More Things Parade-Related

We have more kids (not on horseback this time), the rather unique phenomenon of public drinking at events such as these, and just a few general photos of things I found of interest.

This little fellow looks like being in the back of this truck isn't his idea of a great time.

Kids on Horseback

The kids in the Parade of Horses were the biggest draw for me, of course--well, all the horses were beautiful in their own way, but the kids were something special.

This was the first of the kids in the parade.  He handled his horse like a pro.

Parade of Horses

Nearly a month ago (on August 26th) we had the Parade of Horses through town and then they went on to the bull ring outside of Cotacachi.  I have more pictures of these things than you can even imagine so I thought that since I have been able to download those photos, I'll just share them in a series of posts.  You can pick and choose.  I'm going to start with the biggest group--the adults on horseback (and a few of just the horses).

Kitty Sitting I

Last month I did a few weeks of kitty sitting and promised you photos of the little darlings.  I'm back here again and thought this might be a good time to share them with you.  If you're not a cat fan, you can just skip this one (unless you want to scroll to the bottom and see the pretty sunset).  For those of you who love the little critters as much as I do, enjoy.

This is Sam.  Both he and Little enjoy sitting up on the little closet out on the terrace.  The first time I saw Sam jump up here, it was a little unnerving but now it's old hat.  (Isn't he adorable?)

Quito Trip

A few weeks ago I had a chance to go to Quito with a group of people on a shopping trip.  What fun!

We started out at 8:00 in the morning and drove down there in a school bus that was obviously designed for children as opposed to adults.  Fortunately it wasn't anywhere near full and many of us could have a seat to ourselves so our knees weren't bruised by the end of the trip.  The organizers learned from that and said they would definitely get a bigger bus for the next trip.  We were given organic yogurt made by friends of Jenny, one of the organizers, muffins made fresh by Charlene, the other one, and generally treated like royalty.

Quito is definitely a big city with people pretty well packed in between the mountains.  Many of the scenery photos may be a bit blurry.  I took them through the window of a moving bus.

What to Wear in Cotacachi

I received this question from a faithful blog reader and new-found friend:

Would you please blog about what to wear in Cotacachi.  Layers?  Short sleeves or long sleeves due to sun's rays being so close?  Capris?  Light jacket or heavy jacket?  What months are the rainy times?  Winter p.j.'s at night all year?  Type of hats to wear?  Does one need a scarf? 

It's my understanding that it's spring-like all year but then I've read differently so I need to know what to bring for clothes.  Thanks.

Wow!  Great question and very specific.  I love that.  In fact, I love having people make suggestions about what they'd like me to blog about.

Low Income Budget

[Update follows the full post]
I just got a comment on one of my posts saying that she had heard I did a blog post about living on $800 a month.  I didn't actually write that one (at least I don't remember it and I haven't put together a spreadsheet with my topics on it--yet--I may have to do that).

So, just a quick post to give you an idea of how little you can live on in Cotacachi.  This is based on one person.  The math on that is easy.

More Little Thoughts on Culture

Since I wrote my original post about the differences between the cultures of the northern Andes Ecuadorians and the folks back in the US, I've come up with a few more thoughts.  Here they are:

Yard sales, thrift stores, dollar stores, etc.--there aren't any!  I haven't tried to find any in the larger cities but I have been assured by people who have lived here for many years and have looked for them that they don't exist.  Oh my, this is tough for a died-in-the-wool frugal shopper.  The attitude here is to use it until it's either totally worn out and not worth someone else wanting to use it or passing it along privately to family or friends.  There are sometimes clothing drives where some organization or other collects clothing for those in need but the outlets I'm used to just aren't here.  Of course the cost of living is already low but the things I would look for in those venues would be things that are higher priced here.

What to Pack

I've had a request to do a post about what to pack when coming to Ecuador.  Of course I can only speak to what is helpful to have here in Cotacachi but there are some generalities that will apply to pretty much the whole country.

First of all, it's going to be important to know if you'll be able to go to some of the larger store available in the bigger cities.  If you're on a tour, that may not work out well and you'll probably already know you need to bring everything but the kitchen sink.  If, however, you're on your own, you can get most everything here that you can get where you're coming from.  Some of it will be more expensive, some may cost less.

Secondly, are you coming for a visit or are you moving here?  ("Moving here" includes spending six months in a short term rental.)

Computer Update (Again!)

Here's the short-ish version:

I now have not one but two computers that don't work.  The old one will work for very minimal non-RAM-intensive things (like this blog post as long as there are no photos and no other windows are open), but the new one won't connect to the internet and regularly needs to have a System Repair.  I have no idea what any of this means or why it's doing it but I have someone who will come look at it and perhaps take it with him to fix in the next day or so.

In the meantime, I'm still not able to do much of anything.  When the new computer is behaving properly (without internet but able to use it at all) I've been able to edit photos for the upcoming blog posts so you will have plenty to read when it all comes to pass.

Sending up positive thoughts to the universe or offering prayers would not be out of line at this point.