What's been happening lately

Angelina decided to pick some coffee beans in our yard

She already knew what to do next: wash them

She also knew how to set them out to dry. 

 Louis really enjoys hanging out at our house

 We do play a lot of solitaire games

 Our super nice neighbours came over for French toast: Vicente, Guisella, Jonathan, Gloria and little Carlito

 Peter met a new friend in Loja

 Our next door neighbour Carlito knows to come out early morning in his pjs, and no shoes, for banana bread before his mum can catch him.

 Louis is getting better at ping pong

 Our other neighbour Finton from GB invited us over for a bbq with some of their friends who work as volunteers for an NGO. Finton and Biba live in the rustic cabin next to us.

We haven't figured out what to do with the agave yet

The mall in Loja

 We go to the next town of Loja for what we do not find here in Vilcabamba (like whole wheat flour with no worms in it, organic beans, organic brown sugar plus items that are cheaper there). We usually go there without Louis and Angelina. We get on the bus after dropping them off at school in the morning. There are buses to Loja every 15 minutes all day. The bus ride is 1.30 USD per person one way and it takes an hour. It is a gorgeous ride on a winding road up high in the mountains. We get off the bus close to the Supermaxi mall. Supermaxi is a chain in Ecuador. They really have ALL you need including items from the US, for at least double the price. Most consumer products are imported from China. When something is actually made in Ecuador, there is a label saying "Mucho mejor si es hecho en Ecuador" (much better if it is made in Ecuador). When we are done, we get in a taxi to the bus terminal and back to Vilcabamba. We meet our kids at the Juice Factory (one of the American hangouts) for lunch.

The road to Loja by Angelina

 This is the town of Malacatos on the way

 We happened to go there on a market day that time

Sometimes we get off the bus a little further and go the permanent downtown "mercado", where they serve all kinds of cooked foods. Here is a big serving of vegetarian rice with sunny-side up eggs for one dollar.

 You can get 5 empanadas for one dollar. Then we proceed to the "Supermaxi" mall by taxi. The mall is composed of a dozen different stores selling even the latest on American TV.

 The Todo Hogar store is comparable to Linen and Things

 This other store sells gadgets that you see advertised on TV int the US

 Louis and Angelina had some pocket money to spend

This toy store is called "Jugueton". It is big.

even Hexbugs!

 There are fashion stores for the wealthy clientele of Loja

This is the sporting good store.

 This is where we get our food. No green chili or spelt flour though...

 Two kilos of USDA organic brown sugar ("panela") cost 3.60 USD. Prices are always tax included.

 Errands done. We'll come back in 2 months.

Inside the bus terminal in Loja there are always a lot of people waiting.

There are a lot of small stores in the hall.

We go there by taxi to catch the bus back to Vilcabamba, because the bus is already too crowded in downtown Loja.

Locals on the bus are very friendly. So far we have seen only  one other gringo family on the bus.

The toyota dealership in Loja