Winter trip to Casa Tranquila in Ecuador

Ok, I realize it's been well over a month since we returned from Ecuador and I'm just now putting together a new post. What can I say other than I'm getting older all the time. We went down by ourselves this year. No friends were able to go. We were there January and most of February and we understand that we missed the "cold" Colorado weather...you've got to hate that.

Grandma and Grandpa with their Grandchildren cups in Ecuador

Casa Tranquila was a wonderful site for our eyes. They've had plenty of rain this year in fact we got to see some while we were there. We had one storm where I know a good three inches of rain fell in a little over two hours... that even beats the storms we saw in Oregon. Overall though, the weather was awesome and everything was so green. Our caretaker plowed and planted our field in February. This year they actually hired a tractor, yes, they have tractors there, really nice tractors. Then they plowed a couple times with the cows to smooth it out. They normally plow with the cows for about three years and then bring in a real tractor to till the soil deep.

Any project needs supervisors

No supervisors here...

The locals still plant corn, beans and squash as a rule. The corn grows fast giving the beans something to climb on and the squash nestle underneath where they are protected. We also understand that those three crops compliment each other as far as what they take and provide to the soil. This is how they've done it for hundreds of years. I guess it works. The corn they plant however is that large kernel white corn used to make hominy...it's tough, chewy and not the easiest thing to digest. The Ecuadoreans love it and eat it with virtually every meal. Mote' it's called. When we actually retire and move there we'll get them to plant part of the field in "choclo", sweet yellow corn. They don't like it as well but we certainly do.

This was a good tomato year; we were buying beautiful red medium size tomatoes, ten for 50 cents. Mike was eating them like apples. He was sure disappointed to get back here and look at the so-called tomatoes that are in the local grocery stores. Even the ones that look like tomatoes don't taste anything like tomatoes. Of course we ate lots of avocados, carrots, potatoes, bananas, peas ( a one pound bag of fresh shelled sweet peas had gone up in price this year to $1.) and of course lots of limes. The tilapia and huge shrimp ($3.50 a pound) were again some of our favorites...we had shrimp a couple times a week whether we wanted to or not. We did notice that because of the world economy food prices had raised in Ecuador. Still about 80% less than the US though. It's amazing that the only food item that actually costs as much or more than in the US is chicken. And chicken is one of their main food items.

Ecuador seems to be doing well economically though. There is prolific construction going on, not only in the cities but also out in the countrysides. There is still a lot of poverty, mostly out in the country but the kids are still going to school and everyone can eat because they can grow their own produce, raise their own livestock, sell their commodities at the local markets and trade with their neighbors for what they don't have. Overall, they are a very happy people...the smiles are wonderful. We met a new friend from Germany. He's a 20 year old teaching English and computer skills out in a small village school near us to satisfy his civil service requirement in Germany. He lives with a local family in San Cristobal. We really enjoyed visiting with him regularly on the bus into Paute. Yes, he spoke excellent English. We also met a couple from England, Anne and Stewart who came up and stayed a couple of days at Casa Tranquila. We took them to Paute just to show them that there's a great difference between Cuenca, the city and Paute, the town. They went on the Vilcabamba after they left us. They plan to retire in Ecuador, just haven't decide exactly where.

Ann and Stewart from England

Our friends, the Morochos, Patricio, Odalia and family took us on a day trip to Cajas, a sacred sanctuary where an apparition of Mother Mary was seen. It's right outside of the Cajas National Park just west of Cuenca. On the way back we stopped at a trout farm where Patricio's friend worked. All the trout runs were just cut into the ground through the sod...concrete is expensive you know. It was a little strange but seems to work just fine. The Ecuadorianos have been dilgently working to bring back the local trout population in their numerous rivers. We stopped for a lunch of "chancho", pig roasted over charcoal; of course potatoes, fried bananas, mote' and rice are always included with meals. The potatoes were small potatoes boiled, coated with a spice and cheese mixture then deep fried. No, no calories included. There were seven of us who all ate until we couldn't eat anymore and the total bill, including sodas, was exactly $20. That's really quite expensive considering a normal plate of the day lunch is $1.50. It was a celebration though so we could justify the extra cost.

Yes, Mike is sitting down and Patricio is standing up.

Chicken and Cuy (Guinea pig) were also available...no, they weren't done, darn it.

Iris had some serious dental work while we were down south. When she was young, dentists loved to use mercury for fillings. She had 16 mercury fillings removed and replaced with porcelain for $15 per tooth...just slightly less than it would cost here. Just that saving nearly paid for our trip.

Leaving was seriuosly bitter sweet. We were excited to get back to our beautiful Colorado paradise but it was really hard to leave our dear friends, the Morochos. Tears were shed on both sides. You just don't find many "real" friends nowadays. They are the real thing.

The trip back was interesting to say the least. We already had a five hour layover in Miami that was stetched into a seven and a half hour layover. Instead of arriving back in Denver at 10:20 PM, we arrived at 1:30 AM. Needless to say, the shuttle we had arranged for had stopped running hours before. We were able to get a taxi to our friends Larry and Sharon's and they still consented to let us spend the night...what was left of it by the time we got to bed.

So, our trip of 2011 was a wonderful success. We had a great time and were glad to return to Colorado after the really cold weather had passed. We are glad to be home and able to visit our wonderful friends here.