Now it is full of gringos - they come to live longer, but most of them smoke? Ecuador is full of oddities....
Deborah wanted to go somewhere outside of Cuenca, so we talked to Rene (who really knows the country) and decided to rent a van from Cuenca Car Share, 098 808 7261, 098 380 0162-- turned out to be a terrific experience....everything was handled over the phone and internet, and we had NO PROBLEMS....we rented a new Hundai 8 passenger van, air conditioned, and Rene picked it up and off we went early Saturday morning.....Rene, wife Valentina, daughter Daya, Deborah, Cristina, and Rick and I.
There are several interesting stops on the way to Vilcabamba .... towns like Ona (for "Tequila"), and Saraguro for handmade jewelry and textiles.....BUT our first stop was a nice little roadside restaurant about 1 1/2 hours outside Cuenca....since we left the house about 7:15 am with no breakfast, we were ready to eat!!
We had a wonderful "breakfast" of chanco, corn roasted with cheese, chicharon, and mote..... So lucky to have run into this cute primitive little place with really yummy food!
Rene Calle (good friend & driver) wife Valentina & daughter Daya....
On our way again we stopped in Ona so Deborah could get some "Tequila" to take back to Omaha.....
Next stop was Saraguro.....Deborah bought some darling jewelry pieces to sell, and Rene bought the hand woven rug for his house...
Finally we arrived in Vilcabamba.....I had booked 2 rooms at Hosteria Paraiso thru TRAVEL ADVISOR/Booking.com
a triple $60, and a family bungalow $80...breakfast included...
Cristina enjoyed a swim even tho the water was not warm....afterwards she relaxed in the hammock...
As it happened to be Rene's Birthday, Valentina and Deborah went and bought him a cake, and ice cream....
Later .... For dinner we found a nice little place that had fantastic shrimp!
The next morning "the girls" (except for me) went horse back riding....
Cristina had never been allowed to ride alone before ....she always had someone holding the reins and leading the horse.....altho she was a little scared, she learned to ride alone and control the horse!!
We went for a drive exploring with Rene.....after about a 15 minute drive up the mountains over a crappy road we arrived at a huge walled and gated compound....we wanted to see inside, but the guard wouldn't let us in no matter what we said....strange.....a Mafia hideout? Drug lords? This was the size of a small town and very hidden and secluded.....just another Ecuadorian mystery...
Checked out and started back to Cuenca, but through the gold fields to Zamora......The scenery was very beautiful, and as we neared Zamora we started seeing beautiful waterfalls along the highway...
Deborah, Valentina and Daya climbed up a tiny path to get closer.....this was amazing!!
Next we passed a huge gold mine....there are many smaller mines that can not be seen from the highway.....the mines here are operated by Chinese engineers and workers...they have the knowledge and experience, and I suspect, lots of gold ends up in their hands, unaccounted for!
The Chinese keep to themselves in huts made for them so there is no integration...
Things are so different here....in the states, in the Black Hills where they mine gold, the towns are full of jewelry stores selling "Black Hills Gold" everything....it's all about marketing, promoting, selling......here you would never know there is gold taken from the ground....no selling of gold jewelry, nothing!
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On into ZAMORA where we planned to have lunch.....
Since it was Sunday there were not many restaurants open, but we passed a house that had converted it's porch to an open air dining restaurant and we decided this was it -- we were too hungry to keep looking.....
Well, we had a wonderful meal looking at the mountains dining al fresco.....Most of us had the fried Tilapia -- fantastic!!
This was a mother/daughter operation - I'm sure our business really made their Sunday!!
Huge amounts of food served, as ususal, and the fresh tomatoes were the best we had ever eaten!!
Back on the road to Cuenca with only a little problem - Cristina got car sick and thru up, but it wasn't a major problem....it is a very curvy drive through the Andes and she held up well.....
This trip was so enjoyable. We managed to cram a lot into 2 days.....now we are trying to decide where we will go next.....maybe to see how they cultivate and refine chocolate???
Ecuador just won FIRST PLACE at a Paris contest - best chocolate in the world so we need to find out more!!!
I'm sure your blog is very interesting, however I cannot read it because of the font. Would you consider changing your font? Thank you
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