Wow, the Bowen's Are Not in the United States, Anymore

Loving Ecuador :-)

Bella Boo, Zoey Bear, and Sasha

Molly Moo Moo

Luna Lovegood

Our zoo here in Cumbe, Ecuador is calming down, a little bit.  We were worried about the kittens when we first got them, since they were sickly and skinny but they eat and play and grow like weeds now.

The Bowen Babies :-)

Babies Having Dinner

One Happy Family

Bella our puppy has gotten very close to the cats as they are all babies and they all play and run around like lunatics.  It is entertaining but some nights we do get a bit exasperated with the clamor. We expect that in the next few months the kittens will act more like cats and things will calm down a bit.  It's fun to step outside every night with the dogs and watch all of them run like lunatics in the large yard we have.  Our husky is 14 but she acts like she is 2 and she runs so fast and hard its amazing to watch. The dogs have a large and secure yard and they love it.

Speedy Zoey Bear

Zoomed in of Above

My Big Girl, Sasha <3

Being Pups

Baby Bella Boo

There are times inside the house that you could get confused about where you are. It feels at times no different than living in America. Yet little things tend to remind us. The water heaters here are propane powered and are on demand. They respond only with high pressure demand. So you have to blast the water for the hot to turn on. And its either boil your flesh hot of freezing cold. Finding a happy medium can happen but it takes so much time that we just suffer the heat or cold.

Not every Saturday but quite a few there is a large party held about a block from our home.  The music is so loud that the windows vibrate.  From a block away.  We are all fond of earplugs those nights as the parties can last till 4am or even 6am.  It's annoying and we have a hard time understanding why the whole town allows that kind of noise levels all night.  I would admit its the one thing we find the most difficult to learn to deal with.  It's a culture clash to say the least.

When you examine the benefits of life here it outweighs the occasional night of hell.  The food here is better and more affordable.  

Things we like that we can't find we make ourselves.  Heather made apple butter the other day and it was fantastic! We make homemade sloppy joes, meatloaf, cookies, cobbler, french fries, pizza and all sorts of other treats.  Mama made homemade yeast rolls last night and they were divine.  I make fettuccine alfredo, stir-frys, and shrimp scampi there is honestly very little we can't make ourselves. No allspice?  We make it ourselves. There are very few prepackaged things we buy anymore.  We are all feeling better, have more energy, and experiencing weight loss.  It's a much improved way of life here. I think a lot of my friends would love life here.  The air in clean (not in Cuenca), the locals are friendly people and the food is good.

Heather's Fried Apples "Think Cracker Barrel"

Heather's Meatloaf

Meatloaf, Sweet Potato's, and Carrots

Heading into the Oven

Heather's Apple Cobbler

Heading into the Oven

Our Homemade Pepperoni and Mozzarella Pizza

Dan's Fresh Homemade Salsa

Fresh Shrimp "Cleaned By Dan"

Fresh Cooked Plantains

Yummy Family Dinner

Heather's Homemade Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Many people expressed doubt about our coming to live here.  A third world country, unstable, and backwards.  Funny thing...things seem more stable here.  No mass shootings...my biggest concern is right now is the price of limes.  I must admit, I will likely come back to the USA to visit but I can't see myself ever returning to live.  Unless my ex-wife gets hit by a bus...lol

This is the way we shop for most foods here in Ecuador

Seriously, if not Ecuador then Peru. And if not there, maybe Ireland or Italy.  But we are all done living in America.  I am so sick of the hurry rush go go go lifestyle.  Where everyone wants and needs things to find happiness.  Most people quest for more, better, bigger and newer is just plain consumerism.  It never provides happiness.  Most of the food in the USA is filled with poisons and its almost impossible to find clean healthy food at affordable prices.  If you find yourself reading this blog and wondering if you should try to live abroad, I would encourage you to try it.  It's not for everyone that is for sure.  But the experience will open your eyes a bit.  Nothing is done the same everywhere.  You have to learn to adapt to different cultures and lifestyles.  The rewards are immense.  Feel free to ask Heather or I questions.  We really to love to help out.  And if you do find yourself coming to Ecuador, please throw a few large jars of Regular Jif Peanut Butter into your bag.  It is really one of only a few items that Heather, Mama and I miss and would love ya for bring.  Thanks for reading!  Please comment below :)

Cumbe, Azuay Province, Ecuador is Our Families Slice of Heaven Here on Earth

Cumbe City Poster

Today is Sunday...Here in Cumbe, Azuay Province, Ecuador and it's only one of two days that the Cumbe Mercado is open.  The other day it's open is Wednesday.  While Wednesday does typically have fresher produce, we really needed some onions.  From the moment we woke up Heather expressed her desire to walk down with me and see what the market looked like.

Typically, I go alone on market trips and it was nice to have Heather accompany me.  We did stop a lot as she loves to take photos.  It's something I am going to just have to learn to deal with.

Outside Our Rental House in Cumbe

Right out the front gate

Baby!!!

Drunk Man Passed Out!

Yep...I said Drunk Man Passed Out!!!

Another Passed Out Drunk Man!

View Toward Our House

Woolly, Bully, and Baby

Palm Tree

Bambo

Yuca with Graffiti

Farm Land

We took photos of our house. We took photos of some cows. More of several men who were passed out drunk from the previous night. We took photos of some lambs and their ewe. Some more photos of a palm tree and of the Catholic church in downtown Cumbe. 

Beauty Shop

Downtown Cumbe

Common Site Here in Ecuador

Our Peruvian Bakery...Yummy

The Most Popular Place to Eat in Cumbe

Welcome to Cumbe

Main Catholic Church Here in Cumbe

Beautiful Skirts worn By the Andean Women

Family Home

Apartment Building

Beautiful Cumbe

1st Ever Cumbe Rodeo  Poster

We stopped in a bakery shop run by a very friendly man from Peru.  His pastries are divine.  We always get something from him and its always fresh and delicious.  He even makes milk chocolate like most Americans like it.  It's a nice treat as most Ecuadorian chocolate is dark or a mix of milk and dark.  So we enjoy a taste of what we grew up on.

Dan

Heather...Her clothes are getting so loose!

Heather...That shirt is Way to Big

Lantana Flowers

Lantana Flower Bushes

As we walked to the market, I admittedly lied several times to Heather.  We are at high altitude over 10k above sea level and she still has a hard time breathing during long walks. I kept telling her the market was the next block down.  She finally caught on to my deception.  By then we really were only a block away yet strangely she refused to believe me.  We finally did arrive and we shopped several places finding plenty of fresh fruit and veggies at slightly higher prices than what you get in Cuenca.

Cumbe Mercado

Fresh Produce Everywhere

Jugos Pins, Beet Spice Drink, and Fresh Rolls

Mama's Fruit Cup

Pork from Mr. Piggy and Aji

Heather was a bit tired from the 3 mile walk so rather than walk back home we grabbed a rural taxi truck for $1US and were home in only a few minutes.  Cumbe has two roads that lead in and out and are joined with a central road so the road is shaped like a triangle.  We came home on the steeper but more quiet road that we did not walk down so it afforded us both a different view on the way home.

The clouds we had enjoyed during our walk into town broke and the sun came out and the temperature jumped 20 degrees in less than five minutes.  Taking the taxi home was a good choice, it got very hot...very fast.  We unpacked and Heather put out some potted flowers she bought for her mom and arranged the bakery goods on three plates on the dining table for our breakfast.

When I got a chance to look at all the photos Heather took of our little outing something occurred to me.  We are very fortunate to live where we do.  We managed to find a large and very pretty home that feels like its in the country yet is within walking distance to plenty of small shops. Once we obtain Ecuadorian drivers license and a car I think we will break a bit out of our current shell.  We used to go for drives all the time in the U.S. and I think all of us miss that mobility.  Everything takes time and we will get there.  For our family we know we have found a slice of heaven here on earth and it's becoming very special to all of us.