And then there was the anniversary ....

Another big event of the summer was our 30th wedding anniversary in July.  We managed to be in Vancouver that weekend with our two children and our daughter-in-law.  It was a lovely time with some old traditions, some new traditions, and some wonderful laughs.

There was the traditional bike ride.

We rode around the outside of Vancouver's glorious Stanley Park.

And yes, those fruit shirts are from Vietnam where tourists seem to buy them in order to remember their experience.  I just liked their brightness and wanted a family photo taken with them.  We received numerous compliments and looks of envy (or so I like to think) from similarly aged people.  There was another family out riding bikes with their "family t-shirts" as well.  Ours were definitely more eye-catching!

S2 and I headed back to Vietnam with one-day to grocery shop and recover from jet lag prior to reporting to work on 31 July.  And we're well into the new school year.  In fact, this week is the end of the first quarter.  Next week will find us on October break in Cambodia. 

A look at Cuenca and the surrounding area

Cuenca - population figures provided ranged from 400,000 to 600,000

 

Some reports indicate there as many as 12,000 retired expats living in Cuenca.  Indeed there is an amazing network of non-Ecuadorians calling this lovely city (altitude 8,370 feet above sea leve and 2 degrees south of the equator) home.  I believe there is good reason to consider retiring here.

First, the climate is lovely.  I was able to wear socks (!) and jeans the whole time.  You may laugh, but when it is something that is remarkably uncomfortable where I live in Vietnam, getting to do such things take on a new meaning in such a climate.  The apartment we stayed in had neither heating or air conditioning, because it doesn't need it - ever - at all.  It certainly helped me feel better about my carbon footprint!

Next, the flora and fauna was delightful.  Who wouldn't love fuchsia year round?

 

Or gigantic hummingbirds?

And what about fresh squeezed orange juice, right from the vending machine?

 

 There some really great deals on food as well.

Sure it was $1 for a SLICE of pizza - but still!  And yes, the official currency of Ecuador is the U.S. dollar.  Do you ever wonder why there are so few Sacajawea or Susan B. Anthony dollar coins in circulation in the U.S.?  Because they are all in Ecuador.  THEY have grasped the ease and significance of getting rid of the one dollar bill and using a coin for that value (like the Canadians).  

So here is $20 worth of food that we bought at a traditional market.

Just to clarify ... yes that is $1 worth of avocados, $1 worth of bananas and the $1 worth of peas were already shelled.

As is usual, the markets were so colorful and interesting.

 

A little chocolate perhaps?

Museums were free.  We went to a free symphony concert every week we were there.  The jazz cafe had a cover charge, but the music was great.  Culturally, there was plenty to do.

We went to the opening of an interactive fireworks display museum.

 

The "Panama Hat" industry has some great museums/displays.

Other fun markets:

But one of my favorites ... a restaurant that ONLY SERVES nachos.  

All in all, a great fact-finding mission.  And yes, we are seriously considering it as a retirement destination.  Health care is affordable as well as lives up to the standards of the developed world. Health insurance is $120 per month for a couple AND covers pre-existing conditions with no deductible.  Retirees (and their money) are welcome, no matter what country one comes from.  There are a number of incentives for  senior citizens (discounts on utilities, bus and plane tickets, as well as taxes).  And ... it is only a two-hour time difference from the kids, one-hour time difference from my parents, which would make jet lag nothing more than a blurry memory.  Stay tuned for further developments.

Long Overdue

An introduction to my summer vacation ....

We left HCMC on 13 June for Vancouver (also affectionately known as YVR to many Canadians - the official airport code for the Vancouver airport).  This was our first flight BACK across the dateline since our arrival.  It was with Cathay Pacific, thus it was via Hong Kong.  As we boarded the delayed 1:30 AM flight in Hong Kong I was texting with our daughter, letting her know we were boarding.  Once we got on board and I heard the purser say it was a 12 hour flight to YVR and I did the Math, I realized I had given our daughter THE WRONG DAY for the arrival of our flight.  I calmly sat in my aisle seat, working hard to send her telepathic messages.  It worked, more or less, because on the other side of "the lake" (if the Atlantic is a pond, surely the Pacific is a lake) she was doing the math and calculated that our flight would be 28 hours long if we were then boarding ... which she knew was impossible.  She did some quick checking, realized our arrival time of 10 PM was now going to be after midnight (given the delay leaving Hong Kong) and she had to get up at 4 in the morning to go to work at 5.  AND it was impossible to communicate with me for 12 hours.  Thus, when I arrived at YVR at 1 AM, turned on my phone and connected to wifi, there was the message from her saying that she had set her alarm for 1 AM to check our flight status, send her a message when we got in, take a taxi to her place, and she would let us in and then go back to sleep before she had to get up.

We all managed a few hours of sleep before she and her roommate were up for their 5 AM jobs.  We walked with her to the coffee shop where she works, and wandered around the 3 block retail area in her neighborhood (all 6 coffee shops were clearly busy inside, but none were open).  We marveled at the owner/manager helping her set up the outside tables at 6 AM and went inside to order our tea.  The guy helping her was one of the regulars who insisted she help us first, but agreed to go first when she said ,"those are my parents."  I enjoyed watching her as she greeted customers, made drinks, scurried to put out the new muffins, and worked to remember all the little opening touches (the Spotify Music setting, the background lights, etc.)  We read the newspapers (which may have thrown off the routines of some of the regulars) and waited for her to go on break before we ordered breakfast.  Such a joy - watching one's adult children.  Especially when they forgive their mother for flight arrival miscalculations.

It was a short 2-day stay before we headed to Denver and a whirlwind trip of Colorado and Wyoming.

Then, the real purpose of summer vacation began.  We headed to Ecuador to conduct our research on considering it as a retirement destination.

We spent a month in Cuenca.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site  in four categories ....

for the colonial architecture...

For being part of the Inca Trail

For the unique biosphere at Cajas National Park (a wet, tropical alpine biosphere)

(yes, wild llamas)

and the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Panama Hat (really from Ecuador, not Panama).

More about Cuenca and the rest of the summer in another post.  One of my brothers says I should start writing less more often.

Crossing the Street

I've been wanting to write about crossing the street for some time.  I still haven't quite figured out how to fully describe the challenge, the adventure, the hurdle, the task, the problem ... of getting across the street.

I can say that every morning, I have to cross the street to catch the school bus.  When I step up on the curb, having successfully crossed the street, I do feel like I've accomplished something.

So ... I decided the best way might be to take a video.  And here you have it.

Don't worry ... that isn't what I was trying to cross ... I had already crossed that street.  It is a divided highway, so I cross TWO roads each morning.

Those white buses, with the blue lettering ... those are all going to the school where I work, they just aren't buses that stop and pick me up.

That side of the street is now a virtual HUB of bus activity.  The public bus (#72) stops along there.  Two OTHER company buses stop there to pick up people.  Some of those people have started up conversations with me (practicing their English) and so I have "friends" that wait there with me.  All our buses tend to come within a 3-minute time frame.  I wave good-bye to them as their bus pulls away ... and now, their bus drivers wave to me as well.

More photos from Spring Break

It rained twice this week!!!!  On Friday, while waiting for the bus to work, I asked a young man (who is also waiting for HIS bus to work) if we could say the rainy season has started.  He said, "yes."  Given the heat of today, I think we aren't ALL the way into the rainy season.

Here's some more photos from Spring Break.  All of these are from the "mountains" of Da Lat.

You can see coffee prices here.  

A "general" guideline is: take off 4 zeros and multiple by 4.3 to get the U.S. dollar equivalent.

Yes ... those are all avocados - 75 cents a pound.  You really should come visit, right?

That's right ... avocado smoothie!

Strawberries also come from Da Lat

Mulberries, too!

Da Lat is known for The Flower Garden, sort of like the Butchart Gardens of Vietnam.

It is really interesting what reminds me of my children.  When they were young, Thomas the Tank Engine was a part of our lives.  The theme song became part of the family repertoire.  So, to me, here's Budda saying, "He's the one, he's the number one, Thomas the Tank Engine."

The garden shop- just buy what you want - it will grow here.

Hmmm ... Bamboo Airlines.  It doesn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence.

Spring Break 2019

I'm not really seeing or feeling SPRING in the air.  It is more like, "does it seem like it is hotter to you?"  And jumping in the pool after work is becoming more of a necessity.  Nonetheless, the school calendar revolves around more northern hemisphere vocabulary, and I am just back from Spring Break.

The itinerary - 

• fly to Hue - former capital of Vietnam
• take a train to Da Nang - gorgeous coastal rail trip 
• taxi to Hoi An - The entire old city is a UNESCO World Heritage site and no motorized traffic is allowed.  There is not, however, a limit on tour buses who can park outside the designated motor free zone.
• taxi back to Da Nang in order to
• fly to Da Lat - The ever wonderful high tropics destination - eternal spring like climate which provides the loveliest flora and fauna of all, or at least to this woman raised in the high desert of Wyoming
• return to Saigon, or less conveniently known as Ho Chi Minh City

Side note:  I am CERTAIN the Da Nang airport does not look ANYTHING like it did in the late 60s and early 70s.

Some photos:

The airport in Hue - still using trucks to transport exit stairs

I still love being met at the airport.  

Did you ever wonder where incense sticks come from?

A new kind of scaffolding perhaps?

It's a motorcycle, no, it's a shop.

Occasionally, one sees evidence that the damage done during the American War is still here.

Hmmm ... too bad we don't drink coffee.

I will forever marvel that something like this can really work.

I take photos like this to share with my father, who retired from AT&T 28 years ago.

More photos later in the week - I have them all picked!

Just today ....

I had a 9:15 appointment with an Integrative Nutritionist.  This post-menopausal time in life affords one a certain amount of "what-the-heck-I-want-to-try-that" so I made an appointment with this woman who is the wife of a colleague, and a stay-at-home mom.  I like to try to do everything I can to support stay-at-home moms!

I took the bus 3 stops, got off, and walked across the street.  These are some photos of what I saw on my way to the appointment.

Need a compressor?  Just go down to the corner, you can pay some money to have them help you out.

Need an ID laminated?  That's also on the corner.  Let's pretend this isn't really about getting a fake ID of any kind.

Tired?  Just whip out your hammock and take a nap.  When I think of all the trouble I have getting to sleep and staying asleep, I realize some people really do have an easier life than I do.

The coffee shop where we met.  There's a dance studio above it.  

Afterwards, I went to my favorite Nails shop, where I had a heel scrub and wrap, combined with a manicure and a pedicure ... all at the same time.

And today's nail art on my toes (I only get it on my fingers for special occasions).

And then ... there was yesterday.  I went to see the new Captain Marvel movie (which you should go see to support the concept of female super heroes, as well as strong female characters).  I decided to go all out and saw it in 4DX

What does that mean?  You have to wear 3D glasses and your seat moves.  Well, really, it more than moves.  There's a little platform for your feet, so it's like sitting in some sort of astronaut seat.  The seat rumbles, rattles, vibrates, hums, and moves.  You find yourself swerving to the right, to the left, backwards, forwards, and sometimes there's puffs of air at your feet, your ankles, or in your face.  There was even mist at one point.  It was HILARIOUS for someone who can remember when "Mary Poppins" was a big deal because they combined real people with animation.  I'm probably lucky they didn't kick me out of the theatre.