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| A portion of the beautiful mosaic tile along the stairs to the river. |
Let me back up a few steps. We left Auckland, New Zealand at 11:45 p.m. on the 29th of March and, after airport layovers in Los Angles, Panama City, and Quito, we arrived in Cuenca some 40 hours later. Flying across the international date line allowed us to live Saturday, March 29th twice, making me feel somewhat like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.
We rented a condo for April and May only a few blocks from Cuenca's el centro. Our landlords, Tom and Jaudon, picked us up at the airport and helped us get settled nicely into our temporary home, even treating us to a wonderful meal at Roux, one of the many fine restaurants in Cuenca. The city has seen a significant rise in the number of expats from both America and Canada because of the low cost of living, the year-round spring temperatures as well as Cuenca's reputation as being a safe and welcoming city. Not to suggest that there is no crime here (one of our friends had her earrings ripped right out of her ears on a busy street in the middle of the day just 15 minutes before we met her for the first time) but I don't suppose a crime-free city exists anywhere.
I mentioned that Cuenca is 8000 feet above sea level and altitude sickness was our first visitor here. Pounding headaches and gasping for air were the norm for the first several days before we became somewhat acclimatized. Even now, a month later, we are still not used to the thin air though.
Our only trip outside of Cuenca so far has been a trip to Guyaquil, the country's largest city at approximately 3 million people. We accompanied Tom and Jaudon on the drive through the Cajas mountain range and after twisting and turning for 3 hours through the mountain roads we arrived at Guayaquil where it was 8000 feet lower and 15 degrees Celsius hotter. I am sure that the city has many positive features but all we had heard before the trip was about how dangerous a city it was. Anyway, after lunch at a hotel we went into a nearby park which is famous for its iguanas (see pictures) and enjoyed the spectacle.
As we did in Thailand, we have once again become involved in a local community theatre group here in Cuenca. This one is brand new and the first performance is next weekend, a series of one act plays. Sarah has a role in a play called Ambivalent in which she plays a woman trying to calm a group of people who fear that their plane may crash. I am using my technical skills in the area of stage managing and lighting. Que Dios now ayude! (God help us)
Cost of living and climate are two of the factors which are coaxing foreigners, especially retirees on a fixed income, to Cuenca. A single person could easily live a nice lifestyle on $1000 a month, including rent and health insurance. Apparently the minimum wage here is $83 per week so prices obviously have to be quite low for most to even survive. Take a cab anywhere in the city for $3 maximum. Buses cost 25 cents. Last night we went to a nice restaurant for a nightcap and spent $6 on two beers and a glass of wine. As for climate, because of its location in the mountains, every day in the year feels like a nice spring day. However, we did arrive in what's considered their rainy season so there are more clouds than we've become used to. But after the heat and humidity of Thailand, this climate feels like heaven. For those who like the superhot temperatures, your spot would be just a few hours away on Ecuador's west coast in a place such as Salinas.
Until next time ...........
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