Just a short post today. Still a bit bleary, and not from the Vodka. Left my place at 4:00 PM on Thursday for a 7:50 PM flight to London and then on to Moscow. Finally got to Moscow at about 4:00 PM (there time) on Friday. See, "there time" was a bit of a pun. Normally you would say "their time" but it was the time there, or actually here, now. I am very amusing when I am bleary. Caught our bus to the boat and that was another two hour ride, and that was after spending a couple of hours in the airport clearing immigration and customs. More on that in a minute.
Anyway, we had our dinner, listened to a short description of our trip and life aboard our boat. Then a gin and tonic and off to bed where I slept until 9:15 AM this morning. Would have slept longer except the maid woke us up. Good thing too, breakfast was over at 10:00 PM. Now the Mysterious Chinese Woman is listening to a talk on Russian souvenirs and then we have lunch and are off on an afternoon tour that runs into the evening. Busy day, but we get to go shopping at GUM, the famous huge Moscow department store. Oh, and we get to ride the subway. It is supposed to be spectacular.
I learned that "Kremlin" means "Castle" in Russian ao although when we in the United States hear the word we automatically think of the one in Moscow, in Russia there are many Kremlins and you need to specify which one you are talking about. See, this trip is already educational.
Okay, immigration and customs. In one respect, it was a piece of cake. No forms to fill out (already had my visa) and just walked through customs. The fiasco was the mob scene at the immigration booths. There were no line markings and one sign pointed to a dead end. As a result you had a mob pushing forward trying to get through. Finally the military or police (big guys dressed in riot gear) arrived on the scene to try to instill some order. They tried to get everyone to move back, but they did it from the front and you literally could not take a step back due to the crush from behind. In all my years I have never been in a mob quite like it. And there really was no need for it, that I could see, other than there was no one there initially to try to instill any order and there were no markings to indicate where lines should form. It did look like part of the immigration area, the one where the signs were pointing, was closed for renovations or something, so that probably added to, or actually caused, the whole mess.
Anyway, had the best beef stroganoff that I have ever had for dinner last night and a light breakfast of smoked salmon and Champagne for breakfast this morning, so I am now ready to face the day. I wish the coffee was a bit better, it tastes like Taster's Choice instant or something, but I have had much worse.
Buying my rubles in advance wasn't really necessary because they do have ATMs here that dispense them. But the one benefit was that I was able to buy a beer in the Moscow Airport to tide me over while waiting for our bus to depart.
Tomorrow I should have more free time as well as pictures so look for a longer post. I seem to have a pretty good internet connection on the boat, at least here in Moscow where we will be spending a few days before continuing on. Until then, well, whatever the Russian word for "adios" may be.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Vegetarians, Beware
I see that I already had posted about my guinea pig dinner. Kind of thought I might have, but wasn't sure.
Fresh and organic foodies, eat your heart out. This is the Ecuadorean equivalent of our supermarkets. I know there are at least two in town, I stumbled upon them, and maybe more.
An Ecuadorean Supermarket
These places are huge multi-story affairs. The first floor seems to be devoted to produce.
The Vegetable Section
But, being a carnivore at heart, I spent most of my time in the meat section. It was a market onto itself, with what I took to be independent merchants hawking their wares.
A Carnivores Heaven
But they also had an aisle long set of booths or stands where fresh fruit and vegetable drinks were being prepared to either their or your recipe.
Bar Man Loves Blended Drinks
Sadly, no rum. These markets are alcohol free.
The places selling roasted pig were offering free samples, and once I get the taste of pork, well, there is no stopping me.
I Want My Pork And I Want It Now
I was polite about it. Everyone in Ecuador seems to be very polite. A very civil and friendly town. I asked for fried pork skin, one of my favorites. I thought I would get some in a bag. But then this mother and daughter team had other ideas.
Hmm, Not Going To Be In A Bag
What I got was a decent size plate of pork skin, chunks of pork, posale, onions, tomatoes, and potato dumplings. I shared it with the Mysterious Ones and it did for lunch.
Lunch For Three
It doesn't look like a whole lot, but that pork was so fresh and succulent that it was a sensory overload and so rich that it didn't take much to satiate you. And I think that plate was, at the most, two-and-a-half bucks.
Man, if I lived in Cuenca I would definitely be doing a lot of barbecuing. And the fresh vegetables are an inspiration as well.
You know what I didn't see much of, lamb. You see sheep all over but Ecuadoreans just raise them for their wool and for milk. They don't seem inclined to eat them.
Fresh and organic foodies, eat your heart out. This is the Ecuadorean equivalent of our supermarkets. I know there are at least two in town, I stumbled upon them, and maybe more.
An Ecuadorean Supermarket
These places are huge multi-story affairs. The first floor seems to be devoted to produce.
The Vegetable Section
But, being a carnivore at heart, I spent most of my time in the meat section. It was a market onto itself, with what I took to be independent merchants hawking their wares.
A Carnivores Heaven
But they also had an aisle long set of booths or stands where fresh fruit and vegetable drinks were being prepared to either their or your recipe.
Bar Man Loves Blended Drinks
Sadly, no rum. These markets are alcohol free.
The places selling roasted pig were offering free samples, and once I get the taste of pork, well, there is no stopping me.
I Want My Pork And I Want It Now
I was polite about it. Everyone in Ecuador seems to be very polite. A very civil and friendly town. I asked for fried pork skin, one of my favorites. I thought I would get some in a bag. But then this mother and daughter team had other ideas.
Hmm, Not Going To Be In A Bag
What I got was a decent size plate of pork skin, chunks of pork, posale, onions, tomatoes, and potato dumplings. I shared it with the Mysterious Ones and it did for lunch.
Lunch For Three
It doesn't look like a whole lot, but that pork was so fresh and succulent that it was a sensory overload and so rich that it didn't take much to satiate you. And I think that plate was, at the most, two-and-a-half bucks.
Man, if I lived in Cuenca I would definitely be doing a lot of barbecuing. And the fresh vegetables are an inspiration as well.
You know what I didn't see much of, lamb. You see sheep all over but Ecuadoreans just raise them for their wool and for milk. They don't seem inclined to eat them.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
And Now A Word From Our Sponsor
Okay, a couple of things. I have been a bit lazy since returning from Cuenca and still need to go through and sort out my pictures to catch up on my trip. Then, on Monday, I went to a birthday party for my friend Arden. It was held at Waterfront Ale House and I have some pictures of that to post too.
But first, I wanted to post a blurb about a book my sister-in-law's husband wrote. Now you might think that would make him my brother-in-law, but you would be wrong. A brother-in-law is the brother of one's wife or husband or the husband of one's sister. Husbands of sister-in-law's don't count.
The book is a Western Science Fiction tale that involves a time-traveling cowboy, Watt O'Hugh, who has seen his own death and is trying to write his autobiography before he catches up with his vision. Or something like that, I am not quite sure. It is convoluted but interesting. It is the first book of a planned triology, ao you may want to jump on board early.
If you would like to read more about it, or order it, you can check out the following link:
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/indie/steven-s-drachman/ghosts-watt-ohugh/
Additional information on the book and how to purchase it can be found by following this link:
http:///www.Watt-OHugh.com/
More about my trip to Cuenca tomorrow, I promise. Must tell you about my guinea pig dinner. Or did I already? Everything is begining to blur.
But first, I wanted to post a blurb about a book my sister-in-law's husband wrote. Now you might think that would make him my brother-in-law, but you would be wrong. A brother-in-law is the brother of one's wife or husband or the husband of one's sister. Husbands of sister-in-law's don't count.
Not Really A Sponsor
The book is a Western Science Fiction tale that involves a time-traveling cowboy, Watt O'Hugh, who has seen his own death and is trying to write his autobiography before he catches up with his vision. Or something like that, I am not quite sure. It is convoluted but interesting. It is the first book of a planned triology, ao you may want to jump on board early.
If you would like to read more about it, or order it, you can check out the following link:
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/indie/steven-s-drachman/ghosts-watt-ohugh/
Additional information on the book and how to purchase it can be found by following this link:
http:///www.Watt-OHugh.com/
More about my trip to Cuenca tomorrow, I promise. Must tell you about my guinea pig dinner. Or did I already? Everything is begining to blur.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Road Trip - Part Two
In case you forgot, after eating our fill of roasted piggie, we headed to:
Ingapirca
A wee bit of history to bore you with before my pictures. The original inhabitants of the area where the ruins stand were the Canari. They were defeated by the Incas, but they did not go down easily. After the Incas finally defeated them they did not eliminate them nor did they fully assimilate them. Instead the Incas and Canari lived in relative harmony, but with the Incas maintaining firm control and regarding themselves and vastly superior to the Canari. Kind of like how Yankee fans regard Mets fans. The Incas also selected wives from the Canari. I don't know if Yankee fans ever marry Mets fans, though.
The Incas were allowed to have multiple wives, but I forget just how many. The men, however, did not live with the women. I guess if you have a lot of wives this would be a wise arrangement.
Before viewing the ruins themselves we first spent some time in a museum which held artifacts found around the site and some bones as well. They made ceramic pottery and stone carvings and were also adept at fashioning implements out of copper. Without a great deal of commentary, because I don't have much information to impart, I will simply post the pictures.
\>
The last picture was of particular interest to Bar Man. It is a large jug that was used to ferment corn in order to produce their equivalent of beer. Hey, multiple wives, living with the guys and drinking beer. Sounds like a pretty good life. Now if they only had televised sports it would be darn near perfect.
The Incas worshiped the sun and the moon and the grounds of Ingapirca are laid out to represent them. That way no matter where you were in the compound, and even in the surrounding mountains, you could look down and take comfort from seeing the representations of your gods.
Just Use Your Imagination
Because this site was a ceremonial place, large feasts were held and so there were storage and cooking facilities to serve the huge crowds that would gather.
Storage Bins
All that are left are the bases, but these were more like silos and could hold quite a bit of food-stuffs and also rendered fat from animals. Although the Incas ate meat, the didn't consider freshly killed meat to be edible so they would cure it in salt. This also facilitated storing it for future use.
Although the Incas co-existed with the Canari, as I mentioned, the Incas considered themselves to be vastly superior. In fact just making direct eye-contact with an Inca was an offense punishable by death, usually by being decapitated.
The Chopping Block
When an Inca died his body would be displayed for a few days and the deceased relatives would gather and mourn. We saw the equivalent of a funeral parlor with a place for the body to be displayed, not too unlike our modern viewings or wakes.
Where The Body Was Displayed
The body was placed on the circular area of stones and the foundations behind it were the rooms where the mourners could stay.
I had mentioned how the Inca houses had doors that faced the east and a niche with a gold item to catch the sunlight and illuminate the house. You can see where this was necessary, because the houses had no windows.
A Typical House
Efrain And Me Taking A Break
You will remember that this was the second half of our tour so rests were welcome whenever we had a chance to take them.
These pictures don't really do justice to the ruins themselves, but they will give you some idea of what we saw.
You Really Need To Be Here
It really was impressive to see the quality of the stone work. After all of the hundreds of years so much of the structure is still intact and you can see how precisely the stonework all fits together.
And they had their equivalent to Mount Rushmore as well.
His Name Was Teddy
And Yes, We Were Here
The face had two primary functions. First, it warned any approaching enemies that they were about to encounter an enemy they may want to avoid. And it also served as a welcome to Incas returning or coming here for the first time.
And then it was time to return home after an fun and fact filled day. And thanks, again, Efrain for providing us with an informative and thourougly enjoyable tour. And thanks for being willing to take multiple pictures with multiple cameras all day long. If we are ever in Cuenca again we will be sure to look you up. And when you get back to Queens we will have to get together. Maybe for dim sum in Chinatown.
We are all heading home tomorrow morning so this will be my last post until after I return. I still have plenty of pictures to post so I will be doing a bit of catch up. I do want to say that our stay here in Cuenca was most enjoyable and it wouldn't surprise me at all if I come back again for a visit. If I do I will certainly stay at the the same hotel because the accommodations wre great and the people running the place were extremely friendly and helpful. In fact everyone we ran into in Cuenca was that way. People would even walk out of their way to show you where to go if you asked them for direction. The name of the hotel, in case you ever want to visit, is Casa Ordonez and if you check it out on Trip Advisor you will see almost nothing but good reviews by people who have stayed here.
And, of course, you will have to look up Efrain of Mio Tours for simply fantastic excursions with a great guy.
Ingapirca
A wee bit of history to bore you with before my pictures. The original inhabitants of the area where the ruins stand were the Canari. They were defeated by the Incas, but they did not go down easily. After the Incas finally defeated them they did not eliminate them nor did they fully assimilate them. Instead the Incas and Canari lived in relative harmony, but with the Incas maintaining firm control and regarding themselves and vastly superior to the Canari. Kind of like how Yankee fans regard Mets fans. The Incas also selected wives from the Canari. I don't know if Yankee fans ever marry Mets fans, though.
The Incas were allowed to have multiple wives, but I forget just how many. The men, however, did not live with the women. I guess if you have a lot of wives this would be a wise arrangement.
Before viewing the ruins themselves we first spent some time in a museum which held artifacts found around the site and some bones as well. They made ceramic pottery and stone carvings and were also adept at fashioning implements out of copper. Without a great deal of commentary, because I don't have much information to impart, I will simply post the pictures.
\>
The last picture was of particular interest to Bar Man. It is a large jug that was used to ferment corn in order to produce their equivalent of beer. Hey, multiple wives, living with the guys and drinking beer. Sounds like a pretty good life. Now if they only had televised sports it would be darn near perfect.
The Incas worshiped the sun and the moon and the grounds of Ingapirca are laid out to represent them. That way no matter where you were in the compound, and even in the surrounding mountains, you could look down and take comfort from seeing the representations of your gods.
Just Use Your Imagination
Because this site was a ceremonial place, large feasts were held and so there were storage and cooking facilities to serve the huge crowds that would gather.
Storage Bins
All that are left are the bases, but these were more like silos and could hold quite a bit of food-stuffs and also rendered fat from animals. Although the Incas ate meat, the didn't consider freshly killed meat to be edible so they would cure it in salt. This also facilitated storing it for future use.
Although the Incas co-existed with the Canari, as I mentioned, the Incas considered themselves to be vastly superior. In fact just making direct eye-contact with an Inca was an offense punishable by death, usually by being decapitated.
The Chopping Block
When an Inca died his body would be displayed for a few days and the deceased relatives would gather and mourn. We saw the equivalent of a funeral parlor with a place for the body to be displayed, not too unlike our modern viewings or wakes.
Where The Body Was Displayed
The body was placed on the circular area of stones and the foundations behind it were the rooms where the mourners could stay.
I had mentioned how the Inca houses had doors that faced the east and a niche with a gold item to catch the sunlight and illuminate the house. You can see where this was necessary, because the houses had no windows.
A Typical House
Efrain And Me Taking A Break
You will remember that this was the second half of our tour so rests were welcome whenever we had a chance to take them.
These pictures don't really do justice to the ruins themselves, but they will give you some idea of what we saw.
You Really Need To Be Here
It really was impressive to see the quality of the stone work. After all of the hundreds of years so much of the structure is still intact and you can see how precisely the stonework all fits together.
And they had their equivalent to Mount Rushmore as well.
His Name Was Teddy
And Yes, We Were Here
The face had two primary functions. First, it warned any approaching enemies that they were about to encounter an enemy they may want to avoid. And it also served as a welcome to Incas returning or coming here for the first time.
And then it was time to return home after an fun and fact filled day. And thanks, again, Efrain for providing us with an informative and thourougly enjoyable tour. And thanks for being willing to take multiple pictures with multiple cameras all day long. If we are ever in Cuenca again we will be sure to look you up. And when you get back to Queens we will have to get together. Maybe for dim sum in Chinatown.
We are all heading home tomorrow morning so this will be my last post until after I return. I still have plenty of pictures to post so I will be doing a bit of catch up. I do want to say that our stay here in Cuenca was most enjoyable and it wouldn't surprise me at all if I come back again for a visit. If I do I will certainly stay at the the same hotel because the accommodations wre great and the people running the place were extremely friendly and helpful. In fact everyone we ran into in Cuenca was that way. People would even walk out of their way to show you where to go if you asked them for direction. The name of the hotel, in case you ever want to visit, is Casa Ordonez and if you check it out on Trip Advisor you will see almost nothing but good reviews by people who have stayed here.
And, of course, you will have to look up Efrain of Mio Tours for simply fantastic excursions with a great guy.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
A Belated Happy Fourth Of July From Cuenca
After over five years of the same old look I decided to change the appearance of this blog. This was partially due to my messing up the formatting of my old one. Let me know if you like this, I can always change it to something else, just not back to what it was.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Another Road Trip
We took another road trip with our now friend Efrain yesterday. This one was to visit a couple of Inca ruins. A most interesting and informative little trip. And it had the added benefit of providing us with a great cardiovascular workout. Well, everyone except the Mysterious Chinese Woman, whose little piston-like legs never seem to give in.
We Climbed To The Top
Okay, we didn't start at the bottom, I will grant you that. But we still had to do a fair amount of climbing to get from where we parked the car to the top.
And Here We Are, At The Top
Here Is Our Guide, Efrain
Efrain is very knowledgeable about Inca history and it was fun to listen to him explain stuff to us while we could actually see some of what he was talking about. When we got to the top of the mountain where the ruins were he explained how it commanded a sweeping view of the surrounding landscape so enemies could be seen from afar. Then he had us just listen and you could hear dogs barking and roosters crowing in the town way below. It brought home how the Incas could not only see, but also hear, if any enemies were trying to sneak up.
The Village Down Below
Efrain showed us the ruins of a typical Inca house and explained how all of the houses had doors that faced east so the morning sun would illuminate it.
Typical Inca House
The inside of the house had mumerous niches where various ornamental ceramics were displayed and the niche immediately facing the door would hold something made of gold. That way when the sun reflected off of it the whole house (it was a small house) would be illuminated.
They Have Found There Niche
I Found Mine As Well
This next picture give you a bit of an idea of the layout of the town or settlement, but of course it is just a small part of what the actual settlement must have looked like.
A View From Above
There was a much newer simple shelter put up on top to provide some protection from the rain. And believe me, it can be sunny one minute, raining the next, and bright sun again a few minutes later. Efrain said it was a tradition for those who climbed to the top to inscribe their names on one of the wooden beams. And who are we to break tradition.
Proof That We Were Here
And Proud Of It, Too
And just so you don't think this was just a walk in the park, here is the gentle part of the path we took.
No Walk In The Park
This was just the first, and the smaller, of the two ruins we were to visit. But on the way to the next we stopped at a little roadside place for some pigskin.
No Greater Love Than To Give Up One's Skin
That is Efrain in the background chatting up the proprietress. Efrain seems to know everyone.
They had a lot of interesting things to eat here, sausages, a stew, and who knows what else.
All Kinds Of Good Stuff
We got not only the pigskin but also some succulent pieces of pork, that puffy corn like pozale and a couple of potato dumplings. It was plenty for the three of us and Efrain treated.
Fresh Off The Pig
And then it was off to our next stop, the second largest ruins in South America, second only to Machu Picchu.
Ingapirca, Here We Come
But that visit will have to wait for my next post.
We Climbed To The Top
Okay, we didn't start at the bottom, I will grant you that. But we still had to do a fair amount of climbing to get from where we parked the car to the top.
And Here We Are, At The Top
Here Is Our Guide, Efrain
Efrain is very knowledgeable about Inca history and it was fun to listen to him explain stuff to us while we could actually see some of what he was talking about. When we got to the top of the mountain where the ruins were he explained how it commanded a sweeping view of the surrounding landscape so enemies could be seen from afar. Then he had us just listen and you could hear dogs barking and roosters crowing in the town way below. It brought home how the Incas could not only see, but also hear, if any enemies were trying to sneak up.
The Village Down Below
Efrain showed us the ruins of a typical Inca house and explained how all of the houses had doors that faced east so the morning sun would illuminate it.
Typical Inca House
The inside of the house had mumerous niches where various ornamental ceramics were displayed and the niche immediately facing the door would hold something made of gold. That way when the sun reflected off of it the whole house (it was a small house) would be illuminated.
They Have Found There Niche
I Found Mine As Well
This next picture give you a bit of an idea of the layout of the town or settlement, but of course it is just a small part of what the actual settlement must have looked like.
A View From Above
There was a much newer simple shelter put up on top to provide some protection from the rain. And believe me, it can be sunny one minute, raining the next, and bright sun again a few minutes later. Efrain said it was a tradition for those who climbed to the top to inscribe their names on one of the wooden beams. And who are we to break tradition.
Proof That We Were Here
And Proud Of It, Too
And just so you don't think this was just a walk in the park, here is the gentle part of the path we took.
No Walk In The Park
This was just the first, and the smaller, of the two ruins we were to visit. But on the way to the next we stopped at a little roadside place for some pigskin.
No Greater Love Than To Give Up One's Skin
That is Efrain in the background chatting up the proprietress. Efrain seems to know everyone.
They had a lot of interesting things to eat here, sausages, a stew, and who knows what else.
All Kinds Of Good Stuff
We got not only the pigskin but also some succulent pieces of pork, that puffy corn like pozale and a couple of potato dumplings. It was plenty for the three of us and Efrain treated.
Fresh Off The Pig
And then it was off to our next stop, the second largest ruins in South America, second only to Machu Picchu.
Ingapirca, Here We Come
But that visit will have to wait for my next post.
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