Good friends and lots of walking!

Last night Mike and I had dinner with our good friends Major Mack, Dennis, and Tom at Wunderbar. The food was great and the conversation with friends was even better!  We all met in Quito while we were in the process of getting our visas and cedulas. Our friendships were instant and I love each one of them. Six months ago I could not have imagined living in South America and having met so many wonderful people. Life is precious. Every moment should be spent doing what brings you happiness. We have been in Cuenca for eight weeks and we see friends on the streets, in restaurants, and in stores. Cuenca has a population of about 500,000 yet it seems much smaller. We are now starting to meet and become friends with locals as well. This makes me very happy!

We had lunch today at a restaurant called Chiplote. The name is similar to Chipotle in the US. Notice that the "soup of the day" is a Bloody Mary. Too funny!

After lunch, we walked 2.5 miles to Mall del Rio. We went shopping at our favorite store, Coral.  It is a lot like a SuperTarget. If you can't find it at Coral...then you don't need it!  Again, I must brag on the customer service that we received there. After shopping, the bagger, Pablo, an older gentleman, attempted to hail a taxi for us. Since it was the afternoon rush hour all of the taxis refused to give us a ride to downtown. In typical Ecuadorian fashion, a Coral employee gave us a ride home. Would this happen in the USA? NO!  

Pictures of things we saw on our walk to the mall.

Yes, the picture above is a Poinsettia, it is a tree!

For dinner I used my mom's recipe to make Cabbage Soup. It was delicious!

Weather permitting, we are hiking in Cajas National Park tomorrow.