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 

 

Nuestra Segunda Navidad y Dia de --- Nuevo

 

Our 'Segunda' Navidad in Loja, Ecuador

Our first Christmas with Nicolas and Nora. No low hanging balls on the Christmas tree this year. But the tree did remain upright for 3 weeks! 

We had two parties. (This was at the time when very few covid cases existed in Loja. Like under 50. No kissing or hugging, and everyone was double or tripled vaccinated.) One very international party with teachers from France, Columbia, Ecuador and Canada. Another 'drop-in' get-together ('At Home' with the Taylors) with our local friends to celebrate the new year (año nuevo .... careful with the pronunciation 😆) It is not expensive to hold a party in Ecuador: 7 bottles of Chilean wine ($27) and 8 bottles of various local craft beer ($13) totaling $40 ... What?! Sort of invites more drinking, si?                                                                        

On December 31st the street markets were bustling with lots of new years eve paraphernalia. One must eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight within one minute, I think, and make 12 wishes for the upcoming year. If you want more love in your life, wear red underwear. If you desire more money, wear yellow underwear.  These paper-mache heads are known as 'monigotes' when a body is added, like a scarecrow. These are burned at midnight to rid oneself of bad omens, negative feelings or whatever one wishes to forget from the previous year (I think).

I say "I think" because everyone has their own interpretation and, you must remember dear readers, the explanations are all in Spanish. So, it's my interpretation too! New Years is also a time for men to dress up like women. (I don't know how this tradition came about) and if you wish for future far away adventures in the next year one is to pull a suitcase around the block at midnight to ensure future travels. Whole families do this. I was asked what Canadians do at the stroke of midnight and all I could come up with is 'kissing' (through a mask at 2 meters away?), making lots of noise with noise bangers and singing the dullest song of the year 'Auld Lang Syne'.

We went to the circus. 'Magia Sobre Hielo' literally means 'Magic about Ice' so I interpreted this as a grand magic show using ice. Nope. This circus was on ice. Yes, like the Ice Capades. What?! In Ecuador? This was Ken's first ice skating show (again, What?!) and all I heard from him throughout the show was, "I can't believe I am in Loja". It was a grand show. Very entertaining with lots of acrobatics. The circus company is quite famous in Mexico and Latin America. The skaters were from Russia and Mexico. Yes, the ice surface was very small but it truly was on ice and something not normally seen in this country.

I have found my 'Loja Grind' and enjoy hiking the numerous trails at least once a week in this protected park (Sendero Universitario / Parque Francisco Vivar) with spectacular views of the city and surrounding mountains and valleys. This butterfly is one of many translucent butterflies and moths that exist in this area, as you have seen in our previous blogs.

What?! No, your eyes are not deceiving you! That is Ken hiking upward at the front of the pack. What?! Is Ken's new year's goal to hike up mountains? Stay tuned. Perhaps you will learn more in the upcoming blogs.

Hasta luego mis amigos. Y Feliz AÑO Nuevo!