"Down by the River Side"

Today has been an absolutely beautiful day!  The sun was shining brightly and the temperature perfect with a gentle breeze and no humidity.  As a matter of fact, humidity is almost non-existent in the Andes.  A light jacket was not needed until the sun went down.  At the equator (hence the name Ecuador), the sun rises every morning at about 6:15am and sets at about 6:15pm.  It's amazing how your body adjusts.  We find ourselves getting up earlier and going to bed earlier, a much healthier style of living.

Today was Sabbath, and we had the opportunity to study the Bible for several hours with our friend Ken.  Quite a rousing and stimulating discussion! 

We then decided to take a long walk along the river near our apartment.  Cuenca is the city of four rivers.  We live on the Tomebamba.  Beautiful, wide, sidewalks, approximately seventeen feet in width, stretch for miles, bordered by beautiful, unique trees and colorful flowers along the waterfront.  The river more closely resembles a wide stream of rapidly moving water cascading over rocks.  The sound of rushing water adds to the enjoyment of the walk.  On the other side of the river we delighted in looking  at the beautiful old homes dotting the hill side.  We also discovered three cafes with seating right on the waterfront!  We're going to enjoy checking them out at a later date.


Something else we're looking forward to doing is taking the red double decker bus tour of historic Cuenca.  We had no idea this existed until recently.  We learned they do the English tour at 11:00am, and the cost is only $5.00!


We weren't able to take up residence in our apartment yet.  Our painter, Manuel, is a wonderful man, but very slow.  He won't be done painting until Monday.  He's doing a nice job, and having it painted the way we want is certainly worth the wait.  


We also learned that having curtains made is the way to go.  Two of our friends recommended women who did great work for them at a wonderful price.  One young lady is meeting us at our apartment tomorrow morning and bringing samples.  We have a number of large, odd sized windows.  Our attempt to find ready made curtains was futile, so this should be fun!


For some reason today that old spiritual that goes, "I'm going to lay down my burdens, down by the riverside....", keeps running through my head!