#2426: Thursday, May 21 '20: I didn't have Covid-19

Post 2426

- 9 years and 142 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I am negative for Covid-19 antibodies.

Not the result I thought I'd get, but it means I'm just like almost everybody else, but luckier - I traveled extensively and never got infected.

I also finally got to talk to a doctor about my back, and got a prescription for a muscle relaxer. Which I filled and bought a heating pad (which he also recommended).

I'm still feeling fine, except for the lower-back pain, and I'm grateful it's on the mend now. At least, that's what I believe.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    205.2 lbs.

Previous Weight (5/20/20):         205.3 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.1 lbs.

Diet Comment

To all intents and purposes, there is no difference between today's and yesterday's weights - or even today's and the weight from two days ago. Why? because normal day-to-day weight fluctuation, regardless of changes in diet and exercise, can be attributed to how much water you're retaining. But this weight is still positive, because it is continuing (and contributing to forming) a trend, which is going in the right direction now.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:15pm:

LEO Florentine (lox, eggs and onions with spinach) on steamed, riced cauliflower.

Lunch
9:40pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
11:55pm: Manchego cheese, walnuts, and kimchi.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 84+ oz.; 

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#2425: Wednesday, May 20 '20:

Post 2425

- 9 years and 141 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I had a doctor's appointment today, but it didn't work out.

I was turned away because I was supposed to be quarantined pending the results of my test. Which, when I thought about it, made sense. But I was in pain, and in the doctor's office. I asked if I could speak with her on the phone. This was refused.

I felt that was not right, especially when I had an appointment because of my lower back pain, and felt I could be treated over the phone anyway. My doctor had turned away a patient in pain.

I was angry about it (I'm over that now) and have decided not to work with that doctor, anyway. As I had never seen her in person, only a 5 minute pleased-to-meet-you teleMed call mid-March that resulted in two prescriptions I decided not to take.

I'm grateful that I have a teleMed scheduled tomorrow and will get some muscle relaxers and relief.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    205.3 lbs.

Previous Weight (5/19/20):         205.6 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.3 lbs.

Diet Comment

A better-than-nothing loss that is really in the realm of noise. That's okay.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:35pm:

Organic beef 1/2-lb. burger on salad (arugula, chard, kale, spinach, cabbage, sliced almonds, shaved parmesan cheese, balsamic vinaigrette).

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
9:50pm: Manchego cheese, pork rinds, and a Quest bar

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 84+ oz.; 

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#2424: Tuesday, May 19 '20: Virus test

Post 2424

- 9 years and 140 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I got tested for Covid-19 virus today. It tickled and made me sneeze.

I was tested for antibodies this past Saturday. I'm thinking I'll get both results Saturday.

I want to know my status.

I'm feeling fine, except for the intensifying lower-back pain I mentioned yesterday. I made a doctor's appointment for tomorrow.

That's really all I have going on.

I've been moping around the apartment, not doing much of anything. I did play online poker tonight for the first time. I lost more slowly as the night went on.

It's a mess. I have no energy to do anything about it, but when I feel better, my top priority is getting rid of stuff. Most of the mess is the clutter of things I saved for later use, and never used.

That's over now.

I'm grateful for the chance to have more chances.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    205.6 lbs.

Previous Weight (5/18/20):         205.6 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     + 0.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

No progress or setbacks, so that's good for now.

Food Log

Breakfast
3:55pm: SLEO: Spinach, lox, eggs and onions.

Lunch
9:20pm: Manchego cheese, pork rinds, kimchi and a Quest bar.

Dinner
1:05am: An organic beef burger with salsa and cole slaw, and a salad of arugula, chard, kale, spinach, almonds and shaved parmesan cheese with balsamic vinaigrette.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 60+ oz.; 

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#2423: Monday, May 18 '20: Back home

Post 2423

- 9 years and 139 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I've been back since Thursday evening (three-and-a-half days).

I had a great time, even after lockdown, staying in Florida and extra six weeks.

It isn't as good here, but I have things to do.

Things I won't be doing until my lower back pain, gotten unloading a case of water from my car three weeks ago, subsides.

What I have done so far is get back my internet at a better rate (after they wouldn't turn it back on via the web site, like they'd always done in the past). That meant my first day in New York was without internet, but with a lot of talking to customer service reps, several hours worth.

And shopping, too. I went out and spent more money in one food shopping trip than ever before in my life.

The stairs up and down from my third-floor apartment (actually only two-and-a-half flights up) were agonizing, though - and I had to make two trips bringing in all the groceries.

I don't know how all this will play out. Like everybody else, it's all new to me.

Because there's a chance I had Covid-19 in early January in Chiang Mai (a couple of miserable days that felt like bronchitis with a low fever) I got tested for the antibodies Saturday. Results in about a week.

I'm scheduled for the virus test tomorrow morning. Just to see, and become part of the statistics - I'm feeling fine (except for that low back pain, unrelated to the pandemic.

It is good to be back, and I'm grateful for every new day - it's never dull.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    205.6 lbs.

Previous Weight (3/5/20):          200.6 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     + 5.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

I ate very well, spectacularly well, during the nine-and-a-half weeks I was in Florida, but every day was a high-carbohydrate day, with frequent snacking. I am very impressed to have gained only seven pounds (my first weigh-in after returning was 207.6), less than 3/4-pound a week. Now that I'm home and my eating is 100% under my control, I expect to start losing weight rapidly. My goal: A weight of 200 pounds by July 3 - which was also my goal when I first started losing weight nine-plus years ago. I usually don't like to impose time-limits on goals, but given that I've lost two pounds since my first post-travel weigh-in in only a couple of days, I'm pretty confident that I'll reach my historically-interesting weight goal before I get to my historically interesting deadline.

Food Log

Breakfast
3:05pm: Blue-green protein smoothie Plus! with almonds, kefir, large organic egg, chia seeds, kale, spinach, blueberries, whey powder (27g protein), coconut oil, hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, fo ti (mushroom powder), cinnamon, turmeric and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
12:15am: Steamed brussels sprouts with roasted turkey, mayonnaise, almonds and parmesan cheese - I'm sorry for not taking a picture, but - truth here - this was a dish I thought ugly. It was delicious, but not pretty. Also, a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 24 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.; 

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#2422: Winding Down Cuenca

Post 2422

- 9 years and 57 days since I started this blog -

  

Journal
(written about Feb 22-Feb 27, 2020)

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 10 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a medical situation and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to helping me lose 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing it has kept me on track since then. I started adding commentary after a while, but lately it that has become less frequent. 

While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling, except for the occasional food shot when I've eaten something interesting (or visually appealing, or both). And that's where we find ourselves now.

I can't believe it's almost done. I have less than 48 hours left in Cuenca.

Of course, I plan to come back, but it's not scheduled. My best guess is I'll be back as early as November, but no later than January, 2021. A lot depends on how things go when I get back, and all the unforeseen and unforeseeable things that can happen between now and then.

I've spent most of this week doubling down on the things and places I like. I've also expanded my circle a little. And I've learned a little more about what it might be like to live here.

I've done some retreating this week as well. Because I try to make my stay in foreign places as close as I can get to my regular, day-to-day lifestyle, I continue doing the ordinary, everyday things here as I do back in New York, like paying attention to the stock market. I have a small investment portfolio that emphasizes dividends (income) over capital gains. This week's extreme (historic!) sell-off had an effect that demanded attention and reaction. I had to take some action, do some 'homework' and make some adjustments. It ended up making an impact on my time, since it didn't fit into my 'schedule', such as it is.

A number of the expats I've met here have left or are leaving soon. Some are 'vacationing' or touring other areas of Ecuador, some are going back home (which means the US or Canada, in all cases). All have told me it is temporary and will be returning to Cuenca. I hope to keep in touch, since one of the things I've consciously done here is cultivate other expats, since they're the trailblazers that have helped me in this exploratory visit, and I will be relying on them to make the transition easier when I come back here to live.

I really haven't done a lot I haven't written about before, so this next bit is going to be a bit shorter (I heard that cheer!), and unordered.

• I have never lived or visited any place with better weather. Even when it rains, it seems like a pleasant rain. I have never closed the windows in my hotel room, never been cold or hot this entire stay.

• What initially seemed like my arthritis (active in both knees) acting up may have been getting used to the altitude. My knees were hurting for the first week or so, but after a couple of weeks of being careful not to stress them too much, I was able to walk the approximately ten floors of stairs down and up from the Tomebamba River (which is in a gorge that cuts Cuenca in two) with no ill effect.

• I've been drinking tap water the whole time, not exclusively, but daily, and haven't been sick once.

• Many of the expats here have strategies to deal with the robbery or mugging 'problem'. A surprising (to me) number of them have been pick-pocketed or otherwise robbed. Not one has been injured, and not one that I have spoken with has decided to leave Cuenca due to this. I did hear one tell a story (second-hand information, unverified) about a friend of theirs who decided to move from Cuenca to Spain after being ripped off here. She found the problem worse in Spain, and moved back.

• Of the parts of Cuenca that I've seen, I've liked two different neighborhoods as prospects for renting an apartment.

• I've continued to find the people of Cuenca friendly, charming and helpful, both expats and native Cuencanos.

• I've been helping other gringo visitors find cool places to do things and find good food. The people who work in the places I've been hanging out the most now call me by name - another example of the friendly vibe of this town.

• One of the things I've turned some friends I've met on to is the Spanish class given by Chef Filipe of A Pedir de Boca - the restaurant I've returned to most often. My second (and last, this trip) class I had three friends join me, and they absolutely loved it! They loved the restaurant, too. Filipe is not just an amazing chef and a great teacher, he is a great example of a Cuencano who has pride in his city. He can seemingly answer any question with regards to the culture and customs - it's one of the good things about the class.

• I've made something of an accommodation with the early-for-me hours Cuenca seems to keep. Since arriving, I've only been out past midnight one time. But that is also the exact number of times I've taken advantage of my hotel's free breakfast, served between 8:00 and 10:00am. It's going to take me more than a month for me to make such a radical change in my lifestyle (getting up and out early in the morning - something I haven't done in Syracuse since I retired.

• I've still had no bigger upside surprise than the quality of the restaurants here. My downside surprise was the Carnaval celebration, which couldn't compare with my New Orleans experiences, nor what I've seen and read about in Rio de Janeiro or Buenos Aires. I am informed however that it is not Cuenca's biggest or most popular fiesta, as in those other places. The big one here comes around Christmas time.

• I bought a Panama hat. Cuenca is actually the world's largest seller of Panama hats - which are, and always have been, made in Ecuador, from Ecuadorian straw. The hat I came with, which was only a couple of months old, was fraying and so, in the Panama hat capital of the Universe, I bought a Panama hat. See the photo at top.

(I couldn't be happier with it. I have a lot of hats, a few of which are costly. This one was much less than the most expensive of those, but it is a very good, well-made hat, and the only hand-made hat I currently own.)

• I had a very good conversation with the man behind my favorite cup of coffee, Diego of Sinphonía Café. I tried a couple of different cups - French press and straight espresso, in addition to my usual choice, americano. All terrific. The ham and cheese baguette and vegetable quiche I had weren't bad at all, either.

• I went to an open mic I hadn't been to before. A very nice place, with a decent PA, and, as it turned out, good food at an excellent price. But! I was the only musician there, and one of only two people who came to perform. The other one was a young Ecuadorian actress who did dramatic readings, and a theatrical monolog, in Spanish, of course. What that meant was that I could appreciate the rhythm and inflection of her delivery, which was enough for me to enjoy!

(With no real options, I sang and accompanied myself on bass. It was as weird as you might think, but it was also kind of fun for me, and the audience, mostly Cuencanos, might have been overcompensating for their dismay, but they at least pretended to enjoy it. And kept asking for more. I told you the people here were kind.)

So, that's it. I fly to LA Sunday, to NY overnight Monday, arriving Tuesday, departing to Florida Friday. After a lot of fishing, I'll come back to Syracuse by April Fool's Day, and stay until next Winter.

Probably. If I've learned anything, it's that I cannot really predict the future. Man plans, God laughs.

Thank you for reading this far. Unless you just skipped all the reading and jumped to the end to look for the pictures. All cool with me, I hope I made it easy enough for you to find. Click HERE for the photos. The link is for the photo album:

Cuenca Feb 22-27, 2020

I'm grateful for this wonderful adventure, which has turned out so well.

Food Comment

From Kamaq Gastro, Arte y Cultura: This bad boy is the Kamaq Advanced Double Burger. which wraps its two patties, sautéed mushrooms, onions and peppers, it's fried egg and lettuce, tomato, avocado and cheese, in two potato pancakes instead of a bun. It's the first hamburger I've ever eaten with a fork and knife.

I mentioned eating a nice piece of vegetable quiche at Sinphonía Café above. Here's the photo.

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Thank you!

#2421: What a difference a week makes in Cuenca

Post 2421

- 9 years and 52 days since I started this blog -

  

Journal
(written about Feb 16-Feb 21, 2020)

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 10 years ago I started this blog as a food journal. I had a medical situation and needed to lose weight. Initially, that's all I did here: Journal my food intake and my weight. It contributed to helping me lose 20+% of my body weight in 6 months, and continuing it has kept me on track since then. I started adding commentary after a while, but lately it that has become less frequent. 

While I'm traveling, I let go of the weight-tracking and food journaling, except for the occasional food shot when I've eaten something interesting (or visually appealing, or both). And that's where we find ourselves now.

It's been a week.

One thing that is true about me is that I'm easy to please. There's a threshold of enjoyment, and the bar isn't that high, but once breeched, I'm good. >

Cuenca breached that threshold easily. There was enthusiasm from other North Americans that had already moved here. The charm of the Cuencanos. The near-perfect weather. The culture I've not even made a good start in getting familiar with. The good music I got to hear and play. The very low cost of living. The surprisingly good food.

I collected all those positives with nary a mention of the downsides. All that was before I saw or heard about any of the negatives. This third week here, I've been exposed to the other side.

I don't think the negative opinions and experiences sum up to a good argument against living in Cuenca, but they are being taken into consideration.

In no particular order, here's some of the stuff that happened this week:

I had what I think was the best cup of coffee I ever had. At Sinfonia - Roaster and Cafeteria, I had the best cup of coffee I've had in Cuenca, or anywhere else. It was at very first taste, the best cup of coffee I've ever had.

At Sinfonia, the owner buys his choice of organic beans directly from local, Fair-Trade, organic farmers. He roasts the beans (in the store) in small batches. He is a trained barista, and so, apparently, is his staff. I think the very brief tree-to-cup time has everything to do with how amazingly flavorful and complex this cup was.

I've been drinking coffee since I was fifteen. Then, I tried to make it taste as much like coffee ice cream as I could.

When I was nineteen, I was in Pittsburgh, and met a friend who ground their own beans for coffeee. He was a super-cool guy, a partner at Free Being Records, one of the hippest record stores I ever knew of. He explained that a cup of great coffee, made well, from good beans, was no more than a penny or two more expensive than supermarket ground coffee, so could be enjoyed by anyone. Even with milk and sugar added, I could taste the difference. It made sense to me. I began buying all my coffee at Zabar's.

Seven years later I was asked, by a restaurateur I was doing some audio installation work for, to taste-test different grinds of coffee - he was trying to calibrate a new grinder.

When I said, I didn't drink coffee black, he and the chef (his wife) gave me a lecture about coffee appreciation. That's when I started drinking coffee black, and I've never gone back.

Am I boring you talking about coffee? Sorry. It was a big moment and a great experience for me, drinking that cup of delicious coffee

That was probably the high point, of the last few days, but there was other good stuff.

Another thing I found was some phenomenal Ecuadorian chocolate. Pacari. Ecuadorian chocolate is among the best in the world, but unlike coffee, the plight of cacao producers is, well, much worse. It is really hard to produce good beans. But they're doing it in Ecuador, and in the very recent past, Ecuador has developed a reputation for great chocolate.

It is. I'm enjoying some a dark chocolate with chili bar right now. Yes, I wish I could share. But, sorry.

I had a nearly-three-hour immersion Spanish class that left me feeling stupid, but I got over that pretty quickly (secret of my success: Forgive myself quickly - AKA, get over yourself), and I'm going to go back.

I had some beers in a bar (imagine that) where the owner challenged me to name a song he didn't have in his collection. He came up with Joy of Cooking's 'Closer to the Ground' and the Blue Magic's 'Sideshow' and the Stylistics' 'People Make the World Go Round' and I happily admitted defeat. Very happily. The beer was good, too.

That was where I met a guy that made an impression on me, in a negative way. After a very affable conversation about where we were from, and my questioning how he'd come to live in Cuenca, he told me how much he liked it here, but then went to great descriptive lengths concerning the fortified, walled-off ("12 effin' feet high and electric") fortress he'd built himself.

I mentally checked out. I think I understand that kind of thinking, but don't like or agree with it.

To be fair, I don't feel like I have anything to protect (freedom being just another word for nothing left to lose), and I wouldn't want to live in a place where I felt like that. But the way some people think about it, there isn't another option, which is part of the problem I have with that kind of thinking. They're trapped by their possessions. I won't be, although I'm not quite there yet.

At a restaurant called A Pedir de Boca, which is also where the immersion Spanish class was held, and is a place I really like a lot, I met with a facilitator, Isabel. A facilitator is someone who, for a fee, helps with any issues involved with relocating to Ecuador, mainly getting residency. It's a profession that sprang up when some educated Ecuadorans realized that lawyers were getting all the expat trade to get their visas, when the process didn't require an actual lawyer, just someone who knew the rules and how to work the system.

Many facilitators also serve as all-purpose concierge, and will be helpful in finding a place to live, and dealing with a lot of other aspects of moving to a new country. (Foreshadowing).

It was a very positive meeting. Isabel speaks perfect English. She came with the highest recommendation from someone whose recommendations have checked out 100% - in fact, he is a client, even after seven years here in Cuenca.

Every question I asked was met with an answer. Visa stuff, financial stuff, health insurance stuff. She boasts (and so far, no one has come forward to contradict her) a 100% success rate getting visas. And other people attest to her compassion and honesty and helpfulness.

Beyond making Isabel's acquaintance, at lunch we had Cuencano Carnaval soup, special, made once a year. I have no idea what's in it. Dozens of ingredients were easily visible in it, and it tasted amazing. One of the best soup meals I've had anywhere.

In counterpoint, my visit to what is reputedly Cuenca's best Thai restaurant was less successful. The spring rolls were wrong. Too big, too many too-thick layers of dough in the wrapping, not as many, or as correct, veggies in the filling. They weren't bad, but they weren't Thai-like. The drunken noodles with chicken that followed won't bring me back, even though the level of spice was exactly as asked for (that isn't easy anywhere).

Working with what's available and fresh is desirable, but here it means you don't have all the desired ingredients for authentic Thai. The cost was on the high-side, too, compared to what the dish would have cost in Chiang Mai. And that includes a multiple for being on the other side of the planet. It should have cost twice as much, and it cost three or four times as much.

Much better is the Kamaq Burger at the Wednesday night jam (at Kamaq Gastro Arte and Cultura), where, in addition to a really good meal (I think the young chef in the open kitchen is very talented) I had another great musical outing, got to play a lot and with some good musicians I'd played with before. I also had the luxury of a sound check that let the audience and musicians hear better what I was playing. From comments I got thaat was a good thing.

As I said, I played a lot, got a lot of love, and had a good meal. I also got turned on to another open mic, and invited to (maybe) play at one of the guys' gigs. This is good. More playing time is good.

I met an expat who doesn't seem to like Cuenca, where she's lived for a year-and-a-half, after living in many foreign countries, including ten years in China, immediately preceding her move to Cuenca. She doesn't like the food. She thinks the people are lazy. She thinks Cuenca is boring. She was interesting to talk with. She did not discuss plans to move away. I understand some of her complaints, but can't see where her attitude and experiences intersect with mine.

The difference seems to be in her ambitions and expectations. She's not retired, she's doing business here. If I were the slightest bit ambitious, if I were in any way entrepreneurial, I might feel more like her. But that's not where I am, and has little to do with where I've been on my way to now.

Instead, one of my advantages in all the travels I've done is that I travel light, in every way. I'm not looking to do a deal, I'm not hustling. I'm a lot more curious than judgmental. I may be rich compared to the residents of the places I'm checking out (not the case always - looking at you, Lisbon), but there's little more than my phone that shows it, and my phone is three models old. I don't have much, materially, to lose.

I've met one of those people that make you feel like you've always known them. He's staying at the same hotel. He's Anthony, from Connecticut. He's about eight years younger than me, heavily involved in music, and has been coming to Cuenca for years, although he still lives in New Canaan. He's had a lot of music business experience, talks about players he knows (when he saw my Steinberger, he told me a story about having to pick one up from Sam Ashe for Felix Pappalardi, a pretty famous bass player and producer (Mountain)), but I don't think he's played at professional level.

We met when he came up to the smoking terrace where i was having a puff and talking on the phone. He wanted to tell me something and ask a question.

What he wanted to tell me was that when I was talking on the terrace, talking on the phone, everybody in the hotel could hear me - some kind of weird acoustic phenomenon, since the terrace is on the roof at one side of the building. He just thought I should know that the previous night, when I was having an animated conversation around 11:30pm, I might have been keeping everyone awake.

He didn't sound angry - I think he thought it was humorous. But he introduced himself, and we talked a bit, then he got to the question: What was the restaurant where I had gotten the great fish dish he had heard me raving about on the phone last night?

A kindred soul.

Thursday, February 20th, was the beginning of Carnaval here.

I have been very happily looking forward to it. But the on-the-ground reality has been a bit disappointing.

Carnaval in Cuenca is a bit different than other Carnaval celebrations I'm familiar with, mainly New Orleans, in person, but through media, the other famous ones in Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain.

This Carnaval came with a warning: Don't bring your phone, or carry more money than you might use. Don't wear good clothes. Stay on the main, well-lit streets.

It turns out, Carnaval in Cuenca is not a very old tradition. The City celebration was actually started in the back-half of the twentieth century as a tourist attraction.

It became a big celebration which Cuencanos celebrate with big aerosol spray-cans of foam and water guns. And sometimes eggs. It becomes a big, loud, sloppy birthday party for 8-year olds.

Very recently, it's become complicated by world events. The Northern Andean countries have become home for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees, and, including in Cuenca, with them has come elevated levels of crime, especially property crime.

Let me be clear: I don't think all, or even most Venezuelan refugees are criminals. But their presence in poor countries - Ecuador IS a poor country - strains all systems. Turns up the heat under the pressure-cooker.
>
With the big crowds of people that attend these festivities, along with the pushing, shoving and temporary blindness with getting water and foam in your eyes, thieves and pick-pockets (always the prevalent local crime, 'way before Venezuelans) have a field day.

Last year, on the last day of Carnaval, they busted a pair of thieves with over 250 cell-phones.

I was warned by literally every expat and Cuencano I talked to in the days leading up to the Thursday night Cuenca Carnaval Kickoff (I just made up that name - it's a concert in a nearby park in El Centro). A number of them say the avoid all the areas where the celebrations are going on during Carnaval, and a few recommended I skip it, as well.

I wore what I wouldn't mind washing or, in extreme, tossing. I put a paper clip on $15, carried in my front jeans pocket. My hotel key was in the other front pocket; I walked six blocks to San Francisco Plaza, ground zero for the party.

Halfway there, I saw people coming in the other direction, flecks of foam on their clothes and in their hair. Mostly smiling. Lots of children with spray cans, sometimes unleashing their foam randomly. Sometimes just over their heads, into the air - not necessarily a good thing for those around them more than three feet tall.

Two blocks away, and the streets were lined with people selling cans of foam (really BIG cans of foam) and super-soaker water cannons. I decided to see what it was like before I bought any.

I'm not sure what I expected. I knew it would be nothing like the floats and parades of New Orleans. What it was, was a big, loud concert in a large, open plaza (see my selfie of the plaza during a non-event day - it's where the red Cuenca sculpture lives). I didn't like the music as I approached, liked it a lot less when I got in front of it, in the kill zone. I thought, this is not a healthy volume to expose children to, and the children were everywhere.

And everywhere, people sprayed people with foam. I saw signs of thrown eggs, but didn't see any thrown. I was foamed a bit, not covered, though, from hat to shoes. I don't actually know what's in the foam, but it wipes off almost like a solid, and doesn't stain, as far as i can tell after the fact.

But I wasn't entertained. There was little visual spectacle, no parade. Just blasting euro-pop, too loud, and people covered in foam wanting to cover you in foam.

I walked through the crowds in the plaza and then a couple of blocks to Parque Calderón, which was towards my hotel. I was blowing off Carnaval before the celebration was officially an hour old.

But I was wrong. People were celebrating in Parque Calderón, too. There was music, better music, but this time it was recorded music with live singers. Celebratory karaoke. Thanks, no. And, okay, foam, I get it, I'll leave it.

Humming 'Mama Told Me Not to Come' to myself, it's an early night for me. Next morning, I read about accounts of people who've had their phones and/or wallets stolen, even with precautions taken.

Next night, I've been invited to a concert at a small coffee shop on one side of Parque Calderón. I'd been there before, nice place and they support live music. As I approach, I see the street has been closed to traffic, and at the corner, almost right in front of the place, they've built a big-ass stage, where there is a very large salsa-pop show band playing really good music really loudly. I know before I get there my promised music won't be happening, and sure enough, the place is closed.

But the band is great, and standing to the left-rear of the stage, I am away from the crowds, the foam, the water and... I'm enjoying the music! I'm dancing by myself. I'm counting time to the bass-lines, and I hope I can remember some of the licks I'm hearing.

I love a good horn band, or a band with good vocals and harmonies, and this band has 'em both. The front (which I can see the back of) four - a trombone-playing lead singer and three female vocalists in traditional dresses - everybody in the band is wearing the same cowboy hat are fully choreographed, and what I can hear of every instrument says every member of this band is on.

The crowd is going crazy, too. They're yelling, fully participate in call-and-response parts (about every third song). I have no idea at all who I'm listening to, but I have to think the Cuencanos enduring, or maybe enjoying, getting coverd in foam by two giant foam cannons in their very midst, know exactly who's they're listening to.

I hang for a couple of hours, wishing that I had felt this safe and easy last night, wishing I had brought my phone (feeling very much out of harm's way) so that I could show you what I was talking about. Then I enjoy some ice cream, and head for home thinking how this more than makes up for last night.

A few hours of a few days of the year when it's better to avoid the 'fun' in El Centro don't stack up against even the three weeks I've been avoiding nothing except walking up and down more than two flights of stairs.

I can't determine, to my own satisfaction, how productively or interestingly I've spent my  time here this week, but during the course of the week I decided that, instead of pursuing the next city on my list, I'm going to come back to Cuenca, with the idea of relocating here.

I don't have a precise timetable, but when I come back, I'll bring whatever documents i need, plan on staying three months, and, if Cuenca still suits me then like it does now, apply for residency.

I think I've already articulated the reasons why: basically, the ease I sense living here would endow. High in the Andes, I sense that I could be up on Cripple Creek, if you know what I mean.

You've been pretty patient with me, so here's some thanks in the form of a small album of photos. (Click the preceding, or HERE to view).

I'm grateful for all my experiences, and for the amazing life that somehow got me to right here, right now.

Food Comment

This is a picture of the best cup of coffee I've ever had. The ultimate americano, thanks to Sinfonia - Tostadoria y Cafeteria.

Pasta Mariscados and a salad - incredibly good food (seriously one of the best fish dinners I'be ever eaten) at the Argentine restaurant, La Esquina. So. Much. Seafood: Clams, mussels, langoustine, crab, octopus, sea bass, scallops. Oh, my!

Excellent hueves rancheros and blackberry juice from Cafe de Nucallacta. Coffee recently dethroned as my favorite in Cuenca - but still very good.

Carnaval soup from a Pedir de Boca. What's in it? I think, everything, except for eggs (but I don't know). The protein was pork and chicken, although it was available in a vegetarian version. Amazingly complex, an absolutely spectacular meal.

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