(written February 19, 2025)
Read this once, it won't change for the rest of the trip(s):
I'll be linking this post to Facebook. If that's how you got here, here's some background: About 14 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a Type-2 Diabetes diagnosis, and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to a loss of 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing has kept me on track since. I started adding commentary after a while, but recently it has been a food journal only. Except when I travel (every Winter).
While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling (except for food photos when I've eaten something interesting or pretty). I write about my experiences, and use it as a photo dump. And that's where we find ourselves now.
The weather in Cuenca is known for it's 'all four seasons in a day, every day'. There's usually bright sun. some rain, the transition sometimes instantaneous, average high temperature around 69º F, average low about 15º less, 365 days a year. Variations are due to changes in the Pacific Ocean currents about 200 miles away.
This trip is a bit of an outlier. In the past four weeks, there have been extended periods of rain about three quarters of the time. When I can't walk around, I have nothing to do but eat.
*NOTE: I am not comparing my experience here with what's going on at home, where they have had bitter cold temperatures and snow for thirteen of the last fourteen days. I still get Winter weather advisories, and I've gotten them almost every day for over a month now. Stay strong, my fellow Central New Yorkers.
What all this rain I've been getting has done is to prevent much of my rambling, my favorite way of spending time when I travel. If it weren't otherwise so pleasant, it would be boring.
Hence, far fewer photos this week.
I've been getting to play three or four times a week. When I found that all four open mics were on Wednesday, I was able to convince the owner of Solano Bistro, one of my favorite restaurants, to move theirs to Tuesday. And the Blues Enigma Band (fronted by my friend Claudia) has had a gig every weekend, and that has meant some real good playing time.
Speeking of playing, I got some bad news from Chiang Mai: There has been a crackdown on expats (farangs) playing music. For decades, you couldn't work on any visa that didn't specifically name the work you were allowed to do. The long-term 'retirement' visas, the most favored type by the Europeans, Australians and North Americans who live here, permits no work at all.The popular new digital nomad visas are quite specific that work must be done on a computer.
Performing music, with or without pay, is considered a specific kind of work, and if you aren't a Thai citizen, you probably can't do it legally.
This law has been ignored for decades, but the Thai government has cracked down on it now. They arrested and are deporting a rather well-known expat from Europe, and the owner of the club he was playing at, and it made national headlines. All the venues I ever played at are now Thai-only performers. My new favorite band announced they will no longer perform.
I may have to rethink Chiang Mai if this continues. A significant part of my happiness there comes from performing. Although it's usually at open mics, every year some musician friend comes up short a bass player and I get to play a whole night.
It's a major blow if that outlet stops being available to me, and if my friends' bands, all of which include both Thais and expats, are unable to perform.
Back in Cuenca, I remain entranced by this place. Staying at Hostal Yakumama has made this the best stay ever, anywhere, since I started my winter travels at the end of 2017. And that's saying something!
I always choose to appreciate what I have instead of dwelling on what I've lost. Even more when I appreciate the here and now as opposed to what might happen in the future.
On to the photos:
People Pics
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| Claudia and I, at Hostal Yakumama/Bistro Yaku (my favorite place in Cuenca, and where I intend to stay every visit from now on). |
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| One last pic of Patrick the night before he left. Unfortunately, the altitude did a number on him, and when a medication he needed wasn't available (at all, in Ecuador) he called it at three weeks. It was a real joy spending time with him - he told me he had had a great time in Cuenca. |
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| At the open mic at Solano Bistro, that's Kike, the open mic host, on guitar, backing up 17th-century page Oscar, a classically trained singer, who did an amazing job with Jackie Wilson's 'Higher and Higher'. This is the open mic I convinced the owner to switch from Wednesday to Tuesday, so I could attend (and have one more night of playing). The PA setup is minimal (in fact the speaker behind Kike is the whole thing), so, as much as I would like to jam with Kike on bass, I do a solo as a singing guitarist. |
