WHY I LOVE THE PEOPLE IN CUENCA

Jim and I headed downtown on a trip to buy coffee, and perhaps, find him a new Panama hat.  He purposely brought his "wounded" optima to Ecuador knowing he would buy a new one.  There are several new Homero Ortega hat shops along Hermano Miguel but alas they had mostly fedora style Panamas.  We decided that hat shopping will be reserved for another day when we will venture to the big Ortega hat store.

We continued our walk toward Parque Calderón and came across a familiar name.  I have been shopping at Galapagos Artesanias since 2007 when we first  came to Cuenca.  The store I always shopped at was in a different location near Parque Calderón.   Of course we had to go in, up 2 flights of very creaky stairs.  Once we got to the top and turned the corner into the shop we were greeted by the most warm and friendly shop keeper ever.  Laura immediately took us under her wing and explained about the earrings I was looking at - some were made from cow horn, some from cow bones and some were hand painted by artisans from a region near Quito called Quilotoa.  We had not heard about this area.

Hand painted cat earrings from Quilotoa

 She had a wall full of masks that these artisans had carved out of wood and painted in their style.   We particularly like this hummingbird mask.

Colibri

Laura explained that the masks are created for the festival of Corpus Christi.   She also showed us little paintings on sheepskin done by these same artisans.  All of this enthusiastic delivery of information was done  in simple Spanish for our benefit, along with a few words in English.  I kept browsing and in the meantime Laura had noticed Jim's broken hat.  She offered to repair it for him so while continuing to talk with us she got out needle and thread and sewed up the ripped brim and then applied glue to the repair.  While doing this her sister came to visit and brought cut up pinneapple so of course Laura offered us some.

Laura fixing Jim's hat

Then we got interested in all her tagua nut  (vegetable ivory) figurines so Laura proceeded to educate us in how the nuts grow and the process which makes them into a state ready to be carved.  We did not know that, like coconuts, tagua nuts have a green stage where they can be drunk as milk, then a stage where the bark gets yellow and the nut is like jelly.  After 4 months or so they harden and are ready to carve.  Here are are the two we couldn't resist.

When we explained that the elephant was for our sister-in-law Laura wanted to know her name.  When we said her name was  Luisa (Louise) she told us all about a naming convention unique to Ecuador.  An endearment for Luisa is Luchita, and for Luis it is Luchito.

Now Laura was finished putting the glue on Jim's hat and I was paying for our purchases.  Laura was making out the invoice and said the date out loud.  I told her that it was my mother's  birthday and had she still been alive she would have been 103.  Laura wanted to know my mother's name, which she wrote down, and stated that she would add her to her prayers.

We spent roughly an hour at Laura's shop and had a thoroughly delightful time with this charming and engaging woman.  I felt like we had a new best friend.  This is the kind of  connection with people that is not that uncommon in Cuenca and is so rare at home.

Laura Marcatoma and Jim 

I know we will return to this shop again and again,  yes, for the arts and crafts but mostly for the great company of Laura, our new Cuencana friend.

Next, we stumble upon a preeminent Ecuadorian artist.

Audrey

BACK IN ECUADOR

Jim and I decided to get out of the Arizona desert heat and hang out  in Cuenca, Ecuador where it is winter.  A typical winter day here is like today was - overnight low was about 50 and this morning it looked cloudy and cold, yet once we walked outside the sun was brilliant and a hot 66 (the sun is much more intense here near the equator).  When I walked into the shade without my coat it was chilly.  Not bad for winter!

Park along the Tomebamba River

We decided to walk to the large farmer's market about 1/2 mile from where we are staying.  Saturday is a huge market day at Feria Libre and I had forgotten about the sheer crush of humanity there.

You can buy pretty much anything you might need at this market

Giant squash

Tree Tomatoes and Bananas

Chicks, anyone?

And if you didn't want to bother squeezing your own OJ, there was this vendor as well

We didn'the even cover a fraction of the market - you can buy clothing, hardware, whole fish, fresh goat milk straight from the teat, plants, furniture....you get the idea.

Many of the merchants carry their goods in this manner

although some use wheelbarrows.

We inadvertently wound up in the wholesale potato market.

But after back tracking picked our way through the hoards of vegetable stalls

Giant squash

until we finally arrived at our destination - the flower vendors.

Here's what $2 bought

So heavily laden (whole pineapple, big bag of mangoes, 8 apricots, big bag of tree tomatoes, bag of ground cinnamon, night light bulb and two big bunches of flowers for a grand total of $7.50) but happy, we ventured back across the river where the locals were doing laundry.

It was a perfect time first market day.

Audrey

SOUTH PACIFIC CRUISE: RANGIROA AND DOLPHINS

After Moorea we had a relatively long (12 hour) passage to our next destination, Rangiroa, a string of coral atoll islands in the shape of a pearl necklace.  On our approach, the Captain announced that we would have to "run the rapids" to get into the lagoon where we would anchor. 

Entrance to the Lagoon

The captain wasn't kidding - it was a wild ride.

Once we tendered ashore I could see this was going to be one of my favorite islands.  The pier had no tourist junk at all and nothing but two open-air cafes, one on either side of the one road.

Pier at Avatoru, Rangiroa

We started walking along the gravel road.  Here is a typical house on this island.

House on Rangiroa

There wasn't a whole lot to see along the road, except gorgeous tropical flowers...

Plumeria (Frangipani)

Giggling girls...

and palm trees.

After about 15 minutes we had reached the other side of the island and were back where our ship ran the rapids - the Blue Lagoon.

 

What a gorgeous spot!  White coral beach, turquoise water, frigate birds and DOLPHINS.

Frigate Bird at the Blue Lagoon

 This dolphin family loved to surf!  We watched them for over a half hour and I was so, so happy to remember I had a video feature on my camera!  Totally made my day.

Right near this beach was a big sign about the dolphins (in French and English) in an effort to protect them from meddling humans.

 After all this excitement, and sitting in the brilliant sun for too long, we headed back down the road to the village.  We chose the open air restaurant which had seating right above the water.  Several other diners were throwing french fries in the water so we got a really good look at the amazing amount and variety of fish in the clear blue water.  We even saw several Sting Rays but I wasn't fast enough to capture them in a photo.

There were so many different kinds I can't even begin to identify them all.

Butterfly and other fish

Someone said these were reef sharks, but I don't see a dorsal fin.  They were big.

We had a fabulous (fish) lunch and Jim went back to the ship while I enjoyed swimming in the amazing water.  I wanted to stay in the water all afternoon but the tropical sun and my skin don't get along so well so I had to bid this peaceful and lovely place adieu.

Leaving the Lagoon

To me Rangiroa will always be a magical place because of the dolphins.  I know I will be back here one day.

Next, Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas.

Audrey

SOUTH PACIFIC CRUISE: MOOREA

Statendam anchored at Moorea

Moorea is known as "The Magical Island" but actually means "Yellow Lizard" in Tahitian.  It is what one thinks of when one imagines an exotic South Pacific Island.  The ancient volcano has eroded into a heart shaped island of jagged peaks covered in lush greenery and surrounded by turquoise bays.  It is quite rural in feeling (a relief after bustling Papeete) with no large harbor.  Our ship anchored and we tendered to a dock about a mile from town.

 I wanted to mail some postcards so my objective was the post office, which was in town, a hot and muggy mile walk.  As we were debating how to get there a nice lady offered to drive us to her brother's pearl store which was near town.  She said if we bought something in the store she would take us on to town for free, otherwise it would be $5.  I figured that was better than walking  in the heat.  The store wasn't large but is a well known and respected pearl outlet called Ron Hall Tahitian Pearls.  This You Tube video gives you a great feel for this fun little shop and their beautiful black pearls.  We were not in the market for pearls but Jim found a great Tiki T-shirt so we got our "free" ride anyway.  This shell was on display in the store.  It is typical of shells in the South Pacific and I found it quite exotic looking.


In the little town we were standing on the side of the road trying to decide which restaurant to go to for coffee when a beater car stopped next to us and a blonde American looking woman leaned out to ask if we needed help finding something.  We got talking.  She was from Eureka, California.  She told us, "I came here for 10 days 27 years ago and haven't left."  She looked very happy, as did the Tahitian man grinning next to her.

We found our restaurant and settled down to watch to world go by.  First we saw this wonderful bird in the tree which I believe is a red-vented bulbul.  Apparently these are native to India and were first introduced to Fiji in the early 1900s by indentured Indian workers. 

 Then we were lucky also to see (and hear) this great looking (loud) mynah bird.

Our village had a local feel to it rather than a tourist feel.  There were lots of little handicraft shops and art galleries, in addition to the post office, which was closed.  We saw very few people from our ship there and the store owners assumed we were visiting from the nearby resort.  We found some real bargains - I got a pair of shell earrings for 500F (roughly $5) and saw the exact same earrings for sale at the pier for 2,500F! 

Moorea is a laid back, beautiful island with a population of only 16,000.  Even though it is a popular tourist destination, it certainly doesn't feel over run with visitors. It is close enough to Tahiti for commuting and weekend getaways but miles away in energy.

Bora Bora in the distance

Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa

Once again we were treated to a spectacular South Pacific sunset as we sailed away.

Moorea was our favorite South Pacific island thus far:  a good artistic vibe, a slow pace and really, really nice people.

Next, Rangiroa and dolphins!

Audrey