Long live the Cuenca

The first excitement and total overwhelm are gradually fading... The feeling of familiarity and a kind of 'routine' are settling in.

We were told several times that we chose the perfect time to arrive here in Cuenca. Why? Let's take a moment to look back on the past few days together.

As if the two Catholic holidays, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, were not enough, the Independence Day of Cuenca (achieved in 1820 - on November 3rd) adds to the mix.

We can tell you one thing, you really get used to everything. By now, not even the rooster, who remains faithful to his routine, can wake us up with his loud crowing in the early morning.

Only the nuns seem to follow his wake-up call... incredible, but the convent comes to life already starting from 5 am. The morning routine includes prayers, mass, and preparing breakfast for the entire convent family, of which we are now also part.

A lot of consideration has been given, and is still being given, to the newcomers, because we are still not completely up to speed.

Bakery masters Simone and Michi

Even though we are still enjoying the easy program, there is definitely no such thing as boredom. Just finished a delicious lunch and suddenly we find ourselves in the bakery.

Here we would like to tell you about a great project of the convent. Sister Tania, la chefa de la panaderia, is currently working here with four young mothers to make delicious bread.

The aim of this project is that the women can earn money on one hand, on the other hand they are taught sufficient knowledge of this craft and new professional perspectives are created.

It enables them to use what they have learned in other companies, to pass on experiences, or even to run their own bakery. No way seems too far... that's what we learn from Victor, an 8-year-old boy, who tells us that his mother travels one hour every day to come and work here.

We find the atmosphere in the bakery very pleasant, funny, and warm. We are particularly impressed by the respectful and appreciative interaction between the nuns and the 'bakery mistresses'.

If we're already in the bakery, we might as well put our more or less nimble fingers to use. The top priority of today... producing lots of bread babies.

Culture lesson #1

We can now introduce you to the first tradition of Ecuador that we have come to know.

On the 'Día de los difuntos', which is All Souls' Day, you can hardly escape the Guagua-Pan (pronounced wawa) and Colada Morada. The small, beautifully decorated baby bread, shines at you from every little bakery, every market, and every street stand. This is accompanied by the warm-served drink Colada Morada... the typical dark purple color is given to the drink by the black corn flour (yes, that actually exists) and the multitude of fresh blackberries. The whole thing is refined with various tropical fruits and immediately conquers our hearts.

Apparently we did a good job and left an excellent impression while making the bread babies, because the next day we had the honor of packaging 1200 freshly baked hot dog buns (which are made every day). 10 pieces are sold for 1 dollar each and the money ultimately goes to the 'Panadaria' project.

We can add two more Ecuadorian dishes to our culinary list.

Pan de Yucca >>> Bread dough made from yucca root, eggs, and cream cheese. Quite chewy between the teeth but that doesn't detract from the taste of these small bread rolls.

Humitas >>> Cornmeal with sugar and cheese steamed in a corn husk. We knew that South America would probably be inexpensive BUT for the grand total of 1.50 €, we got this fine meal including 2 cups of tea at the Cafecito de la abuela (Grandma's coffee).

Shopping the Ecuadorian way

Simone and Michi's adventures continue... On Saturday, November 3rd, Sister Tania took us to the 'Feria Libre', the largest market in Cuenca. We had no idea that it stretches across several blocks and is so huge. Without Tania, we would have definitely gotten lost among the gigantic piles of bananas and the countless individual fruit and vegetable stands (the selection... mind-boggling).

One dollar... we heard that from all sides. Culture shock included, of course. Apart from the meat and fish lying in the sun, everything seemed very clean and the fruits/vegetables of the best quality.

That sounds like Spanish to me...

It's incredible how tirelessly Señora Simonita is learning Spanish as if there's no tomorrow. She can sit there for hours and you can really feel the proverbial light bulb going off in her head. Michi, the personal professor whose knowledge is also seriously put to the test, often hears: 'Hey, Michi, how do you say this?', 'I have one more question', 'Why is it like that?' etc.

The progress is confirmed when dear Sister Eva says again that she has already improved significantly. But she doesn't miss an opportunity to occasionally test and challenge Simone as well.

To relieve Professor Michi a little bit, a proper language school is needed - so onto the school bench. We can recommend Amauta, in the center of Cuenca, where we have been enjoying the benefits of private lessons for several days now. We are learning not only the language itself but also the culture of Ecuador step by step through our nice teachers (Katalina and Miriam).

Our free time is currently shrinking a bit. The mornings are busy with going to school, in the afternoons we are now allowed to entertain the little ones, or rather they entertain us.

In the evenings, our heads spin while doing homework, our nerves occasionally reach their limits - nothing is given to you for free.

The thirst for beer, the craving for coffee and cake, as well as Ecuadorian delicacies, can now be satisfied better. The city is becoming more and more familiar to us, and we are constantly discovering new locations.

Living here is really great.