That's All Folks! Bodhi's Thai Goodbye Lunch with Friends! We Are Leaving Cuenca, Ecuador, South America and Heading to.....Stay Tuned to Find Out!

   

We Had a Beautiful Day With Friends Enjoying a Yummy Goodbye Thai Lunch at Bodhi's! The Best Peanut Sauce, Salad, Salad Dressing, and Dessert. Jan, Maureen, Rachael, Roman, Gail, Hayley, and Bodhi we are going to really miss all of you! Maureen and Wendell we LOVE our Necklaces and Earring sets you made for us. They are Beyond Amazing, Art, and We Will Treasure them Forever. Hugs to All of You!

OMGosh...Were We Given Cocaine in Cuenca, Ecuador?

Mate de Coca (pronounced: mah-tay day coh-cah, translated: Coca Tea) is a very regular part of life in the Andes. For thousands of years the indigenous peoples of the region have chewed the leaves, which continue to play physical, economic, social, and spiritual roles in the local communities as they have since ancient times. Today the plant is still noted for its use in both daily life and in cultural celebrations as well as its capabilities to diminish sensations of hunger, increase feelings of energy during long days of work, and act as an anesthetic. We were introduced to coca in the form of a beverage as a combatant of altitude sickness (seriously, a lot of people offered or recommended coca tea), another of its famed and historical claims. Many sources point out that this benefit lacks scientific backing, but there are studies beginning to look at the physiological effects, such as this one, which states that, “The experimental findings suggested that chewing coca leaves induced biochemical changes that enhance physical performance at high altitudes.” Additionally, coca leaves contain nutrients like calcium, potassium, and magnesium, among others. 

Sounds like a pretty swell plant, right? Naturally, we had to give it a try. Maybe it was a placebo effect, but during our travel to Cuenca I struggled mightily with a nasty head cold and irritated sinuses that were quite relieved after a nice cup of tea, the first of which was available in the lobby of our hotel in Cuenca where complimentary coffee, té de manzanilla (chamomile tea), and mate de coca were offered around the clock. The beverage is sold at nearly every restaurant and bags of loose leaves can be bought in markets and corner stores. The loose leaves have been our preferred way of making mate de coca during our time in the Andes. A cup of mate de coca in the afternoon feels similar to a mild cup of coffee in regards to alertness, but without the jitters, nausea, and upset stomach of coffee. It’s a much cleaner feeling, and there is no crash. But… cocaine, right?

Well, yes and no. If you administered a drug test right now, we’d almost certainly fail. The alkaloid cocaine is indeed sourced from coca leaves prior to its maniacal processing that transforms it into a schedule I narcotic. It’s important to remember though that cocaine wasn’t isolated until the 19th century, and until then, hundreds of generations had been reaping the benefits of the plant without life-altering addiction, society-crushing trafficking, or health-deteriorating side effects. This is not to say that it is a perfect remedy with no negative ramifications, only that the assumption that coca tea is cocaine is rather misleading. In 1961, the UN placed the coca leaf in the same narcotics category as cocaine, later ordering that all member nations abolish coca leaf chewing by 2001. It is now 2016 though, and coca remains legal in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina and is used regularly by certain cultural groups in Colombia and Chile. There are a lot of pieces to this debate, of course, including discussions and proposed amendments and disagreements, etc, but in many ways, the inability to control the abuse of cocaine within certain countries has driven them towards the eradication of the ancient customs in another, and that just doesn’t seem right. I really like the way Bolivian President Evo Morales explains his perspective in this brief op-ed piece in the New York Times from 2009. Check it out.

Store Bought Coca Tea Bags

Coca Leaves from the Mercado

Source:  http://www.vangabonds.com/mate-de-coca/

Day Trip: Enjoying a Wonderful Day with Our Friends Suzee and Terry in Cuenca, Ecuador *Picture Heavy*

Suzee and Terry's Beautiful Home in Cuenca

Anti-parasite Medicine

The day before we were planning to go visit some friends of ours, Mama and Heather got sick. Not just a little but, seriously sick. We all three took medications for parasites just in case. Mama also took some antibiotics and within a week we were all recovered. It was a rough patch and we still try to look at how we had gotten so sick to prevent it in the future, if we can. It seems most folks who live here take parasite medication every six months.

Thankfully, we were able to reschedule our visit to meet up with our friends Suzanne and Terry the following Saturday.



On the Friday prior to our visit, we had to go into Cuenca for our bimonthly shopping trip.  Our driver spoke pretty good English and we had used him many times in the past as he was great at helping us find things we needed.  He was however pretty judgmental and oh so nosy.  I don’t understand why it's anyone's business what my family likes to buy at SuperMaxi or how many chickens we buy.  It's not his life, money, or issue.  But, he decided Friday night to charge us double his normal rate.  That was the last straw and we told him as much.  Time for a new driver!!!

Our Friend Roman of Cumbe, Ecuador

As luck would have it I ran into Roman, a Cumbe driver we had used in the past.  While he might not speak English, he is honest, genuine and polite.  We consider him a friend as well as someone who drives us around.  Roman had been gone for over a month on vacation and it was with relief that I could tell the ladies the problem was resolved so easily.


We have resolved that we need to do the effort to save up and buy a car or truck.  The drivers test is all in Spanish.  So there are some challenges ahead for us.  But, we will face them and succeed.

Saturday came and we drove off to find Terry and Suzanne's home.  Some of you might not be aware but here in Ecuador most homes don't have addresses.  Mail service is not door to door so I guess no number system has ever been needed.  Most homes are found by landmarks and billboards.  This was the same for Suzee and Terry's home.  We had a map printed from the internet that helped a lot. Roman got lost 5 times.  But, unlike a lot of guys who are stubborn, he is a smart guy.  He would stop and ask directions.  After getting on the new path he would stop and check that he was on the correct path.  It took some time but finally we made it.  As you can see by the photos, Terry and Suzanne like to paint. And like us, they like color as well.

I got to tour Terry's hydroponics set up.  We talked a lot about how he had his set up.  Previously, I had seen Bodie's and compared them to each other.  Both are very different. I want to set up my own system, as well.  We have a covered sun room that would be ideal for something like this.  Depending on the cost of getting the trout we want to use in the fish tank, it will determine the expense.  Mama wants to grow her own lettuce, herbs, and other greens.  Plus, a grow bed/beds will cover those needs and allow us to have year round ability to grow delicate greens at a rate of three to four times normal gestation.  I will get into more details as time progresses.  I am still in the learning mode and welcome any comments and guidance from any of our readers.

Entrance to Terry's Hydroponics Farm

Delicate Greens

Gooseberries

We sat down after getting a detailed tour of the home and its refurbishments/improvement that Terry and Suzanne are preforming.

They hope to open a B&B Hostel and I think its will be a great place to stay once its done.  Heather and I have even discussed doing a one or two night getaway just for some alone time.  We will see.

The Most Amazing Taco Pizza That Mama, Heather, and I have every had!

Beets, Tomatoes, and Avocado

Look at the photo of that taco pizza.  OMG...Heavenly. Homemade pickled beets and some avocado and sliced tomatoes for an appetizer.  That pizza was FANTASTIC!!!  Suzee made two Taco Pizzas both disappeared so fast I was afraid for my fingers.

Candy, Suzee, Heather, and Dan

Dan, Terry, and Roman

Heather had made a Moist and Yummy Pineapple Upside Down Cake and it was delicious and quite a hit as well.  Suzanne was so kind to invite Roman to dine with us.  The conversation was all in English and we tried to include him in the discussion as much as possible.  Thankfully, the poor guy stuck it out and was most likely bored out of his skull.  However, he did like the food and let us know it.  He surfed the internet on his phone and spend time on Facebook most of the time while we all sat around and chatted for hours.  Terry and I will be working on some things in the future, I think.  He has a lot of talent, he's a great welder, and he's great to talk to.  All of which are wonderful talents and good attributes for anyone to have in a friend.  He has similar politics and beliefs and that never hurts. Sitting down to eat was such a pleasure.  It was the first time we had been at any other gringo's table and said grace with them.  It was very nice and something we would like to start doing in our family.


I came away from this visit with resolve to finish making screens for the house, design and make a solar dehydrator, and to design with Terry a fire table for our patio.  And most of all, to further my knowledge of hydroponics.

 

Here are some photos of Suzee and Terry's home.  Enjoy the Before and After pictures.  All of these photos were taken by Suzee:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are photos of Suzee's Beautiful Garden.  These photos were all taken by Suzee:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suzee took these amazing and beautiful photos of Cuenca, Ecuador:

This is How Woman Carry Babies Here

Street Vendor

 

Common Sight Here in Ecuador