Beyond the Gentle Island: A Retired Wander's Journey: Apples and Oranges

It's been a month that we've been in our new digs. The most popular comment is "must be a bit different from South America!" (Insert chuckle.) Strangely, in some ways, it's really not that different and in others, so different that it defies description.

Same colours...

...different skyline

The first couple of weeks we were here, the selection of items often seemed overwhelming. There's 75 different types of light bulbs, several options for painters tape, an entire wall of paint rollers and sand paper for different applications. Sometimes, I just had to walk away. It was also hard to remember what we used to use before we moved to South America. "What shampoo did we buy?" Neither of us could remember. (Speaking of selection...hair products have a ridiculous amount of options...a full aisle dedicated to whatever hair type you might possess.)

Smoked salmon

Baked goods...a la France!

Small selection of cheeses and meats

There seems to be an embargo on some items, as well. This is much like Ecuador where you made do with what was available or went without. Things I can't find: hair mousse (perhaps too 90s?), silicone egg poaching cups and a slotted spoon.

The biggest difference, of course, is the weather. It's bloody cold here...colder than usual for this time of year and we aren't enjoying it. It's hard to carry groceries with a bulky winter coat on. The daylight is also messing with us. The days are much longer and we keep forgetting to eat dinner. We've found ourselves at the table as late as 8:30...so European, that we didn't actually mind. It's sad to know that in just over a month the days will start getting shorter and, as one friend commented, we'll be eating lunch in the dark. (Thanks, Ken! Such a cheery reminder and a slight overstatement.)

Don't like the weather in Cuenca? Wait 5 minutes!

Nearby park, weather only good on Saturdays, so far

We've found the nice weekend market, which is a bit like Granville Island, but smaller. There's a beautiful bakery nearby and also a specialty grocery store that focuses on locally produced products. It's close enough to be dangerous and they have a roof top terrace restaurant during the summer months.

It's nice to be able to walk to nearly everything. We have two major grocery stores within walking distance, as well as a heap of restaurants and pubs, even the weekend market is just a five minute jaunt down the road. This is much like our place in Ecuador, but with a wider variety of ethnic food choices. There's a Mexican "street food" restaurant just down the street. It's not completely authentic, but if you've never been to Mexico and actually eaten street food there, you'd never know. They do some beautiful (almost fusion-like) tacos, burritos and salad bowls. (Right there is how you know it's not authentic Mexican...salad bowls - ha!)

Our new neighbourhood is quiet, except for the odd truck that rumbles down the street. There aren't any car or business alarms, no endlessly barking dogs or wanton honking of car horns, which is a pleasant change. (No one goes to Latin America for peace and quiet!)

Unbeatable produce

Fruit, fruit, fruit!

Locally sourced meats

I had an odd hankering for Clos wine the other day: something that I could just open and not worry about it going off or having to pair a nice wine with the right thing...just an inexpensive tetra-pack wine to be enjoyed when I felt like it. I also miss the weather...have I mentioned that it's been cold here? We had a reprieve today with mostly sunny skies and 17C. It was shirt-sleeve weather and we went out to check out a local nature park.