A few photos

I am starting to miss designing with plants and am very anxious to see what my pallet will be down here. I have not visited a nursery yet and have only seen the usual plants used in the public spaces. Lots of agapanthus, which I love, so I’m happy for that. I want to check at the universities to see if they have some plant ID courses. After all, Latin is Latin wherever its spoken. My Spanish is coming along pretty well considering that we came here mid January, so I think I could make some sense of a course like that. All of the private gardens here are behind tall walls so I only occasionally get a peek at what’s inside. I saw some pretty bearded iris and lots of flowering vines and big leaved tropical plants. Should be fun! The following photos are a few of what we see along our walks.

I am taking a couple art courses on line but have no supplies yet. Tomorrow is the day! I have addresses for three possible stores to buy what I need to get started. I am looking for inspiration. These following sky photos would be fun.

My daughter Anna is interested in watercolor. The following photos are of some of her work. I love it!

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Our plan when moving here was to use Cuenca as a base for further travel. Now that seems a long time in the future, but we can still plan and dream. I have been reading a few web site postings from people living in Portugal. Our mother’s family originally came from that beautiful country and my sister Catherine and I would both like to spend some time there. Bruce too!

I’m not sure which city this is, but it’s lovely.

Portugal has some gorgeous beaches and great surfing!

Maybe next year?

Bruce walks along the river every morning and usually takes a couple photos.

This man was happy to show Bruce his catch. Lots of very small trout.

We are going into the dry season now so the river is a little low.

Mounted police on patrol in front of our building

A little Venezuelan boy just hanging out on our street while his mom is asking passing motorists for money.

These are just some of the shoes we collected from the gringo community for a young man who had no shoes. Unfortunately for him, he wears a size eleven which is very hard to find here because the Ecuadorian people are not large, so we appealed to the much larger men from the states and they really came through! I hope he is able to find at least one pair that fits well out of a dozen that were donated.

The people LOVE their new light rail system! Rides are free for the next couple of months.

Bruce and I are slowly and carefully starting to enjoy outdoor seating at our favorite eateries. This is at Nucalacta café where they roast their own beans and make a delicious latte.

And their wonderful huevos rancheros! We were the only ones there and the weather is perfect here for outside dining.

And this is our favorite pizza from Fabianos. We bring half of it home with us.

The final photo is of my little painting corner in our living room. It’s not easy to find the supplies I want here….no Amazon deliveries! But I am slowly gathering what I need. So happy😊😊😊