Every Day is a New Adventure

     We have just finished our second week in Ecuador.  I think I speak for both John and I when I say, this country is growing on us.  On Tuesday, we headed to Cuenca to meet with our attorneys to get our visas registered here in Ecuador so we can apply for our Cedulas (Ecuadorian identification card). We hopped on the local bus in front of our house which took us into La Libertad which is about 10-15 minutes away ($.25/per person).  From the bus terminal in La Libertad we took a bus to Guayaquil which took about 2 1/2 hours ($3.30/per person).  We watched a movie on the bus which was in Spanish and subtitled in Spanish, but we were able to get the general idea.  The bus station in Guayaquil was awesome.  It was like a huge shopping mall with multiple floors, lots of shops and restaurants. We didn't have much time to spend there as we were soon boarding the bus to head to Cuenca ($8.00/per person). This would be the longest leg of our trip. Also our most interesting.  We travelled through the mountains with absolutely gorgeous scenery and many switchbacks.  The trip was going great and then our bus driver and his helper decided to switch places.  I think the helper was just learning how to drive or something.  They stopped right in the middle of a hill, in the middle of the road to switch. Then we heard the gears grinding. Several times.  It took the new driver about half an hour to get the hang on how to shift.  We made it safely to Cuenca where we met up with Roger and Suzanne Yazell.  Roger and I became Facebook friends through my friend, Debbie in Phoenix.  The Yazells took us around Cuenca, showing us some of the beautiful architecture and local merchants.  We met with our attorneys the following morning and quickly found out we were going to have to stay in Cuenca an additional night.  Our passports were going to be held overnight so they could check everything out before we were registered.  We made use of our time by visiting a store to pick out the tile for our house (they have the same store in Guayaquil so we knew our contractor could get it there).  Since I had purchased two beautiful table clothes from an Ecuadorian merchant the night before, I was excited to have time to purchase a couple more.  Our trip back to Punta Carnero was pretty uneventful and went pretty quick. So quick that we didn't have time to use the restroom in Guayaquil and when we got on the bus we noticed there was no bathroom this time (every other bus we were on had one).  It got a little uncomfortable towards the end of our trip.
Slowly but surely, we are starting to figure things out here.  We have so much to learn, but that is what makes each day a new adventure for us.  (And an additional note, the total round trip cost per person for our bus trip was $23.10).