Well friends, after a long break, we are back to regale you with more fantastic adventures from distant Ecuador! Oh how I wish that was true, at least the adventure part. Actually we are recovering from a computer crash which, at my age , is not dissimilar to being flung into the stone age again. Or suddenly finding yourself on another planet. My knowledge of computers is confined to, press this button to start, and then keep pressing random buttons until something you like happens. When I talk to people who understand computers they just shake their heads in wonderment. How I got this far is a mystery to them, and to me when it comes to that. At any rate we seem to be up and going again even though now I have to log into this blog through my phone and understanding my phone as well has added another layer of impenetrable mental fog to the whole process. One of these days I will just throw the whole lot out the window and, mercifully, you will never hear from me again.
So, to recap the last month, .................................................. and here we are! I joke of course. The dots represent what, at my age, I remember of the last month. Sharon of course, continues to go out and make new friends whom I can only assume she doesn't really like much, because she brings them home and then tortures them by forcing them to converse with the grizzled hermit in the corner. During that time she has also managed to get her first covid 19 shot and is due to get her second shot this week. Then two more weeks after that we can relax, a bit. At least I can quit worrying that she is going to die and wondering who will feed me! Because, as you have probably already guessed, it is all about me. We might soon be able to get out and about a bit more and finally start enjoying Ecuador . Of course it is winter here now so the weather is a bit less than its normal fabulous. Now it's just fine, bordering on great! Another jest, but just to show you how we are becoming acclimatized, I was "A Bit Chilly" the other day! And today I am wearing a t-shirt AND a shirt! In July and August the daytime temperature is a bone chilling 17-18 Celsius, as opposed to 21-22, and the night time temperature is around 13-14 as opposed to 16 to 17. (If you are American and are confused by those numbers, please think about joining the rest of the world.) As you can imagine, huge variations in temperatures like that can be very trying on the system, especially for someone as delicate and fragile as myself. But, growing up in the Yukon, I learned to handle such extremes in temperatures. It also rains a bit more here during these two months, and, for that, my severe weather training experiencing the daily drenching in BC comes in handy. What I am trying to say is, please don't feel sorry for us, we are coping as best we can and no doubt we will survive.
The new additions to our family continue to grow apace and are a constant source of joy and amusement as they chase each other around the apartment destroying
everything we hold dear. They are a never ending lesson in not getting to attached to "Things". Everything breakable that we cherish is now hanging from the ceilings! I'm sure they will calm down one day but in the meantime, just when you get really angry, they do something wildly cute and postpone their demise for another day or two.
On the political front, Ecuador seems to be managing the whole Covid thing better than most of the other South American countries. Watching the news from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru is a lesson in how lucky we got ending up where we are. Things have not fully opened up of course but, after starting with the half dead like myself, the government is now vaccinating people 30 years old, and getting younger every week. Life seems to be getting back to some small semblance of normal. They have even started to have the occasional concert and art exhibition which is heartening. One side affect of all of all this stay at home business is my current inability to make decisions. For 18 months all I've done is walk the dog. Otherwise I've been inside. The other night we went to someone else's apartment for dinner and I had to converse with people other than Sharon for several hours! I was so traumatized I took to my bed and slept for three days! Sharon held my hand and told me it would get easier, but I'm not sure I believe her! She's always making me do things that frighten me! But I guess that's why we are here, and not broke and living in a cardboard box in Vancouver. (For you Pythonites..."Cardboard box!? Luxury!!!")
These are pictures from a friends balcony as we have our first barbeque in Ecuador. This is a traditional handmade earthenware BBQ and, of course, Sharon is determined we must have one. If you come to visit I promise to burn some meat for you! In the traditional way of course! Which makes all the difference.
The picture at the top of this post is of a restaurant we went to with these same friends that is part of a trout farm just outside of town. Had a wonderful meal of fresh trout and a lovely evening watching the sun set over Loja. Drinks and dinner for two, $15! Then, on the way home, their car lost it's headlights and we spent half an hour driving down narrow dirt roads, in the mountains, in the pitch black. People, dogs, and donkeys kept looming out of the darkness every few minutes. Thoughts of plunging over the edge and not being found for months kept crossing my mind. Why is everything always an adventure with us?
So, as you can see, our life continues to be completely untethered to reality. Hopefully, now that it appears I have conquered technology one more time, we will be back blogging on a more regular basis. Whether that is a cause for celebration, only you can decide. So, from us to you, as the English would say, "Keep your pecker up".
