CARNAVAL IN PAUTE

This little town has a spirit the just explodes during Carnaval..
The whole month is filled with events. Music, town hall meetings to vote in the new Queen, Dances in the town square, and of course the major event the Parade for Carnaval.. on Sunday.

Each town around here seems to pick a different day to have their main event. I noticed that Cuenca had theirs on Saturday. Being such a small town, ours is a very major deal ,as Sunday is the major market day, and add to that the influx of visitors just for the Parade.

The participants are doomed from the start!

Even the Minons were there to add their foam to the party

Randy, our friend Nancy and I decided to hedge out bets that the parade would not start on time (5 yrs and we know the routine now) so we arrived in town at 11 and the parade had just begun.

We were armed with our "espuma", or as the vendors were yelling .. "Carioca"... I do not know what it means actually, but it loosely means.. foam here in Paute.

 The vendors were outfitted with cans of foam, water guns, and corn starch, as well as raw quail eggs. The eggs are a new one for me.. I did not see them being sold last year, but the kids really liked them and I noticed quite a few with a mess of eggs and corn starch in their hair. From the photos that were posted of other celebrations, it looks like some towns have added confetti.... oh yeah, now that makes a mess!

Here are some photos that our local Municipality has been posting from around town. I thought you might enjoy the views.

This is the fountain in the center square of Paute

This is the park that runs the full length of the city, along the river

On of the patrimonial building in town. Built in 1860

View of Paute from one of the little towns above the city.

Paute River. The river is very dangerous so thats why the fencing.

One of the cute parade (not during Carnaval)  participants

Our month ended with some scary times for Frankie. He became ill and the local vet here kept him and had him under IV medications. It has been a long week but he seems to be doing better, and we are hopeful that the current heart medication will strengthen his heart enough that he can have dental surgery to get rid of the rotten teeth that are pumping poison into his system.

Frankie, relaxing with his IV shunt bandaged.

A NEW YEAR, A NEW POST

We have survived our 5th Ecuadorian New Year. What fun. It is the custom here to burn effigies , party and set off great big fireworks.. and I mean everyone does it.

We were lucky to be invited to a friends home for a New Years even dinner, then we hurried back home as our dogs do not like fireworks, and we feel miserable if we leave them home alone. The whole neighborhood started a few at 9pm, and by midnite everywhere you looked there were huge aerial fireworks shooting off.

These are all private homes, no rules or regulations on the type you can fire off either. Use at your own risk is the motto of the evening.

It has been very dry and hot. It got up to 80F one day which is really warm for here. Luckily we have an afternoon breeze that comes up to keep it bearable. If there are no clouds the sun is very penetrating, and burns very quickly. 

The people here know to worry about skin cancer, so you will see them wearing hats, and if they do not have a hat, they will cover up with a sweater, piece of paper, umbrellas or whatever will cast a shadow. No one cares about their "look" when it comes to defending against the sun.

After our long spell of dry, we have had some really nice torrential downpours. Wonderful for the crops and rivers. Our country is run on Hydroelectric, so dry spells are not a good thing.

Apparently while its been nice and dry, our house has been host to many sugar ant nests... now that we have had rain they have decided to MOVE IN...
We woke up to columns of marching ants in almost every room.

The houses here are put directly on the ground.. there is no subflooring ect..concrete slab right in the dirt.  I can see where they come up into the house by the little piles of sand..Because we have dogs, our deterrents are as natural as possible. I puff baby powder on those areas where I have seen sand as well as across the entryways into the house. I discovered that a kitchen cleaning product that is citrusy kills them on contact, so I spray all the columns of ants with that and follow with wet mopping....
Over and Over again!

Whats the problem mom... we will just stay up here out of your way

Sad to say, we have smart ants.. they figured out how to crawl over the baby power at our doorways, by climbing up the wall... and then through the door jam and into the house. I retaliated by going outside and puffing powder all along the walls of our house, hoping to confuse them enough that they could not find the door.

Trying to show the ants crawling on the door jam above the powder

It looks like I am practicing some kind of witchcraft here with all this powder encircling our home.

Last nite my friend called to say she had broken a tooth, and would I accompany her to the dentist today. The dentist here in town has a few recommendations from other Expats, and other than no English spoken, his services were great.

The custom is to open the office at 8. The doctor arrives at 9 (ish). There is no person at the desk to take your name or your information or your money.
You sit on couches and wait your turn. So you have to remember who was in the room when you got there.

My friend ended up needing her tooth pulled. A root canal and crown would have been $200-250. And he was not so sure it would really work well. To pull the tooth was $10. It was a back tooth, and like most of us, her teeth are over 50 yrs old... so it was a no-brainer.. pull it.

Her tooth had other ideas.. As I cringed in the corner, the Dr. pulled her tooth, but it crumbled in his hand. Now ensued an hour long process whereby he dug and pulled pieces out of her gums.. HOLY MOLEY. She was a trooper and he even said she was very Valiente... (Valiant). I just kept trying to watch the Ecuadorian version of Judge Judy, on the requisite TV.

Due to the issues and time, he charged her $15, and would take no more. I can't imagine a dentist in the US only charging $10 for anything, must less a shot of novocaine and taking over and hour to pull a tooth.

I have not had my teeth looked at in almost 6 yrs.. I think I will give this guy a try for cleaning my teeth... then I will think about if I want any work done

ONCE A YEAR POSTS HAVE GOT TO STOP

If  there is anyone out there who still reads my blog.. or were waiting all year for my next post...the wait is over.

I have felt since we moved to Paute that we settled into our routine and that our blog was not really going to be useful. I have been prompted by friends and family to "get on the stick" and start writing again. So here it is.

I will back track a bit. As you know we moved to Paute in 2014, we will have been here 2 yrs in April of 2016! Where did those years go?


We have been enjoying our house after we made all the renovations to it, to make it livable.
The dogs have been enjoying all the room in the back yard, as well as the garden area of the lot behind us that also belongs to our landlord.

We are now down to our 1995 Trooper, 1 Vespa 300 cc scooter. It is big enough for both of us to ride at the same time.
We have not many long trips on it ,but  getting around between  Paute and Gualaceo, the next big town over is very easy.

We visited the U.S. in May for 3 weeks. This was Randy's 2nd time returning in 5 yrs. The first was our daughters wedding. My mother who turned 94 this year, lives in Dallas Oregon, and our home town is in Richland, Wa. I stayed 10 days at my moms, while Randy went on up to Richland to visit with our friends until I arrived.

Then I returned to Visit my mom in November to help her celebrate her 94th Birthday. It was a nice 2 week visit, so we had plenty of Mom and Me time.  It was also very special as my daughter drove down from Seattle for the weekend to spend time with us!

Our friends and family are still baffled that we moved, and "left everything" behind. But that was the reason we did leave... not the people, but the things.. and the work and the stress..

Our days now in Paute are even more laid back than when we lived in Cuenca! There is a small community of Expats who live here, but most of us stay to ourselves and we do not congregate too much.

Gathering for my 59th Birthday at the local Pizzaria

So now I will try to show you what its like in a town for 40K, where most live up in the mountains.

Oh and Merry Christmas!

JULY 1ST, 2014.... 4 YRS IN ECUADOR

Living in Ecuador has really broadened the way we think. We no longer have the need for rigid schedule, run by clocks, appointments or work schedules. Now our days are run by 2 dogs, the weather, and a whim or flight of fancy. Nice change... I recommend it to everyone! No need to live in Ecuador, but that is a nice bonus!

We have had some fun with our love of motorcycles and scooters!

Randy bought a Royal Enfield 500 with a sidecar. This photo was taken on a ride that Royal Enfield sponsored, One Ride.. all the shops too a ride that day; all over the world where they had shops.  This photo they took on that day was picked to show for the South American ride! Cool We were famous! That's Frankie loving his ride!

Then he sold it and bought a Royal Enfield Cafe Racer. I know, what about Frankie? Randy still has not figured out how to get the dogs on the bikes.

In April of this year we decided to move from the big city to the smaller town of Paute. We have not regretted it at all. Unfortunately we got here right in the start of the rainy season, and its really been a doozy. The most rain here in Ecuador in 15 years. 

We started the process for Citizenship back in February, thinking it would be a year before we even heard back. We were shocked in less than 6 months we were notified we could post our intentions in the local newspaper.  

Soon after that we were notified that Randy had been approved, so we zipped (i.e plane) up to Quito for a one day trip and he got his Citizenship papers. Just this last week we returned to Quito and got mine. So now we are Dualies..

We still have to get our Ecuadorian ID cards and Passports, but that can be done in Cuenca.

My next big adventure is to become legal driving the scooter.. I still do not have a drivers license here in Ecuador. I made sure to keep my US one up to date, but if I get into an accident that license will be no good. Especially after I get my EC ID card! More to come. Check back, I will try to be more prompt in my updates.

                                                                Some of our good friends here in Paute

Our great friend Manon, who jumped in to help us move

Frankie, not going to be left behind.

MOVE AND GET ANOTHER DOG... WHY NOT!

 While we were packing and getting ready for our move to Paute I read about a poor dog who was found up in the Cajas (13,000 ft elev). It was a dachshund. A boy, and he was fixed. Here is the picture that was posted......

Dexter when he was found

 I sent the poster a note saying that if she could not find the owner, I would take him.  This was an executive decision.. poor Randy he was so shocked when I told him that Holly was coming with a dog for us.

This is Holly, the day she brought Dexter to us.

 After Holly brought Dex over it did not take long to know that Frankie was going to not like it but would "deal" ok. So Holly left, and Dex started the bonding process with Frankie.

OK, you can lay here but I am going to ignore you,.... new dog...


Since Randy had never had the joy of naming a dog is was his decision. So after a few days he came up with DEXTER. I immediately shortened it to DEX, so he now answers to both... well kind of lifts his head.. no words are spoken. :)

I dont like that thing in your hand

Make her go away!


Since we have had Dexter, our life has taken a new turn. Frankie is more playful, they are buddies now and we have more joy in the house. Dex is only about 3 yrs old and has alot of puppy in him. He also loves to sleep ON you.. whether its in a chair or a bed he is right up against you.  We are hoping to make his life a wonderful one, and that he will never be cold or hungry again!

THE OTHER SIDE OF OUR DUPLEX IS FINISHED

This is still a catch up blog. we have been using both sides of the duplex since March.

While we had moved into the "better side" of the duplex, the other was under major renovation. Even more so than the one we moved into. This one was FILTHY and really buggy. The workers were very diligent and would show up each day at 7 to start work, and leave at 6.

Here are some before and after photos. I can see a big difference and it was all worth it!

Before a yellow "kitchen

After a nice white laundry room

 

Before a scary dirty yellow bathroom

After a clean somewhat less scary white bathroom!

After.. painted 2nd side living room

After After, a huge bedroom!

Before, a house with out closets or built in dressers.

After shelving and a rod to hang our clothes!

Before, a yard filled with rocks and  trash

After "plugs" scavenged from the park by our worker

After After, a yard! Free lawn!

The idea of having to put all this money and work into a rental seems a bit crazy in the states, but the living standards are different here. So if you want something you are used to, at a price you can afford, then this is what you do.

WE MADE THE MOVE!

We moved in March. So I am still catching up on blogs..

We were up and ready very early eagerly awaiting our movers. Being the custom here that what time is said is not really the time that is a reality; we were not concerned when our 8:30 move time came and went. When the big hand started past 9, we started getting antsy and by 15 after I was on the phone..

I have learned that a smile in my voice and a teasing tone goes along way here. Luckliy our mover contact (and owner) speaks great English so I did not have to worry about getting my "tease" across... Hey, Did you get lost? Sebastian, was very sweet and said his workers should have been there by now and must be parked somewhere nearby waiting ... I walked out and looked by did not find them.. only a few minutes later Sebastian showed up and said they had been parked on the Other corner.. sheesh.. I did not look there.

And then they ATTACKED! Oh my word, what a wonderful, smiling crew he has. They flung stuff up in the air like it weight nothing. I was totally amazed.

After a quick walk through of our house, during the prelimanary visit, we had been told two trucks could take all our stuff. We were uncertain until we saw how they seemed to have digital eyeballs that could calculate exactly what went where in the truck... even to the point of stuffing in small items so nothing jostled around. Knowing the road to Paute, with its curves, unexpected road hazards as well as the occasional cow, I was very happy to see them packing things so tightly.

After they had everything loaded up we were off to Paute. They met us there after lunch and began to unload. Wow... the energy and smiles were still there. Pretty amazing. Even when Randy and I pointed to two different directions on where furniture went... they just smiled and stood there waiting for a decision.

Everything was unloaded and they were off to another move by 4:00. We had to go back into town  and get the dogs (thanks Manon for being our Doggie Daycare for the week).


It was a long day, but the next was rapidly approaching and look who came to help unpack?

Then for lunch we all invaded Jani's house and she treated us to her 1st time Primo Corned Beef and Cabbage that she made from scratch! Oh it was delicious. And because she did not add some horrible chemical it was not pink! hooray for natural Corned Beef! I have never had it this way and I am now a true convert.. I may even have her show me how its done.
It was quite the move and we are still not totally unpacked. We are not quite two weeks into the house, and hopefully will be able to expand into the other side in one more week.

Stay Tuned I will post about the other side next.

RENOVATING A RENTAL IN PAUTE

August 8th. Just got my bugs out. Putting pictures to posts I wrote until this happen. so its catch up time.
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We  have decided that our landlord is getting a good deal with us living here.  Insert smiley face.

We continue to update and clean up the other side of the house. Our workers are chipping out cracks and re-cementing, plastering and then sanding.. its a messy business and one that I am so glad I am not doing. 

I have not been feeling well so I was not going over and saying hello and checking in on them.. when I did pop over I was horrified to see the maestro sanding away on the ceiling with no eye or face protection. He had been doing this for hours.. his face was covered in plaster grit.. I commented and he said yes, it was bad and got on safety glasses he had. I asked if he had a dust mask and he did not.. so I made sure Rodrigo got both of them one.

This is one of the issues I need to keep in mind when we have work done. They do not use safety items like gloves, eye protection or dust masks unless they are supplied by the employer... I felt so bad that I had overlooked that. Realizing that he had done the whole other side of the house without any protection and probably would continue to work that way on his next job..it just made me sad.

The Land lady had her worker put up a fence across the back of the property so it delineates our areas.. I say that because it does not keep the dogs out.. Frankie promptly walked right under the chicken wire and went on to explore the other side.

Randy assures we will be putting up a "sturdier" fence and hopefully we can convince the LL to take down the chickenwire creation.

Rodrigo worked with the LL to get a gate put in at the very back of the property so we have our privacy. As it is now, they are coming into our front area and using a pass through hall to get to the back yard. They agreed to put in the gate, but only if we absorbed all the cost. Sigh... fine.. how much will that be?

Soon it will all be done and we can start using all of our house  :) I am looking forward to that day!

NEW ADVENTURES FOR US IN PAUTE

No we are not being put into jail... This is our new home in Paute, Azuay Ecuador. It is a single story duplex. We have both sides.

We signed our 3 yr lease today... that in itself was an adventure. Let me tell you about it.

Let me introduce Rodrigo, Contractor, Handyman, taxi driver, and our newest friend.

Rodrigo is on the left. This is NOT our house...its my friend Jani's house

Rodrigo has helped us find this house, meet with the owners, and make sure our translations were correct at the Notary when we signed our lease. All around nice guy.

We got into town at our appointed 9 am meeting time. Rodrigo was called and he said "I will be there in 20 minutes (read 40 minutes) with the REAL owner.. " Oh no... the real owner. Randy said, Well who in the hell did we give the deposit to?

We went to the park in the center of town to wait.  We were picked up and went to get our Real Landlord.  Then off we went to the Notary. 

During the ride we found out that the people who showed us the house was our LL's Aunt. Whew... at least it was in the family.
Did your Aunt tell you all that we discussed about the house? Well No... so now, outside of the Notary we were negotiating about the house. sigh...  

We agreed and went in. the notary was very detailed and took about an hour... cost 21.00. LL paid.

Poor Randy, his nerves were shot, imagining all the horror stories  that could be.. for naught. :) 

We went to the house to go over a few things and get the keys.  Rodrigo is going to get the workers together to "spiff" up our new rental. This spiff up requires, concrete, saws, piping, paint and lots of elbow grease. (See photos below).

Suicide showers.. Rodrigo says he is able to change these out

 

 

Randy's tiny kitchen, but its much better than the other side...

 

Randy and the landlord in the living room.

Afterwards we went to our friend Jani's house ( gonna be our Paute neighbor!) and had a wonderful lasagna lunch.. hooray for good friends!

OK, I know you are wondering about Frankie.. Well he seems so confused by all the travel and the new house smells. He did get excited when I showed him the back yard. He slipped out of the front gate and met one of the neighbor dogs.. hair all up and tail all stiff.. but no biting or growling.. just lots of smelling.

Saturday we go back and start getting some supplies for the crew to start on Monday...

More updates later...