A Bit of Exploring in and Around Cuenca

Cuenca Sightseeing...
the "Old", "New" and
In-Between!

Finally…I have a choice of sightseeing companions. I’m
sure many of you are aware that I have this dislike of
“not” having somebody in which to share the joys of
discovery. The result…except for a rare occasion…
well…I refrain from doing much in the way of
sightseeing. 

This has always bothered me somewhat because life in
general can get boring...doing and seeing the same thing
day in and day out.

Recently my friends Ellie & Wally left the heat of
South Florida and are now vacationing in Cuenca for a
month and…yours truly has a couple of willing sight-
seeing companions. This by the way…has giving me a
new level of enjoyment with regards to Cuenca and
its environs.

I’ll get back to these forays in a moment but first I want
to give you a hint as to my “almost” new arrivals.

My friend Jim is do to arrive in Ecuador in a couple/few
days. We met while he was here…a few months ago…
for what I call a “look-see” regarding Cuenca. He is now
after a very long…cold and very rough Chicago winter…
moving here!

So Jim…here is a hearty pre-welcome to you.

Also on my welcome list is Jeanne…whom I met at a
Gringo Night a few months ago. I met her incidentally…
the evening before she was returning to San Francisco.
Months later she once again returned to Cuenca for a few
days…secured an apartment for herself and a few(?) pets.
Jeanne is due to arrive in literally a few days.

So Jeanne…a pre-welcome to you too.

Whether or not I’ll be busy helping my two new amigos
sightseeing or just having more friends to hang with will
remain to be seen but…I am looking forward to their
arrivals!

Now back to today’s...
Adventure…

As a start to our sightseeing…we decided to start small
and took advantage of The Cuenca City Tour. This by
the way cost all of five ($5) bucks per head and lasted
just about... 2 hours. Now I need to back-up a bit. 

Today’s trip was planned for the day before but…we
found out that the time we planned for (1 pm)…well…
there was no tour scheduled [anymore] for that hour.
Hence today’s trip…started at 11 a.m.  All this actually
turned out for the better…as today’s weather…was
gorgeous (yesterday was overcast).

The tour took us around Parke Calderone (Cuenca 
Centro) and then headed out through various parts of
town. 

To me it was interesting do to the fact…that we were
sitting in an open aired double-decker bus. 

This afforded a view of the city…quite different than
what one is used too while walking…i.e. street level!

Where we were going …I had no idea. Where we ended
up…was in a place that I briefly visited when I still a
“very green”newbie. The place is situated high above
Cuenca. The destination name…is Turi [pronounced
TOO REE] and is known for it’s high look-out point over-
looking Cuenca. It also is highlighted…by its very white
church just above the lookout point. 

While…well above the city (cuidad) of Cuenca…and as
all tours generally do...we had about 20 minutes to roam
around this quaint mountainous town...while enjoying
some refreshments (can you say beer) J and taking in the
sights of Cuenca Cuidad (City).

It was then time to reverse the trip and return back to
Cuenca proper. Once back…and two hours later…
we decided to take in some well deserved “shade”
(remember we were sitting in the sun…up on the upper-
tier of a double-decker bus) to cool off.

Being that it was well after one (1) p.m. …one can
imagine that the ‘ol stomach alarms…would make
themselves known…and “they did”!

Now being that between the three of us (I being the one 
living here)…the onus unsurprisingly fell on guess who...
to find...a place to eat.

Now I’ve never eaten lunch there but…as I’ve reported
on previous Blogs…California Kitchen soon came to mind.
This…especially since Ellie & Wally have never been there.
Guess who made a good choice in this suggestion?
Me…that’s who!

Anyway after a pleasant and very fulfilling lunch…we
parted company for the day and also to…maybe take a
nap...(especially Ellie). 


Surprise!!!!!


I was going to continue this Blog as different trips made 

themselves known. Unfortunately Ellie & Wally have
cut their stay in Cuenca short for personal reasons and
are heading towards the coastal beach areas. 

Hasta Luego guys...

So… now I prepare myself for the next amigo(s) arrivals
and we shall see if and how busy I may (or not) be.

Hasta Pronto mi amigos y amigas :)

"A Short Update"

When there’s nothing to write about…

This absence of excitement…

is mainly due to life (for me anyway) being in somewhat 

of a neutral state of affairs which by the way…

is not a bad thing.

Now this is not to say that I haven’t been active 

(OK…a little bit anyway).

I did take a day trip with mi amigo Charlie to a place 

called Ingapirca. This incidentally…translates to...

“Wall of the Inca”. Now don’t get bent out of shape as…

I’m not going to give you a lesson in Inca ruins (whew)...

that is…other than to say that these particular ruins are 

"tiny" compared to the ever-popular and world renowned 

"Machu Picchu"...in Peru.

In short we enjoyed a really nice day...even with the 3 

hours or so each way on a bus and...I got to see something 

other than Cuenca.

Other than the above and as I hinted in the previous Blog…

my big focus now is…on my upcoming trip to Thailand...

i.e. ...

“LOS” as in “Land of Smiles”

To tell you the truth…I feel like the mammoth and 

powerful rocket…tied to its Gantry…waiting for 

ignition and it’s subsequent “lift-off”.

In the meantime…my “hectic life” in these environs (LOL) 

take precedence and…must be endured. ..ahhhh…

such is life!

Now even though I’m a tad less than 2 months from the 

start of my East Asia trip…I am not idle.  My immediate 

focus is on finding a suitable and affordable place…to 

call my own temporarily…for my month in Chiang Mai.

Thankfully my friend Jim (living in Chiang Mai)...

is being an enormous help to me in checking out a 

couple of Guesthouses. This…after some fairly intense 

Internet searches. Also living the good life in Chiang Mai…

is my friend Larry who has suggested my staying in the 

Guesthouse that he’s currently enjoying.

Unfortunately…I can be “picky” and this time is...

"no exception". 

I have this “active focus” on staying within the bounds 

of Old Chiang Mai’ [Walled City] and not (even though 

it’s within walking distance) outside the Mote.

Some may call this being “thick-headed”…so be it! 

So…as of this moment…in my search for a guesthouse 

and depending on updates…I await and anticipate the 

offing from mi amigo…Jim. 

Incidentally…the aforementioned search has been 

narrowed down to [one] place with the easily pronounced 

name (LOL) for westerners of….

Fueng Fa [FWENG FA] Place! 

I may be jumping the gun…but here is the link to the 

guesthouse for those that are interested. The rates that 

you will see are in Thai Baht…which "currently" 

convert to roughly...30 THB to 1 USD... 

www.fuengfaplace.com/index.html

So…now you have a fairly good (but admittedly) short 

idea as to what is happening in my life…

here below the Equator.

Until next time mi amigos y amigas...

Internet Connection...Maybe...Could be...Possible...hmmmm

NOTE: You may notice different 
print heights and I can give you no 
clue or reason...but I do apologize!
=========================

NOT IN A MILLION YEARS…

The above comment has to do with 

what I am currently (and have been 

for quite a few months) experiencing 

...regarding my “actually” obtaining 

Internet service. I must say however 

that I do have inconsistent service 

(somewhat like pirating) by way of 

wi-fi from a hotel...half way up the 

street from my departemento.

Anyway not to get off the subject…

and going back in time…I had 

originally “contracted” with the 

premier Internet provider in Ecuador…

named  “ETAPA”. 

All was well until I received a call 

from them stating (and without any 

reason what-so-ever) they could not 

install the Internet to my residencia. 

Well…that was OK [then] as my free 

wi-fi was working pretty good. This...

is when the “S**T’ hit the proverbial

fan and my free wi-fi…all of a sudden…

required the much dreaded…password.

Well being a guy who hailed from 

Brooklyn…I took the “bull by the 

horns” so to speak…went to the 

Hotel-Restaurant where I was 

getting my [previous “free” wi-fi]…

sat down…invested in a good but 

overpriced appetizer and obtained 

the much the needed “password”. 

This by the way…got locked into 

my computer and I was good as 

gold…for a few weeks anyway.

Those few weeks became an 

exercise in futility as…I never new 

when and or if I would get on-line…

thus my decision…to once again 

try to get ETAPA as my Internet 

provider. 

This time however I enlisted the 

help of Martha who over time…

in Cuenca has become not only my 

apartment finder…but a good friend. 

That brings me to my current angst.

Please take note…that this is now 

day three (3) of “trying” to obtain 

service from the illustrious 

organization known as ETAPA.  

It seems that "their" idea of “pronto” 

is M-A-Y-B-E…today, tomorrow...

or whenever !!!

Incidentally…you may have heard 

of the rumor that things move slowly 

here (and elsewhere) in South 

America. Believe me...

IT IS NO RUMOR…IT IS 
PLAIN SIMPLE… “FACT”.

Anyway…

I’m getting a bit off the ‘ol track!

This latest chapter in my ETAPA 

dealings started three (3) days ago 

as in Monday. 

After arriving with Martha (my 

translator in this...adventure) at 

ETAPA’s Sacred Ground (Main 

Office) we finally…after about an 

hour had all the T’s crossed & I’s 

dotted. We were told that installation 

would take place Wednesday (today). 

And…off we went to our business 
and I was HAPPY…HAPPY :)

The story…doesn’t end here 

(as if you couldn’t guess).

After the success at ETAPA on 

Monday…Martha made some calls 

(unbeknownst to me) and this was 

the result:

OK…it’s now Tuesday evening 

and I am now at Gringo Night at 

Di Bacco’s Restaurante…having a 

very good drink along with good 

conversation and “here comes Martha”

like a major storm cloud about to 

unleash a torrent”. She almost literally 

dragged me out of the restaurant 

telling me that the ETAPA installer 

is waiting for me. HELLOOOO!!

WOW I thought…this is amazing 

and of course I understood Martha’s 

rushing me (she tried calling me 

about ten (10) times). Anyway…yes 

the installer was piddling around with 

the building wires and I must say he 

did try…but he apparently (?) ran 

into a “Grande Problemo” and told 

me in broken English he would 

return at Ocho Media (8:30 am) the 

next day (today Wednesday). 

THIS DID NOT HAPPEN!.........

SURPRISE!!!!!

To continue (after a calming breath) 

8:30 turned into 10:30…and beyond. 

After calling Martha (many times) 

we decided I should go about my 

business and do...whatever.

Now…you are probably thinking 

that at least I had the rest of the day 

to enjoy life and I was…

[notice I said "was"]! 

At about Noon I made up to meet my 

friend Charlie for coffee or whatever 

and that I would just wait for him 
in El Parke Calderone. 
This mi amigoes…is when I got 
the phone call from Martha that…
they [ETAPA] were on the way 
and would be there [steady now]...

in cinco minutos (5 minutes). 

Now…one would think that after 

living in Ecuador 8+ months I would 

understand the linguistic variances 

of five (5) minutos…NOT!!!

I rushed home and W-A-I-T-E-D...

BTW it was about 11:30 a.m.. 

At 2:30 I had given up! 

So…una mas vez (one more time)...

I called Martha and told her to call 

"THOSE" people and tell them to 

come manana as I had my 

appointment to meet mi amigo 

Gerard for a late lunch.  

You’ll never guess what happened 

next (or maybe you will)…as (and 

I still can’t believe this…although 

I saw it with my own eyes)…

Cammie...mi gato (my cat) is 

apparently half watch dog (cat…

what-ever) as…all of a sudden she 

stood up straight and statuesque….

staring straight at the door and then 

ran for it. 

The only thing missing was barking. 

Well lo and behold I opened the 

door and there stood two Etapa 

Installers. After a couple of quick 

calls and back and forth conversation 

between Martha and the Etapa 

hombres they swore they would be 

done in a half hour. In they came…

started doing what they (supposedly) 

do best and BAM…

they hit the proverbial wall!

It’s Mac Attack time…

“Not what you think”…

no Big Macs but the realization 

that I have a “Mac” computer and 

“dos hombres” have absolutely... 

“no clue”.

Back on the phone with Martha (I 

owe her BIG TIME when this is done)…

it turns out that she and the head 

installer are good friends. Anyway 

he made a call after talking with her 

and to make this story somewhat 

shorter…manana he…his friend 

(who knows the ins and outs of 

Macs) (?) and Martha are all coming 

to mi departemento at 8:30 a.m.

(well see) to bring this installation 

to a final…and hopefully happy 

conclusion. Party time anyone?

Well…it’s now day four (4) of this 

debacle and OMG…it’s 8:20 a.m…

I have one sneaker on and there’s a…

knock on my door. Could it possibly 

be true…an Ecuadorian Service Person…”EARLY”?  

Believe it or not…not only is he early 

but there are now three (3) hombres 

and uno hombre is “familiar” with 

Macs. 

I am UTERLLY SPEECHLESS 

(but ecstatic).

They came…they fixed…and they 

said adios. Time elapsed…maybe 

15 minutes…and I now have my own...

wi-fi connection...YES :) 

So…my first order of business was 

to FINALLY secure my flight to 

Thailand (for about 2 months hence). 

This little jaunt is necessary...so that 

hopefully one day the house in 

Thailand will be sold.  But…

first things first.

After about an hour of playing 

"yes/no/maybe" with Expedia.com 

and with some minor changes in 

flight dates…Yes…yours truly has 

succeeded in securing his reservation.

The only thing left now is to reserve 

“local to/from” flights…both within 

Ecuador and Thailand…but I have 

time to get his done. The important 

items were the Intercontinental Flights…

and right now I just can’t even “think” 

of making any more reservations!

There will be more information 

regarding these flights…as I get closer 

to my actual flight date. 

This by the way (if you’re interested)…

are my flight dates (excluding the 

“in-country” flights).  

I leave 4/20/11 and return 5/20/11.

So I guess it’s best to keep this 

current Blog on the short(ish) side 

and get outside for a bit and then…

yes...I can now get on mi

computadora/Internet…

anytime I wish! 

Hasta Pronto y 

Tenga un dia agradable

(See you Soon and 

Have a Nice day) :)  :)