Bits and oieces

     Sorry, still no sign of action from Sharon in terms of a blog post about her hike to the volcano so I thought I'd fill the void with a few bits and pieces of the latest news, and some pictures of the sendero (hiking trail) that I do twice a day to keep me and the dog in shape. In the process I have lost another 15 pounds and now tip the scales at a svelt 186 lbs.

As you can see, both of us get younger every day.  This was our official Christmas picture. The cats, Nick and Nora, showing their distain by missing the photo shoot!          

I am happy to say that a picture that we had done of the late great Dylan made it into an art show in a local restaurant here 

I did say this would be a jumble. Here we are in Villcabamba having a very good Mexican lunch. These two, Pam and Matt have become very good friends. It's hard to make new friends at my age but they made it easy.  The mountain behind ( notice the image of a face lying on it's back) has been climbed by my, never say no, esposa. It  goes without saying I could not be found when the hike happened. Strange how that seems to happen whenever the subject of walking uphill rears it's head in my presence.

                                                               

                         As always, walking around Loja constantly presents inexplicable sights.  I'm sure there was a reason for these giant Teddy Bears on a hotels balcony one day in downtown Loja. All I know is, I want one!               

One day Sharon came home from the local market with a lettuce that the owner had grown in her back garden. She said it was the smallest she had! Had the gall to charge us.....wait for it ...25 cents!

                       

I promised some pictures of the path along the river that Asta and I walk every day. Here is one. With cows and horses in the fields on either side.                                                                                                                                                                                                            

And another. If you look closely on the left you can just see the path. But it does go on both sides of the river and every few kilometers there is a bridge across so you can do a loop, out one way and back the other. No traffic, no noise, and during the week almost no people except other dog walkers with an ever ready smile and a friendly "Buenos Dias". We live right in the middle so we have an hours round trip walk in either direction. I just bit the bullet and got hearing aids a few weeks ago. I had no idea there were so many bird songs around my head.                              

        Keep your eyes open and occasionally spot some Llamas in the trees! 


                                                                                                                

    So I get to do this every day, in lovely mild temperatures, at a cost of living about one fifth of what I would be paying in Vancouver. Sharon hikes mountains but at my age I like FLAT!

So that's it for now. Carnival time this week where, if you are not careful one might get doused with water. Why I don't know, but it's a small price to pay and it's all in good fun.  Hope all is well with everyone and take care. 

        Graduation in the park. Was I ever this young?

New Year-New Home

    Well, I have decided that I am not going to wait for Sharon to finish her blog post about her epic hike to the volcano. You can anticipate it in the future but in the meantime, I thought it would be informative to bring you up to date on our recent move. 

   Because of my deteriorating eye sight we have been on the lookout for a more ideal place to live than the apartment we were in. Not that it was bad or unlivable, but we knew that as time progressed the downtown core was not the best place for me to be. So we had our eyes open thinking that in a year or two we should move. Lo and behold, about six weeks ago there was a post in Facebook about a townhouse for rent in an area called Amable Maria. It's one of the nicer areas in Loja so of course we had to check it out. Perfect!! Three bedroom town house at the end of a quiet street and steps from the sendero which is a path that runs for miles along the river that runs through Loja. Nice wide flat gravel path where I can walk with the dog for hours without worrying about traffic or broken side walks.  Here are some pics of our new digs.  

Big Kitchen as you can see, with lots of storage and, most importantly, since we have done without one for almost three years.....AN OVEN!!!

The actual layout from top to bottom is:  Large rooftop patio which is half covered in case of rain. Second floor: Master bedroom with large bathroom and shower, two smaller double bedrooms. and a guest bathroom. TV room with lounge and large screen TV.    First floor: large kitchen, dining room, living room, and back patio (completely covered in case of rain).

So as you can see we feel like we have moved up in the world. The dog is loving the long uninterrupted walks in the park and I am starting to get in shape with at least two hours of walking every day.  Probably a bit late for the getting in shape bit but who knows, I could live to 100 and as long as I keep moving maybe I can outrun the reaper.

So, the townhouse is three floors if you count the roof terrace which you are looking from here. This is the street past the house and three blocks in this direction is the bus stop to downtown. Very convenient. One half block in the other direction is the sendero which I spoke of. The bus ride to the center of town takes about 15 to 20 minutes and since I am a senior, it costs me about 15 cents.  What's the rent I hear you asking?  I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you to stop the flood of people from moving south. Suffice to say, only slightly more than the apartment rent, and here we have to pay our own utilities. The water bill last month was $7.00.... But that's seven dollars American!

So there you have it. We struggle to survive in the sun. It's not easy, but someone has to do it. I would have posted more pictures of the sendero but I'll save those for next time.

Until next time, or until Sharon gets her act together.

 All the best to everyone in the New Year.

Well, I have it on good authority that a number of you think I am dead. So here I am back to assure you that I (and we) are still among the living and in fact, still ambulatory, albeit it at a reduced rate. Or at least I am. Sharon goes on like the energizer bunny and I long ago gave up trying to keep up. She promises to put up her own blog post in the coming days so keep checking back for a post on a very interesting 8 day hike she just returned from. 

The fact that I am still getting up at six thirty every morning and walking for an hour is completely the fault of this guy. I introduced you to him a couple of posts back and I'm happy to say he has fit right in. The cats torment him, as cats are wont to do , but it's a pleasure to have a dog again. But I must admit that even after all this time I sometimes call him Dylan instead of "Asta"

 Asta because we already have the two cats, Nick and Nora, so we decided to go full  "The Thin Man" and call the dog Asta. If you haven't seen the Thin Man series of movies from the forties, give yourself a treat.

At any rate, this is all by way of saying that we are well (for the moment) and perking along as expected.

I should report that my excuse for not posting had a little to do with Covid as I have had it twice in the interim. The first time in early June and hardly noticeable, and the second time in early August which resulted in two weeks of a lot of sleeping and complaining on my part. I think Sharon had it once but she never got tested. For her, two days in bed, another 3 days recuperating at home and then off out the door again. Sometimes it's a bit annoying. But to toot my horn a bit, during my bouts I still managed to struggle out of bed and walk the dog every day. The joys of living somewhere where it never gets really cold.  

                    

And, as usual we do our best to get out and enjoy good food with good friends. After all, without that, what's the point?

                                                                         

By the way, as some of you probably already know, I have been diagnosed with Age Related Macular Degeneration, so if some of these photos are a bit blurry it's because everything is blurry for me now. As my mother used to say,  "Getting old ain't for sissies."

So that's about it for now. 

Check back soon for Sharon's tale of adventure and derring-do. Hope all of you are doing well in these strange times we are living through. "May you be blessed to live in interesting times."  I think this qualifies.

APRIL 5 - A short birthday reflection

   Well, today I start my 80th trip around the sun. Who knew? I certainly didn't spend any time thinking about what it would be like to reach this point. And maybe that is the point. If you spend too much time worrying about it, you will miss the more important things along the way. And believe me, there are certainly a myriad of things that are more important than worrying about what might happen. And anyway, what eventually does happen will always be the last thing you expect. 

   Sharon (who puts up with this craziness on a daily basis) is always asking me why I seem to add a year to my age all the time.  Lately I've been caught saying, "give me a break, I'm eighty years old" After all, I am, in fact, 79 today. But that's counting the number of years I have completed. Those years are in the past. I can reflect on them, and I do, but that's looking backward. If you go to a race that your friend is in and you sit down in the stands next to another friend, the first question you ask about your friend on the track is, "what lap is he on?" , not "how many laps has he finished?" You want to know whether he's still in the race, still running, still moving forward. Of course, if you know me at all, you know that I don't run anywhere! So in my case let's pretend the race is a walking race. and the question would be "is he still in the race, and what lap is he on?" By the way, I never cared much whether I was winning, just that I was still in the race. Well, today I'm here to tell you, I'm still in the race, moving forward, and looking to see what new delights and curiosities I'm going to encounter on my eightieth lap.

                                     

The fact that bits of me are not working quite as well as they used to is only of minor concern. The important bits are still doing their job. Don't ask me how I have been so lucky. The only explanation I can offer is that, thanks to my parents, I was never told that I couldn't do anything. The only advice I got was encouragement, with a side order of caution that I should be aware (and beware!) of my overly impetuous nature. Go ahead, but make sure you think it through first until you are sure it is really what you want. If so, go for it. The world is full of "I wish I had done that" people. Try to be a "Man, I'm glad I did that!" person. Believe me, when you get to my age, you will have plenty of time to look back and relish how much fun you had. Strange to think of Paul Anka at a time like this but here it is:

        "Regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention"

   

   Hope you are all still running your race and having as much fun as we are!

I will start with what has become the standard greeting on this blog: "Sorry it has been so long since our last post!" With that out of the way, I will continue. Perhaps in the future you could just read that in and save me some trouble, and a lot of guilt.

It does seem that we have been very busy and time flies. We have our daily chores, plus trying to avoid Covid, and paying attention to what's happening back in Canada, and now we have to worry about whether the world is going to end in a giant fire ball sometime next Tuesday. I don't remember it being this bad since we were crawling under our desks at school during atomic bomb drills. So I am going to do what I always do when I get news I don't like. Ignore it and hope it will go away. Strangely enough, this is a practice that has served me exceptionally well for the past 70 years or so. Saved me enormous stress over time with the added advantage of nary an ulcer in sight.

So here I will insert a few pictures just to reassure you that we do get out of our apartment occasionally.

We went for a hike with a couple of friends (pictured here), to a park about an hour and a 

 

half drive from Loja. The park is called 'The park of broken plates'. I have no idea why its called that but it's an interesting hike as you can see...

 

And, ever the explorer, I veered off the chosen path and my fellow hikers were forced to wander around hollering my name before I stumbled out of the bush. I only get asked on these hikes because people take pity on Sharon having to look after such a Geezer. 

As you are no doubt aware, this area is known for having 'eternal spring' which translates to year round flowers. Ecuador is the biggest exporter of flowers to North America.  Here are a few from the local botanical gardens.

Please don't ask me the names of any of these,

I'm just happy to have flowers everywhere.

 

This trip to the gardens was not ideal as the best viewing time is in May.  Nevertheless still a interesting few hours spent enjoying what was on show.

So now we move on to another hike that I was roped into going on. Just a half hour bus ride out of town on the way to Vilcabamba, all downhill, along a river, with a picnic lunch along the way. Life is a constant struggle, isn't it?

A lovely warm day with 5 of us on another exploration. It is possible I could get to like downhill hiking.

                              Babe in the woods

But enough of hiking and flowers. I'm sure you want news. What are we doing except wandering around in the bush? Something we have been doing all our lives. Well here's some news.

Sharon has a new online contract teaching English to some Spanish students in San Francisco. Turns out the Chinese government was unhappy with all the English language learning that was going on in China so they shut it all down. Can't have delicate Chinese brains being poisoned by western propaganda. So Sharon is now turning unaware Spanish kids in the US into closet Canadians. Soon we will rule the world, eh! Here is a picture of our world wide command center controlling all our operatives in various hidden locations.

There is no stopping her. Resistance is futile. As you can see she has a willing gang of co-conspirators carrying out her devious plans. World domination cannot be far behind!

And finally, on an equally happy note. We have adopted a rescue dog to bring our little family back up to five. No dog can ever replace Dylan but this guy has offered to give it a shot. Little does he know the shoes he has to fill. But so far he is working hard at making a place for himself. The cats are in the backroom pouring over very elaborate plans for his downfall. We'll see how it goes. Interesting days ahead. So, without further ado, meet ASTA...

You'll be hearing more from this guy!!

Well, that's it from our little bit of this fragile sphere. All you guys up north will no doubt be shedding the long johns in the next few weeks so 'gloating season' is officially suspended until next December. Hope you are all well, and excited to get outside, and we wish you a glorious summer. Stay safe!

Now, repeat after me, "sorry it's been so long since our last blog post." Good, that's out of the way for next time!

Here We Go 22

 Well Christmas and New years have slipped into the "remember when?" file and we have put on our "Well, 2022 will be better" hats. For all our sakes I hope that proves to be the case. I'm sure it's only me who is just a tiny bit tired of the pandemic but I attribute that to the fact that I am old, weak and impatient. After all, I have less time left than most of you. As Bob Dylan would say "It's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there". Gotta keep making that hay. 

 I thought I would put up a few pics in case Sharon hadn't covered everything and to reassure you that I am still treading the boards.

    Christmas here is a big family thing, as it is everywhere. We did have some people over for dinner who, like us, had no other immediate family here, but on the whole it was very laid back. One of the joys is that we have someone in a local bakery who cooks our turkey for us, since we don't have an oven. They do a fantastic job and it makes Christmas dinner much less of a chore. 

    We, (read Sharon), decided to exchange experiences instead of things, so my gift to Sharon was 5 dinners out at a different brew pub every night. She loves beer so score one for me. There are a surprising number of craft beer makers here so there is lots to choose from. So far we have only done three, so the gift keeps on giving.

      And all during the Christmas holiday we could look down from our apartment on a brightly lit circus tent that had been set up near the main market. It was advertising an ice show. Sort of a one ring Disney on ice which we, of course, had to check out.

A group of seven performers, Russian and Mexican, performing an ice show, in Ecuador, in a one ring circus tent! All topped off by acrobatics done on a trapeze ring, with skates on!!

Remember, in 1964 I worked with The Moscow Circus pushing tigers and bears around in a one ring circus touring Australia. This was the most unusual act I've seen since then. Just when you think you've seen it all!

Now we move to downtown Saraguro, which you are looking at here. A lovely little town about an hours bus ride from Loja. A little more indigenous with lots of handmade crafts for sale.

We are here to pick up my Christmas present. A surprise from Sharon which turned out to be dinner (in our case lunch) in the only Michelin starred restaurant in Ecuador.

And this is it, overlooking the main square. We are about to enjoy a fabulous meal.

Sunny day, fabulous food with a gorgeous dinner companion, and not a sign of ice, snow, or rain anywhere. Does life get any better?

Since it was my Christmas present I thought a picture of me might be in order. The beer was locally brewed and very good.

Each course was beautifully presented!

These are tasters, little appetizers that arrived unexpectedly. Crispy chifle (fried platano) with atun (tuna) and other creamed salsas (sauces).

A bolon. A well known and traditional 'bocadillo' (like a snack) that you saw in an earlier post. This is prepared with a green platano and stuffed with cheeses. 

Six courses, each one better than the last. My main course was 'cuy', guinea pig. A traditional dish in Ecuador, but a first for me. Sharon had a lovely delicious lamb meal. A memorable afternoon.

Finally, here are some pictures of our lovely little city on a random Sunday. Every Sunday between 10 am and 4 pm, the downtown part of Loja is blocked off to vehicular traffic so people can just wander without traffic. Very relaxing and a chance to browse at your leisure.

Lots of churches with lovely Plazas in which to relax.

Sometimes you have to look up to see the details. Just like life.

Always a little cafe open to stop for great Lojano coffee and cakes.

Not in the city, but close by in the  Podocarpus national park. I was dragged, kicking and screaming, for a hike with friends. I actually had a good time although when the trail began to go straight up I immediately abandoned my former friends, and went straight down. One of the joys of old age is knowing your limits and being able to, without shame, acknowledge them.

And that's it for this round. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. And buckle up for the last (hopefully) round of Covid. Omicron is just starting here so we are girding our loins for a couple of months of being careful ...again! We are both triple vaxed so we should be OK. Still having a good time!

      Finally, here are