June 25, 2011,
This past Friday our friends (Jim and Rachel) invited us to meet at Banco Central to hear the Symphony (Orquesta Sinfonica De Cuenca) perform. Banco Central has a nice auditorium in El Centro (downtown). We arrived via taxi ($2) in time to get a good seat. The orchestra consisted of approximately 50 musicians. The musicians played several pieces before a guest pianist (Roger Lord, a Canadian) came onto the stage. He was exceptionally good and very ‘into’ his music. The event lasted for a little more than an hour. Total cost: free. Cuenca puts on several free concerts for the entertainment of its residents.
After the symphony we headed for a Heladaria (ice cream parlor). The owner makes the ice cream daily in dozens of flavors (including tequila, cerveza, banana split, almond, and of course chocolate…even chocolate jalapeño). The cones are also made from scratch daily. Karen and I split an enormous cone with two flavors of ice cream, sat in the park and enjoyed the evening. Shortly thereafter it started to rain, so we headed home. A relaxing evening for under $10 (taxis included).
Saturday was a busy day. We wanted to show our appreciation to our landlords who have worked so diligently to make our transition as smooth as possible by taking them to lunch at a nice restaurant. Our landlords, Charley Brown (yes, he is a character!!!) and his wife Susi are wonderful people. Charley is a gringo originally from Ohio who spent 11 years in Athens, GA ….so he has been ‘Southernized’. Charley has lived in Ecuador 15 years. His wife Susi is originally from Quito, Ecuador and majored in English in college. Susi has been called into service by us (they live below us) on several occasions like when we receive a phone call and the caller speaks less English than we speak Spanish. 
Charley and Susi Brown
For lunch, Charley, Susi, Karen and I all pack into Charley’s jeep and we head for El Centro (downtown) to my favorite restaurant in Cuenca - Tiestos. Charley dropped Karen off at the door of the restaurant with Susi. Karen is still going through physical therapy related to her Achilles tendon reconstructive surgery and can’t walk long or steep distances yet.
Charley and I park the jeep down by the river and begin the walk to the restaurant. Sounds simple enough, but the street by the river is much lower than the level of El Centro. We must walk up the “100 steps” to the historic district. Easy enough for Charley because he is about 6’ tall and weights no more than 125 lbs and has been in this altitude for 15 years. Although he is 65 years old, he is in great shape. He skips up the steps two at a time! I, being more than twice his weight and out of shape, am plodding up one step at a time. Arriving at the top, my thighs are burning and I am puffing heavily. Charley turns to me and cheerfully states that the restaurant is only two blocks up and two blocks over. Being so close to the restaurant, I wasn’t about to stop…but I was questioning my sanity for pushing myself so hard. (My mother told me that growing old wasn’t for wimps…so on I went). A few minutes later we made it to Tiestos. Karen and Susi had already gotten a table and were studying the menu.
Charley and I park the jeep down by the river and begin the walk to the restaurant. Sounds simple enough, but the street by the river is much lower than the level of El Centro. We must walk up the “100 steps” to the historic district. Easy enough for Charley because he is about 6’ tall and weights no more than 125 lbs and has been in this altitude for 15 years. Although he is 65 years old, he is in great shape. He skips up the steps two at a time! I, being more than twice his weight and out of shape, am plodding up one step at a time. Arriving at the top, my thighs are burning and I am puffing heavily. Charley turns to me and cheerfully states that the restaurant is only two blocks up and two blocks over. Being so close to the restaurant, I wasn’t about to stop…but I was questioning my sanity for pushing myself so hard. (My mother told me that growing old wasn’t for wimps…so on I went). A few minutes later we made it to Tiestos. Karen and Susi had already gotten a table and were studying the menu.
A tiesto, according to the owner, Juan Carlos Solano, means ceramic plate. The main courses are cooked and served on these ceramic plates and they are extremely hot. While Juan Carlos says that the food is traditionally Cuencan in nature, it is more spicy and flavorful than what I consider the ‘comida tipica’ (a typical meal…the Cuencans eat bland food with almost no spices). Everything at Tiestos is made by hand and Juan Carlos visits each table to see if ‘all is well’.
For lunch we decided to have the steak medallions (lomo) and the large shrimp (prones). The meal came with two types of potatoes, rice, semolina, several different kinds of salsa, bread, and cucumber tomato salad. We ordered juice made from the tree tomato (jugo de tomote de arbol). We have had the tree tomato juice several times. It is delicious and has many healthy qualities. For more on the tree tomato, go to: http://www.pac.com.ve/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=61&Itemid=84&id=4304 (you may have to click on your ‘google translate’ button to read in English. This is one of many super fruits that grow in this area.)
Jugo de Tomate de Arbol (juice of the tree tomato)
The steak and the shrimp were cooked in rich sauces and served bubbling hot on the hand painted ceramic plates. The steak melted in our mouths and the shrimp was scrumptious. We had more than enough for 4 people, but I couldn’t stop gorging myself. This is my favorite restaurant in Cuenca. For more information about Tiestos, go to http://www.captivatingcuenca.com/tiestos-cafe-restaurant-cuenca.html
Sizzling steak medallions
Several delicious salsas
Prones that disappeared quickly
Karen enjoying good meal and conversation
Karen with Chef Juan Carlos
Ben before the game
I know nothing about Rugby, but am learning fast. I do know that it is an extraordinarily rough sport. The players don’t wear pads, there is a lot of tackling, a lot of running, and occasionally a player may try to kick the ball through the uprights while approaching the goal. One has to be in incredibly good physical condition to play. A player must be quite willing to tackle or be tackled on many occasions. Just because someone is tackled doesn’t mean that play stops. There seems to be a lot of ‘piling on’, pushing, shoving, and kicking. I didn’t see anyone biting anyone, but I wouldn’t be surprised. In the game before ours, one of the players broke a leg and another dislocated his shoulder.
Ben tackling opponent and getting kicked in the process
We were the only gringos there. The Ecuadorian fans didn’t seem to know any more about the sport than we did. I think we provided much of the entertainment by clapping and screaming (the other fans seemed more reserved). I may have heard the Ecuadorians sitting below me say ‘gringos locos’ a few times (lol). Next time we may bring pom-poms! We had fun and so did Ben. He was in on a few goal line tackles. The team is close to each other and Ben has found many friends while playing. A couple of team mates are volunteering their time to teach him Spanish. Our team was victorious: 42 -24!!! He travels to Quito with the team on July 9th to play a team there.
The crazy gringo fans!!!
It was dark by the end of the game, but Charley wanted to get something to eat. How such a slim man could be hungry after eating such a large lunch is beyond comprehension. But, as is evident, I don’t turn down any meals. We all piled back into the jeep and headed for Mall de Rio. We wandered around the mall and I tried to take some pictures, but one of the guards came by and told me to stop (not sure why, but what the heck!). We ended up at the food court. We ordered a light meal and told many a ‘tall tale’ until the mall closed and we were escorted out of the building.
For $4.50 at the Mall they load the entire tray with food.
Long day! I slept soundly that night.
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