PEOPLE IN ECUADOR - To know them is to love them!

Our most special times about living in Ecuador are the people we continue to meet.  So, I wanted to share some special photographs of the beautiful Ecuadorian people I've captured through my lens.  Always, my hope is to continually touch a life here - whether it is through friendship, kindness, or just the simple gift of putting a coin in someone's hand, caressing their face, and blessing them in prayer.  

"To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world." Unknown 

It always touches my heart to see the young walking along side their mother or grandmother - so lovingly assisting them and patiently talking to them as they walk side by side.

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble. 

Charles H. Spurgeon

One day we watched this little woman hobbling down Padre Aguirre.  We followed her and then introduced ourselves.  When we asked her if we could buy her an "almuerzo" from the street vendor near us, she smiled.  We waited until she was situated and enjoying her meal.  One kind deed and it meant the world to her!

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
— William James

Ecuador women are beautiful and beautifully attired.  Who is she?  So adorned and so serious......  I often wonder what their story is after I've photographed someone and have time to reflect on that moment in time I've captured.

Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how. 

~Author Unknown

The beautiful aged of Cuenca!

The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.

- Mother Teresa

This aged woman watched us pass by as she stood behind her gated "tienda."  

How wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world.

— Anne Frank

The children of Ecuador are beyond beautiful - they are respectful, loving, and gentle.  

“You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself.”

Harvey S. Firestone

On a long walk in the town of Chordeleg, these children giggled, waved, and then posed for me when they saw my camera.  Four sweet adorables!  I smile every time I look at this special capture.

Never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes, those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.

— Unknown

We see Luis often around El Centro - sometimes his hand reaches out for a coin......

The heart of the giver makes the gift dear and precious.

Martin Luther

    

......at other times, he is eating a meal and watching the world go by.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

— Winston Churchill

Saraguro is a small town near Cuenca.  This woman was in a peaceful place and in deep thought when my lens captured her.

“The shortest distance between two people is a smile.” 
― Victor Borge

Servillo collects wooden sticks in different shapes and sizes and then hand-carves them into animal and people figures. He sells them for $1 to $5 and is proud of his art.  

You and I must be perfectly willing to part with anything at any moment. It matters not whether I leave two thousand dollars or merely two. What matters is whether I can leave what ever I have without a twinge of regret.

    

Watchman Nee

There are many aged couples here.  Many of them work into their 90's, until they cannot walk or carry heavy bundles anymore.  This couple was resting by a church.  Do they still work?  Or are they hobbling along together, begging for their coins?

"The only gift is a portion of thyself."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Walking is the only mode of travel for many - from one place to the next, and sometimes miles and miles.

Where is she going?  What is she thinking along the way??

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you."

— John Bunyon

Who are these two adorable boys?  What are they looking at inside their painted sack?  

"Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself."

— Og Mandino

Three - sitting on the side of the road with a large bundle of straw.

  “Money is but one venue for generosity. Kindness is an even more valuable currency.”

— Alan Cohen

My sweet Sharon - To know her is to love and adore her!

"Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain."

— Helen Keller

Our friend, Sr. Diaz.  He opens his arms and calls our name when he sees us coming - and his kind greeting and words touch our hearts.  Bo cooks delicious meals and packs them for Sr. Diaz - and we know he is eating healthy and delicious meals every day!

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.  Mother Teresa

How are you blessing someone today?

BEST COFFEE IN CUENCA - Cafe de Nucallacta

Rumi and Melissa, owners of  Cafe de Nucallacta 
@Vargas Machuca 9-63 Y Simon Bolivar
(Yes, they speak English!!)

Bo and I enjoy walking a few blocks from our apartment to sit and have a cup of Cappuccino and visit with our friends, Rumi and Melissa.  Cafe de Nucallacta is not like Coffee Tree, where many go to sit, smoke and sip coffee for hours as they visit with other ex-pats and chit-chat.  This tiny little hole-in-the-wall place has a few tables and chairs where we love to go to sit and order our delicious coffee drinks, visit with our friends for a while, and then leave.  Rumi and Melissa have been open since December, and their organic coffee beans are fresh-roasted every morning for their daily by-the-pound coffee sales.  Serving coffee by the cup is simply to introduce great organic coffee to the Ecuadorian community as well as the ex-pats because Rumi's desire is to educate and inform the Cuencano community that freshly roasted and exceptionally great coffee can be experienced and purchased in this excellent coffee-craving but excellent coffee-lacking city.

This is the strong roasted variety of beans at Cafe de Nucallacta.

Behind the curtain!  Rumi stands proudly by his roasting machine where he daily roasts fresh organic beans in three different strengths.

Let Rumi know what strength of beans and grind you desire, and he is at your service!

Rumi is hand-sifting through a batch of his freshly roasted dark blend to cool it quickly!  Every variety of roasted beans has to be done to perfection, and the dark roast (which Bo and I love!) is the more difficult and time-consuming blend requiring special attention.

Where in the world do you get a cup of daily freshly roasted cappuccino for 75 cents?  Only at Cafe de Nucallacta!!!  I'm sure you'll leave there with your freshly roasted one pound bag of beans (tell them Bo and Linda sent you!!).  By the way, a pound of whole or ground beans is $3.50.  What's not to love about Cuenca??

 

CARNAVAL AND CUY IN CUENCA ECUADOR!! To Cuy Or Not To Cuy........

WARNING:  This post is not for the fainthearted, nor is it for Vegans or Vegetarians or animal-rights enthusiasts!  So, if you are any of these, DO NOT read, and especially DO NOT look at the graphic photos.  Hey, don't say I didn't warn you!!

CARNAVAL KIDS!  Powder and water-attacked and having fun!!

CARNAVAL and CUY

We're in our rainy season, I think!!  I keep asking different people, including Ecuadorians, if we're in our summer or winter season, and I get a different answer from everyone.  So, I've concluded that there is the rainy season and the dry season, the warmer season and the colder season.  I'm still not sure how long the rainy season is because, again, I get different answers (someone must know!!!!).  Today, it rained on and off (not like Eugene-Springfield, Oregon where it is mostly on for 8-9 months a year - really!!).  Bo and I love the weather here, even the rain.  There is always blue sky, and the rains freshen up the city and keep the landscape lush and green.

Also, it's CARNAVAL IN CUENCA!! The city is quiet and ghost town-like today compared to a typical bustling Monday in El Centro.  All the stores, mercados and vendor services, bus transporation, and restaurants are closed today and tomorrow, and Ecuadorians are doing balcony water-dousing and walk-by and drive-by water balloon or water gun attacks on pedestrians who are available targets.  Or, perhaps one might get squirted with fruity-smelling liquid from a spray can.  Yes, I got water-bombed by a passing vehicle attacker on my legs today while out walking with our friends (and so did they, only with the spray-can goop).

"Good Sport Gringos" attacked on Carnaval!!!!

 I'm glad I had on my microfiber quick-drying tights!  If you read about Carnaval, you'll know more about this wild and wet religious fiesta that has been celebrated for hundreds of years and actually used to be a way for people to satisfy their relational enmities with violent bloody fighting on the streets.  Apparently, it's calmed down some over the years but still continues, hopefully in a less violent manner.  Recently, a new law was passed that strangers cannot be attacked in any manner or there will be a $7 fine and a few hours in jail as a consequence.  Yeah, right!  Like anyone's paying attention to that.  There were police officers everywhere today, and kids and families were still running around attacking each other with spray cans, boxes of powder and water ballons.  Personally, I don't enjoy this particular fiesta after what I've read, but it's the Ecuadorians' tradition, and they seem to love it - or at least those who are participating in it seem to. 

In spite of the possibility of being water-doused from a balcony above or water-bombed by a passing vehicle, we walked around the city anyway this afternoon (brave souls that we are), and ended up around the 9 De Octubre Mercado, where a few vendors were set up cooking CUY.  It smelled so delicious as we approached the vendor stands, our friends decided to go for it (brave souls that they are!) and try Cuy for their first time since arriving in Cuenca.  Soon, they were indulging and feasting on this freshly smoked Equadorian delicacy.  For me, it was an opportunity to photograph the vendors' open fire cooking method.

WARNING:  GRAPHIC PHOTOS OF COOKING CUY ON AN OPEN FIRE!!! 

A strong and delicious barbecue smell suddenly wafted through the air right to our nostrils as  we were walking along the city streets.  So, we crossed the street and came upon several vendors cooking and selling their delicacies outside the 9 De Octubre Mercado area.  Yes, it was CUY on an open fire......

So, how exactly do they prep and prepare these little Ecuadorian delicacies?

Well, first the vendor places the cuy over the cooking pole and threads it through (top & bottom photos)

Then she ties the head....

.......and ties the entrails.

The Cuy is continually basted and hand-turned over the open fire.

This vendor team had two poles each, continually turning and basting four Cuy at a time.  They told me it takes approximately ten minutes to cook a Cuy this way. (They were cooking and selling their Cuy like hot Cuys, I mean Cakes!!)

At the request of our friends, the Cuy was cut and served with a side of Ecuadorian-style Papitas Y Choclo......Oh, and a Coca-Cola - the Ecuadorian drink of choice!!!!

.....and our friends had a captive Ecuadorian audience as they tasted CUY for their first time!!  Cuy is a delicacy and delight for Ecuadorians.  They are cooked and served as a way of showing honor at weddings, birthdays, and other fiestas and celebrations.  I think Ecuadorians will find any excuse to serve Cuy!!!  It costs from $6 to $8 for an entire Cuy which is one serving for an Ecuadorian.  Our friends shared one CUY and didn't quite clean up the tiny bones like their audience did - but, hey, it was their first time learning the art of eating this little critter!

It was another delightful day walking through the Carnaval-wet and Cuy-cooking streets of our beautiful city, Cuenca!!  What's not to love about Cuenca and Fun Friends????

TEACHING ENGLISH IN CUENCA - hungry to learn!

Ahhh, it's the weekend!  Sometimes I forget what day of the week it is since I don't have to get up to go to work anymore.  I used to wake up at 5 a.m. during the week so I could get my workout in and have a leisurely morning before my 8:30 a.m. work day began.  I miss my wonderful job and my sweet Dr. Caroline (the best boss in the WORLD!), but I'm loving my life of freedom here in Cuenca more and more as I get used to being a "jubilado" (retiree).  Even though we are adjusting to an entirely new way of living (especially living in an apartment in the center of a city) and to being in another country,  I'm enjoying looking forward to what each new day brings and feeling so free and unencumbered with things that are not important anymore. 

We now live in a furnished month-to-month rental, and everything in it stays when we decide to up and go!  Our monthly living expenses are averaging around $1,500 a month, and that seems high to us only because we haven't really settled yet into a place we call "home" nor are we living yet on a budget we're sticking to.  We're still just plodding along and finding our way here.  It takes time, and we certainly have lots of that!  Yet, our days are full!

Today we spent the entire afternoon breaking bread with like-minded new friends.  One of the things we all agreed on is how much richer our lives seem to be here and how many more people we are meeting and enjoying sharing our time with compared to back home in the states.  For me, personally, I have found my free time here mostly enriched because of the kind and loving Ecuadorian people I meet daily.

I'm excited about tomorrow.  Our friend Pedro's sister, husband, and their two adorable daughters are coming to our home to have their first ENGLISH lesson!  Pedro stopped by last Sunday to spend the day, and he asked us if we wanted to go visit his sister, Lola, and her family who live in Cuenca.  We had met Lola at the family "Anos Viejo" celebration in Yungilla.  So, we hopped a bus and went to their home.  Lola's husband, Manuel is a taxi driver, and he came home early just to spend some time with us.  They have two daughters, Nicole, 18,  and Kelly, 3.  What a wonderful time we had with them, and when we were getting ready to leave that evening, Lola humbly asked me if I would consider teaching her 3 year old English.  I was so touched and so willing.  So, they are coming over tomorrow afternoon to have their first lesson as a family.  Sweet!  Bo and I have fixed some delicious Puerto Rican food, and they will feast with us and learn their ABC's.

The Ecuadorians are hungry to learn.  Bo and I are already teaching English to Danny.  He works with his aunt and grandfather at their import store on Calle Larga.  We met them our first week here when we walked by their shop and had to have one of their colorful beautiful hand-woven wall tapestries.  After that, we began to stop in just to visit this loving gentle family, and we would sit and chat (in Spanish, of course) and laugh with them.  One day, Danny told me he would love to learn English.  Well, he's now had his 5th lesson with us, and he's serious about learning and faithful to study his weekly homework.  His 3 year old cousin, Sharon, is the delight of our hearts.  She sits on Bo's lap while I teach Danny, and she is also learning English words.  We so look forward to our lessons and time with this precious family.  Now, tomorrow we will have another family to give the hope of learning English to.

Yes, our lives are richer here because of all the wonderful people we're meeting and the opportunities we've been given to pour into their lives.  More so, we are doubly-enriched because of the blessing those we've met and continue to meet are to us. 

MEET A SWEET FAMILY

AND MY STUDENT OF ENGLISH

Danny is 17.  He loves to travel and has dreams of learning several languages.  I hope I can be a part of making his dream to learn English come true!

Danny's cousin, Sharon, is 3 years old.  She loves to come upstairs with us when we have English class, and she is learning lots of words already.  Bo is her teacher! 

Sharon truly is the joy of Bo's heart.  HE ADORES HER!!

This is Sharon's mother, Olga (Danny's aunt), and her grandfather, Sr. Antonio.  Whenever we get ready to leave, the family always hugs us goodbye and Sharon comes running to the street to tell us "Chao!"  We always look forward to our next visit together.  (Sharon is proudly showing off the Children's English Book we gifted her with.  She cherishes it!)

RESTAURANTS IN CUENCA - The Best Tamales EVER!!!!!

 LA CASA DE LAS GOLOSINAS De Zoila Quesada R.

It was another warm and beautiful sunny blue sky morning in Cuenca as Bo and I walked from our apartment to Sra. Zoila's Restaurant, La Casa De Las Golosinas at Calle De Las Herrerias 2-10.  Last weekend, we ate there with friends, and Sra. Zoila and I conversed in Spanish about her wonderful Tamales, her family life, and how it all began.  I told her I would love to watch her creating these delicacies and photograph her production line, and she generously invited me to come back the following Saturday.  I was honored to be able to observe how this energetic and kind woman makes these unique and delicious tamales.  Well, it was beyond what I had imagined once Bo and I were in her kitchen watching and photographing her efficient hard-working employees, her kind and joyful husband, and the master herself preparing the 500 daily tamales, humitas, and guimbolitos and several different delicious hot drinks for the day's projected sales.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN AT LA CASA DE LAS GOLOSINAS

Early morning, in Sra Zoila's kitchen!  

Sra. Zoila, Marcie, and Gustabo begin filling the hundreds of hoja wraps.

Huge pots were brought out with specially prepared ingredients.....

......and one-by-one each tamale was systematically and generously created.  These are Sr. Zoila's to-die-for Tamales De Chancho.

Sr. Zoila is an expert tamale wrapper and has been doing so for over 50 years!

We watched the perfectly prepared tamales begin to stack up - rows and rows - and then they were carefully placed into large crates and huge steamer pots.

Sra. Zoila is 72, and her husband, Leoncio Duran is 80!  They were both so warm and inviting to Bo and me, and it was a joy watching them working together as a team.  Here they are preparing the next round - Tamales Con Queso (with cheese).  Leoncio cracks fresh eggs into their freshly ground harina de maiz.

Now for the pouring of the freshly melted butter!

Sr. Zoila makes her annatto coloring from seed, which she is now adding to her tamale mix. (Top & Bottom Photos)

The Sra. carefully and lovingly hand-mixes all of her batches......

.......which are once again filled, folded, and stored for the day.

 

 As a Lifestyle photographer it is my aim to capture and document real-life events and people in an artistic and heart-touching manner.  This day, I nominated this as my prize photo! Aged hard-working hands working in unity, not just today but for many past years and for more years to come.

Sr. Leoncio is checking on their most amazing Arroz Con Leche bebida (Rice Milk Drink).  It is warm, sweet, and as if drinking a dessert!

Sra. Zoila cracks open a packet of Ecuadorian unsweetened dark chocolate.......

.......adds it to a large pot of hot pure whole milk..........

......and then hand whisks it until it's melted and blended!

The sugar is then added........

........and Marci gives it the taste-test and her final stir and approval!  It was the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted - truly!!

Cafe Tinto is another hot and delicious drink made fresh daily....  (Top and Bottom Photos)

At La Casa, choclo is cut in half and the leaves are carefully peeled away ready to be filled as Humitas (sweeter than tamales). Top and Bottom Photos

Marci skillfully hand-measures each serving for Guimbolitos (a sweet corn cake and oh so delicious) while Sr. Leoncio looks on.

 When the day's food quota was prepared and ready, Bo and I were ushered away to a table outside, and Sra. Zoila and Sr. Leoncio began to bring us one of everything - hot and freshly steamed.  It was truly a feast to behold!  We savored everything as such a delicacy, now that we knew how freshly and lovingly prepared each dish was created.  The drinks were an added treat, and by the time we had cleaned our plate sipped our drinks, and licked our lips - WE WERE STUFFED!!  We felt so honored to be invited into their kitchen to begin with, and now doubly-honored  to be treated with such kindness as they served us and smiled while we savored each bite.  It was another wonderful "Ecuadorian" experience, and we now have another Ecuadorian family whom we can visit and enjoy.  I look forward to sharing these photos and a CD of the video Bo recorded with Sra. Zoila and Sr. Leoncio the next time we need our Tamale fix, which will be SOON. 

Top Left and clockwise - Quimbolito, Humita, and Tamale De Chancho are 60 cents each - REALLY!!  If you've never eaten here, YOU MUST!  Tell Sr. Zoila Linda (Leen-dah) sent you........