.  

I had the opportunity to make some new acquaintances, and hopefully some new friendships as well.  In fact, I knew three of the people in attendance from other social engagements prior to the Seder.  The Jewish people in attendance were by no means all the Jews in Cuenca.  With time, we will probably discover a significant growth in a vibrant Jewish community in Cuenca.

Below is a text that better explains the Seder, and is taken from Wikipedia:

The Passover Seder (Hebrew: סֵדֶר‎ [ˈsedeʁ], "order, arrangement"; Yiddish: Seyder) is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in the Gregorian calendar.

The Seder is a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slaveryin ancient Egypt. This story is in the Book of Exodus (Shemot) in the Hebrew Bible. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8) Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient work derived from the Mishnah (Pesahim 10).^[1][2] The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs.

Seder customs include drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom.^[3] The Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews all over the world.

Below is a link that describes in detail the Seder Dinner and the symbolism of each of the foods used in the Seder, along with some beautiful illustrations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_Seder

Since I first posted this post, Claudia Coplan graciously sent me a couple of photos from our Seder Dinner evening, and I am sharing them with you below:

Once again, the link immediately above the photos helps to explain the symbolism of each of the items you see in the photos.

IN CUENCA, ALWAYS EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Today's blog post started out as a personal email, but as I kept writing, I decided it would be my latest blog post:


Hi Lois,

Yes Chris and Bettye Petersen are great neighbors here at the Palermo.  We've been having a good time and always seem to have something to talk about, and I have introduced them to several of my friends over various lunches and dinners.  

Yesterday, started out very warm and extraordinarily sunny. The clouds over the eastern mountain range were so white and fluffy.  There wasn't a dark spot to be found anywhere in the sky enveloping Cuenca.  Of course, Lois, when you live here for a while you will learn quickly that such mornings are illusionary, and if the weather change is not what you wanted, you may even feel disillusioned.  When the three of us left for our adventure of the day at 1:00 p.m., the sky almost on cue had changed to an overcast. It happened so rapidly, that there truly is much truth to the statement, "That if you don't like the weather in Cuenca, don't worry it will change in ten minutes."  I rationalized to Chris and Bettye that the overcast would be advantageous to us, rather than spending an afternoon of walking under the hot sun, but we all knew what was most likely to be the outcome of this overcast. 

Yesterday, was a true test of a budding friendship.  I walked their and my behinds all over Cuenca, in search of the art fair.  We would have had an easier time trying to find Carmen Sandiego. There are two major art fairs annually in Cuenca. We found the first part, which is mainly crafts that quite frankly you can find anywhere in Cuenca, and it was located where it normally is on both sides of the river near Cuenca University.  By the time we arrived to this part of the fair, of course it was raining and drizzling, which would continue for about an hour.

Also in that location is Esquina Arts a complex of about twenty art shops, and which as I later would learn, turned out to be the sponsor and heart of the festival.  I then took Chris and Bettye down to Parque Madre, which, is totally boarded up, will be demolished, and replaced with a 350 underground auto garage, with a new park over the garage, and high quality running lanes for joggers and runners as well.

So all the past painting exhibitions that were along the sidewalks of the park were not on exhibit. What new location did they move the exhibits to, I wondered?  One young lady I asked said San Blas Square, and a middle-age lady said Parque Calderon.  We walked into El Centro from the river to an area between the two squares.  From what we could see, there appeared to be booths down by San Blas Square so we walked down there, and it was more of the handicraft stuff we saw earlier. Chris and Bettye did get to see the interior of San Blas Church, and a wedding ceremony was taking place at the time. They also saw the location for one of the vegetarian restaurants, which are of interest to them in Cuenca.  I also showed them the Canadian family-owned ice cream parlor on the square.  Many believe its ice cream is better than Tutto Freddo's.  I also noticed that Tutto Freddo's moved from a larger location on the square to a smaller location even closer to its rival ice cream shop.  Either way, both offer great ice cream.  A large stage was also setup on the square with all the sound equipment, which indicated some loud rock, South American style music was going to be the evening entertainment.  I also heard that Parque Paraiso would be featuring band concerts that evening as well.

We didn't have ice cream.  We just used the ice cream shop's banos, and walked back down Simon Bolivar toward Parque Calderon.  As we walked, we were accompanied by a band playing from an open van as it made its way down the street. It is always interesting, when these traditional type of bands play in the city, all the men wear suits while performing.

The band was accompanied by vintage autos from the 30's through the 70's, and there were even more vintage autos on display on Benigo Malo along Parke Calderon.  It was 4:00 in the afternoon.  I talked to the always friendly owner in the Ramipampa Restaurant, and he showed me the Art Festival ad in the newspaper. It was then that I came to the realization that possibly because of all the construction work along Parque Madre; and along the street on the opposite side of the river where major road construction is also taking place, and which had also been used in past painting exhibitions that can run for blocks; the whole fair was just scaled back this spring.  

Bettye wanted to eat at a nice restaurant, so I suggested Mangiare Bene, a fusion Italian-Ecuadorian restaurant, which in my opinion, is one of the very best eateries in the city, and it would be in the direction of our walking back to the Palermo.  As we arrived, the restaurant was closed, which I feared, since Ecuadorians usually don't eat supper until 7:00 p.m. or later, and the restaurant would not open until 6:00 p.m. for those early gringo diners.

Ultimately, it was decided by the three of us to make our way over to the Mediterraneo Restaurant, a very fine traditional Italian restaurant. The owner who is also the chef is from Milan, Italy, but the restaurant was almost one mile from our current location.   No one voted to take a taxi, so we walked.  I also figured that if the Mediterraneo was closed, there was about a half dozen other fine restaurants in the area.  As we approached the general area I couldn't find the Mediterraneo.  I left all my address books at home, because I didn't think I would need them and I wanted to lighten my bag load.  Chris was beginning to look irritated with me, not that I couldn't blame him.  We had easily walked six miles. We walked over to Zoe's, but they were closed.  We went across the street to the Indigo restaurant which is inexpensive and serves reasonably good food and sandwiches. Bettye came up with a great suggestion that we have a cocktail at Indigo's, and by six we could walk over to Las Monjas when it opened for dinner. Well, we had two cocktails a piece, and we all agreed they were quite good and very reasonably priced at Indigo's.  

By 6:20 p.m., we made our way down to Las Monjas, another one of the finest cuisine restaurants in the city.  The atmosphere, service, and food are all first class.  We started our dinner off with chocolate martinis, which were superb to say the least. They would also become Bettye and my dessert as well.  It was early by Ecuadorian standards for dining, and only one other family was in the restaurant during our time there.


This was my second visit to Las Monjas, I had visited there over a month ago when my brother and sister-in-law where visiting from the states, we all loved the restaurant then, but there were few patrons.  I would think such an outstanding dining experience would find this restaurant over-flowing with customers.  All three of us had seafood dinners, and the chef did an excellent job of preparation and presentation.  After dinner as we departed the restaurant, the better part of discretion required that we take a taxi home and not try to hoof it.  

Chris and Bettye received a better feel for the overall layout of the city, and where various places were located in relationship to others, whether they wanted the lesson or not.  I learned not to trust that the way things were done in previous events would necessarily be done the same way again.  We never found the art fair we sought out, and we never found Carmen Sadiego either.  In the end, the drinks and dinner made the day, and were the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow of all that walking, searching, and experiencing the unexpected.  

So Lois, we look forward to the time you come to join us on another visit to Cuenca, and when you come to permanently settle here.  Thanks for your friendship, and for introducing me to Chris and Bettye.

HOSTERIA DOS CHORRERAS REVISITED

While my brother, Leo and his wife, Carla were visiting in Cuenca, they especially requested to visit the Hosteria Dos Chorreras Restaurant and Inn not far from the entrance to the Cajas National Park.  Their request had been based on an earlier post I had written of this spectacular restaurant of exceptional architectural achievement and landscaping.  If you would like to see the original post and  photos of Dos Chorreras just click on the link below, click on slideshow, and click on the forward arrow, so you can control the speed of viewing each slide:

https://picasaweb.google.com/111741036841400152108/HOSTERIADOSCHORRERAS     


On this trip our friend and driver had one of his friends, Manuel, take us to the restaurant.  On the way, however, Manuel took us on a side trip as we neared the restaurant area to show us the church grounds and church where he, his wife, and two daughters attend Saturday evening mass.  The grounds were attractive, and are known by the name, Capilla y Jardin (Chapel and Garden).  There were various religious icons on display.  Manuel was very proud of his church.  As we walked about the grounds, we viewed some outside wall displays that included plaques and letters of thanks and appreciation to God for those in the parish who had successfully made it to the United States to live and work.  I thought these prayers of appreciation may be unique to this particular church, but I  since have spoken to another friend who was aware of the same custom practiced at another church in Cuenca, so it may be a more common practice than we thought.  You may view the church grounds on the link below, and follow the same modus operendi as in the previous link.


https://plus.google.com/photos/111741036841400152108/albums/5726638190189543297



My purpose for posting again about the beautiful architectural gem, Hosteria Dos Chorrereas was the fact that I thought I had seen all of the rooms in the building from my trip there in November.  However, it didn't take long to discover not only some additional dining rooms, but a bar as well on a lower level.  Last time I also was able to get shots of the interior of some of the cabin rooms, which are housed separately from the main restaurant.  I hoped to show them to my brother and sister-in-law, but the draperies were closed to all of the cabin rooms.  This time, however, I was able to view some of the hotel rooms in the restaurant-inn complex, and those pictures are included.

When Jose Cortez and I visited in November we practically had the entire restaurant to ourselves.  This time, a seminar was being held in one of the upper dining areas, and a bus-load of tourists were on hand as well.  The beautiful gift shop was doing a humming business.  My sister-in-law has some sensational photos of the gift shop.  However, since my brother is as brain-dead as me when it comes to electronics, they haven't figured out how to transfer their photos to me so I can use some of them in these posts.  Nonetheless, there were some photos of the gift shop in the original post above.

What I am especially pleased to report to you is that when Jose and I had dinner in November at Chorrereas, we were not very happy with the meal other than our main entrees.  We shared are disappointment with the manager.  I don't know if other concerns about the meals were expressed as well by other patrons.  I do know that it really felt good to find that management acted on our suggestions.  The manager was sincere when he said they welcomed our comments, and appreciated feedback from their patrons.  He wasn't handing us some public relations b.s. of what he thought we wanted to hear.  The management actually acted on our suggestions!

We had a very good meal.  Not only the entree of trout, which was fine before, but also the sopa de papas was immensely improved.  The broth was now thick and not insipid, and it now included alvocado and a slice of hard boiled egg.  The side dishes were quite good, and the dessert was not only delicious, but came in a larger portion.  The menu is great, because it provides the diner with all the food items in Spanish and their English translation.

So not only do you have a place to visit or spend a night or two of relaxation in natural and architectural splendor, but you also can enjoy a high quality and filling seafood dinner at a reasonable price.  You're welcome to enjoy the additions to the Chorrereas' slide album below, and I consider ourselves extremely fortunate that such a jewel of a place is right in our own backyard of Cuenca.  (Click on the first larger photo and that will allow you to go into slide show mode, and you will find the forward arrow way over to the right:

https://plus.google.com/photos/111741036841400152108/albums/5720318273473267777?authkey=CK67g7Ho-_WiswE

VISITING GUAYAQUIL--CITY STREETS

While my brother, Leo, his wife, Carla, and I were visiting in Guayaquil we walked along two or three streets that paralleled the Malecon Drive.  Primarily, we were seeking a place for lunch.  Restaurants seemed far and in-between.  Restaurant scarcity seemed odd in an area dense with financial institutions and government office buildings.  We did find a crowded corner restaurant, which offered a buffet amuerzo.  It was heart-warming to see how quickly the young wait-staff went to work to find us a table and help Carla get herself situated as we made our way down the tight aisles on one of the few days we used a wheel chair.  I don't recall if we were the only gringos in the place, but the staff having to deal with a crush of customers, went out of their way to get us situated and explain the procedure for using the buffet and the various dishes available on the buffet.  I don't how my brother pulled it off. I wasn't standing next to him when he went through the buffet line, but while I had to make choices among the food items offered, Leo just told the server that he wanted one of everything, and that's what they gave him for the same price.

After lunch we walked along the city streets and snapped photos of the beautiful architecture in that part of town near the Malecon.  I didn't take notes on the buildings we saw, so all I have to share with you are the unidentified architectural facade photos.  In the opening slides along the sides of some tall buildings, if I understood correctly, were actual paintings done by well known Ecuadorian artists. It would be great to see a project like that completed in Cuenca.  If not with well-known Ecuadorian artists, then certainly with established and up-and-coming Cuencano artists, who can be free to express their own thing.

We also visited the the Museo Nahim Isaiah, which has a collection of over 2,000 art works.  The exhibits are particularly focused on colonial art and religious art.  Many videos are scattered throughout the exhibits with what I assume were explanations of the history of much of what was being presented on exhibit, since the videos were presented in Spanish.  Those of you from Chicago, who have seen the European religious art on display in the Art Institute would be underwhelmed by most of the paintings on display here.  However, it was interesting to see the contrast in South American artistic take on how the religious art was presented in the various statues and paintings. What I enjoyed the most was the museum structure itself.  It is a beautiful modern building inaugurated in 1989, architecturally designed as truly an art work unto itself, and I did enjoy the way in which many of the works of art were presented without just simply flat-wall lining.


I don't know what many parts of Guayaquil look like  However, near the Malecon, and the plaza walkway a couple of blocks in from the Malecon Drive, one couldn't visit a more nicely maintained area.   The area reminded me of the improvements being made in Cuenca, as well as the improvements that need to be made.  As I said in the previous post, we abruptly made this trip without any research, other than Ecuadorian friends who had told me that the Malecon was one area worth a visit in Guayaquil, and that as we found, was very safe.


A number of major projects are currently underway, or will soon be undertaken in Cuenca.  Such projects include the construction of the underpass on Avenidas de las Americas and Gran Columbia; the excavation along part of the Third of Noviembre, where as I understand it, many cables are being placed underground; construction of many new walkways and observation points have been built along the Rio Tomebama in the past year;  major renovations and rejuvenations of the open air San Francisco Market are to begin soon; the first leg of the electric bus line along Gran Columbia is to begin this year in El Centro, and eventually extend to other streets in El Centro to discourage auto traffic as well as replace the polluting combustible engine gas buses;  twelve miles of new sidewalk construction in El Centro is also scheduled for this year, and is sorely needed; and  Parke Madre will soon be excavated to make room for a 350 car underground garage, and an entirely new park with high quality grade running lanes for joggers will be constructed.  The destruction of this park will be sad to see, along with the loss of so many mature trees.  It will take fifteen to twenty years before the new park will have the beautiful shade trees that form a canopy over many sections of the current park, but in the long-run the park will give greater benefit to the people, and no doubt more parking spaces are needed.

All the delineated above projects cost money and as far as I know are fully funded.  Ironically, two things can be done to spruce up El Centro that would be very inexpensive compared to the above costly projects, and go a long way in improving the beauty of the historic district.  Many commercial buildings in El Centro, no matter what renovations may or may not be needed to their interiors, are sorely in need of fresh paint jobs and in some places fresh plaster to the exterior of the buildings as well.  One example of facades in need of fresh paint jobs, are the buildings that house the Ramipampa Restaurant and Tutu Freddos on Benigno Malo. Especially considering that these buildings are next to the New Cathedral, and within eye view of anyone walking or sitting in Parke Calderon.  One would think coordinated steps between property owners and city officials would work out a plan to spruce up the facades of many of these buildings.  Some buildings only need a fresh paint job at street level, and look fine further up.  While many structures have undergone extensive renovation and restored to their Spanish Renaissance magnificence,  Simple paint jobs to many other facades would certainly contribute to the beauty and freshness of El Centro.

The other problem continues to morph into monstrous proportions since last summer and that is the egregious tagging that has become pervasive like a lethal virus throughout the city.  I have had a number of tourists in recent weeks wonder how a city can be rated the number one city for retirement, or has been designated by UNESCO as an International Preservation Historical Site, and so little respect seems to be shown by the residents of a city with acts of cultural indifference to their heritage by all this pervasive tagging.  Fresh paint and curbing of the tagging problem are two simple things that can be addressed. Neither are cost exorbitant, and yet would go far to enhance the beauty and magnificence of the historic district.

Here's the link to Guayaquil:  Click on the slideshow link in the upper left-hand corner, and best to just quickly click on the forward arrow, so you can control the speed at which you wish to observe each slide.

https://picasaweb.google.com/111741036841400152108/PublicBuildingsGuayaquil?authkey=Gv1sRgCISemIWN9empkQE

Visiting Guayaquil--PART I-- THE MALECON

When I first arrived in Ecuador in July of 2010 for my one month visit to Cuenca, I stayed overnight in Guayaquil.  The passage through customs was long and grueling.  It was well past midnight, and getting settled into a comfortable hotel, and sleeping for a few hours before preparation for my flight to Cuenca did not give me the opportunity to experience Guayaquil in any meaningful way.  I just remembered the great hotel I slept in that night, the wonderful bell-hop who assisted me, the humidity, and the warning not to venture far from the hotel because of crime.

If you wish to read about that first day of arrival in Guayaquil, Ecuador; you may do so at the following link:

http://cuencaperspectivesbyjim.blogspot.com/2010/07/from-chicago-to-cuenca.html

Since I have lived in Cuenca, I have heard universal stories about the corruption and crime levels in Guayaquil, how it is Ecuador's industrial city, not very attractive as industrial cities go,  with not much to do, and with little in the way of cultural activities.  A few months ago I briefly made a transportation transfer from Playas on the coast, to Guayaquil, and back to Cuenca.  The humidity in the city was stifling, and I did not care if I never set foot in Guayaquil again.

When my brother, Leo, and his wife, Carla, took me for a loop, and suddenly announced they wanted to spend a few days of their two weeks in Cuenca to visit Guayaquil and experience another part of Ecuador as well; I was abruptly caught off guard.  I decided the one positive place I had heard about in the city to visit was the Malecon.  The Malecon 2000, as it had been aptly named,  had been developed in recent years, and runs for about three miles along the Guayas River in Guayaquil, which leads to the Pacific Ocean.

I was really happy we made the trip.  The weather was humid, but tolerable during the two nights and three days that we visited.  Both days it rained during the morning, and it was all cleared up by late morning, and remained that way the rest of the day.  We stayed at the Ramada Inn which is across the street from the Malecon.  It was very clean, with spacious rooms, reasonably priced, and had an excellent handicap room and shower to accommodate my sister-in-law.

For those of you from the Chicago area, I can best describe the Malecon as being somewhat comparable to Navy Pier, only instead of protruding into the lake like Navy Pier, the Malecon parallels the Guayas River for approximately three miles.  A very beautiful job was done with the layout of the Malecon and the endless attractions it has to offer.  However, the Malecon does lack the dramatic effect provided to Navy Pier and the coastline by Lake Michigan, whose expanse on the horizon is far beyond what the eye can see.  Nor does the river, like Lake Michigan, provide the rolling waves that continuously wash up and break along the shoreline of the Great Lake.  The Guayas River is wide, and like any river one can see its bank on its opposite side, but it probably is wider than all four rivers together that meander through Cuenca.  However, the water basically just lies there.  This is quite a contrast from the very narrow four rivers which run through Cuenca. These river waters follow the gravitational force downward from the Cajas, and the large amount of rocks found in these unnavigable rivers, only adds to the excitement of the rapids as they pulsate through Cuenca.  I would describe the movement of the river in Guayaquil  at best as serene, and at worse as lifeless.

Nevertheless, the Malecon itself was well worth our time, and a creation that the people of Guyaquil can be very proud.  It offers casual relaxation not only to the tourists, but to those people of Guayaquil who are fortunate enough to take advantage of its amenities.  We spent from Monday until Wednesday in Guayaquil, and I just can imagine the crowds present on the weekends.  Late afternoon and early evening was a nice time for us, with less humidity and some breezes off the river.

Besides being an exceptionally  beautifully designed, expansive walkway, the Malecon offers something for everybody:  museums; botanical gardens with fountains, lagoons, islands, bridges, and ramps; playground areas for the kids; boat rides up and down he river; historical statues and monuments; a Moorish Clock Tower; restaurants, bars, and endless eateries; shopping malls that are ensconced at a lower level stretching along the esplanade with the multiple cellular structures of the overall mall prevented from dominating the space around it.  The mall complex is fully air-conditioned, and separated into sections as one walks from one section of the mall to another as it snakes its way along the esplanade.  There are also attractive and fun playgrounds for the children.  The Malecon is also home to the Guayaquil Yacht Club, and the Naval Yacht Club.

We were not interested in taking a boat ride, and my brother and his wife tired the first evening.  They returned back to the hotel, while I continued my walk along the river.  The next latter afternoon and early evening we walked the same length, because Leo and Carla had missed so much from the day before.  By the time we arrived back to the entrance area of the Malecon near our hotel, we did not continue down to the other end.  I assumed it could not be but a half a mile to a mile, because the stretch we had already walked in just one direction seemed like at least two miles.  The following day as we made our way in the taxi from the hotel to catch our van ride back to Cuenca, we drove past the part of the Malecon that we never did get a chance to walk.  Much to our surprise we saw as we rode by:  the Planetarium; the Museum of Anthropology, which also features local and international artists, with frequent changes in exhibitions; and of course, that was also the area where the IMAX Theatre, the first built in South America, was located.  Oh well, something for me to look forward to the next time I am in Guayaquil, and I will be looking forward to telling Leo and Carla all about what they missed.

I hope you enjoy the slides.  I do not have any slides of the mall.  I just didn't think to take any while we walked through
the mall, and of course, there are no slides of the museums and IMAX that we missed at the other end of the Malecon.  Nonetheless, this is truly a trip worth taking.  If you don't know the routine yet.  Click below.  Click on the "slideshow" label in the upper left-hand corner of the page.  Either set the timer for seven seconds, or as I would recommend just continue to manually click on the forward arrow, and then you can view each slide at your pace:

https://picasaweb.google.com/111741036841400152108/MalacanGuayaquilEcuador?authkey=Gv1sRgCNCk4cL84KuMag