Thursday, July 29, 2010

Cuenca...In & Around the City


Sunday (Domingo) 25 Julio 2010

Hi everyone.

You may have noticed that I’ve made some 
changes as in the type and general look of my 
Blog.

Now...none of this is “carved in stone”. 
That said...I would of course welcome any 
constructive criticism and or suggestions about 
any of the changes.

So…with the above business “out-of-the-way”…
off we go to more of my rants J

Monday (Lunes) 26 Julio 2010

As this morning…a day that falls in the category 
of beautiful and sunny…I did a bit of perusing 
the local area. I ended up at the Indigenousness 
{for lack of a better word}…Flea market in the heart 
of Cuenca. Now I had ZERO plans to buy anything 
however…as I was “just looking” a sweater type 
jacket caught my eye.

Now….it should be known that I have never been 
one for bargaining. OK…but it’s an unspoken law in 
these parts…that one is supposed to bargain. 
So…this Norte Americano Cuencano (how’s that for 
a mouthful? ) played the game as best I could.  
Bottom-Line…this morning I bought an Alpaca 
Jacket and saved literally a couple of bucks...
$16 down from $18.

I know…I know…Not a big deal. However…to the
Indigenousness vendor bargaining is a way of life 
and…not only do they thrive on the “play” but get 
insulted if you refuse to participate. This so much 
so…that if you refuse to bargain they just may 
refuse to sell to you!! 

So...there be the truth !!!!!

On a more serious note…I received my passport 
from my Quito attorney which included my 
“Residencia Visa”. The Visa was signed by the 
Ministerio de Gobierio Director General de Extranjeria…
which by the way translates to: Government Ministry 
Main Directorate of Foreigners (no actual translation 
available anywhere for extranjeria…but this was the 
best explanation I received)

Tuesday (Martes) 27 Julio, 2010

Today proved to be the day where an Official of 
some sort should have said…
”LET THE GAMES BEGIN”.
The reason for this...will become apparent as you 
read on!

I guess I should call this the day of reckoning 
although…I had know way of knowing what lay 
before me. This was the day where I should have 
been done with getting all the “residency” papers 
completed. So what happened you asked????

This morning my attorneys assistant picked me  up
and off we went to play the Government Game…
which in this case was my "quest" to secure my 
Cedula y Censo. Anyway…
here’s the rest of the story!

After 2 hours of being driven around to various 
agencies and getting photos etc. I now have my 
Censo J J. Censo in hand we then continued to 
proceed to another government office to get the...
“all important” Cedula (which finalizes my legality).

We arrived and she [Linda] then found out that 
“you know who” could only get the Cedula in Quito. 
This incidentally wasn’t directed specifically at me 
but…is a "new and infant" regulation. As one gets 
accustomed too…rule changes like getting “blind-
sided” in a football game (ouch)!

Unfortunately…this new regulation went into 
effect yesterday (Monday). Apparently the cause is 
do to the influx of Peruvians and Columbians 
(not to mention Cubans). From what it looks like now…
I will need to travel back to Quito for a day 
(possibly two) in order to resolve this Cedula situation.

OK…Just back from a nice relaxing lunch. I finally 
spoke with my abogado (attorney) Gabriella. Her final 
comment…due to the new regulation…"I do indeed" 
have to travel to Quito (or Guayaquil –ain’t gonna 
happen) and have 2 months in which to complete this 
situation.

She also informed me that the “process” takes 3 days.
The first day is a “full day” the third is a quick pick-up.
ARRRGGGG….I can’t even think of this now…so 
more stuff later on in the near future!

Wednesday (Miercoles) 28 Julio, 2010

Today is “home maker” (that’s me) day. ;o ;o
That means laundry…food shopping…ye’ know…
funstuff J

Back to the laundry and…FYI this is done by hand 
as I now have “no” washer/dryer. Now "if" I really 
wanted to go native…I would do as the Indigenous 
people do and take the dirty clothes to the river and…
well you get the idea! 

THIS…mi amigo’s...ain’t gonna happen!!!!!

Thankfully…the above is true only for the clothes 
that would most likely shrink from the heat in a...
“dryer”.

So now with some of my chores done…
i.e. picked-up laundry and did the wash by hand. 
This by the way is now hanging [and blocking] my 
windows. Truthfully…I feel as though I’ve stepped 
back in time (again) by about 60 years...
ye’ gotta love it J

Anyway...next up is a “run” to the SuperMaxi. 
Actually…yes I’m doing it again…a bus ride there 
and return via El Taxi.

Thursday (Jueves) 29 Julio, 2010

In order to finish the past few days Blog…I just 
have uno comment!

Early yesterday (Wednesday) or it may even have 
been the night before…my Internet went into to 
slow-mode. No that’s not entirely true…as even 
though it was telling me it was working…it was 
indeed...not!!!! There was no way I could access 
the internet…period!!

So…this morning I was also set to venture out to
California Kitchen and would then have the use 
of their free wi-fi. Anyway…it is now Noon and as 
I was just about to pack-up El Laptop I figured I'd 
give it a try.

Now I don’t know if it’s coincidence or my Mac has
other “special” ;) ;)  capabilities but low ‘n behold 
the Internet connection is now in "go mode" and 
is now working...Ha-La-Loo-Ya...

Am I complaining…NO WAY J

And with that mi amigos y amigas…
Hasta Luego J J

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