Changes in Latitude....

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes,

Nothing remains quite the same.

Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,

If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.

"Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes"

When we moved from the northern hemisphere to the southern, from the USA to Ecuador, we definitely changed both our latitude and attitude.

But the only constant in life is....change.

We never intended to stay in Ecuador permanently and after analysis, we have met our financial goals. We still have things we want to do in the US, while we have the health to do so. Plus we want to do more travel and it's easier and often cheaper to do it from the US.

So, long story short...we will return to Cuenca in the middle of November as planned. But we will be selling everything and returning to the US and our RV lifestyle at the end of the year.

We will miss the many, many friends we have made but we will be past our two year anniversary and our visas will still be valid (as long as we return every 18 months or less OR unless the rules are changed).

This was not an easy decision but we feel it is the right one for us at this time in our lives. Life is good!

Ciao for now!

En los Estados Unidos

Sorry for late blogging, we have been SWAMPED! We did arrive safely and you can see all the details in our personal blog, Back End of Nowhere. If you are interested in following all our travels, I hope you will follow us there.

Oh, and watch for some surprising news coming soon!

Ciao for now!

Day Tour to Gualaceo

Back in May we did a four city tour and Gualaceo was one of those cities. But we ran out of time and didn't get to see the orchid farm or shoe stores. That meant we needed to go back!

We organized another bus tour and ended up with almost 40 folks attending. I didn't take as many photos this time around...why? Because I forgot to charge my camera battery. Argh....

We started the day at the weavers where they make their own dye, weave their own cloth and produce the most amazing products! Here are a few pics....oh, we had a couple of special guests on our trip, as you can see in the last photo. Wanda & Brenda brought Avery who thoroughly enjoyed little Rocky who was accompanying his people parents.

From there we traveled to the orchid farm. WOW!!! I could have taken a couple dozen more photos but here are some favorites....you can see all the photos from our day here.

We also walked over a bridge over the river (Rocky didn't like the noise or the swaying), perused the gardens and saw the local tortoises and macaws. All this was after we learned how the orchids are propagated. Did you know it takes three years for one to bloom? Our final stop was the store where several purchased beautiful orchids to take home.

We then traveled to Chordeleg for lunch, the same spot we went in May and it was just as good. A stroll around town and a few more photos taken....

Our final stop was back to Gualaceo and the shoe shops. Unfortunately, unless you have small feet, it's hard to find shoes to fit. We did some walking and found this interesting church across the street from a nice park.

The highlight of the day was this little female pup - I think she would have jumped on the bus with us if anyone had been willing to adopt her.

Then we came home to these adorable pups next door to our apartment building...

Another successful outing for Cuenca Happy Bus Tours (thank you, Emilio Morocho)!

Ciao for now!