odds and ends

This building is being built and one of the workers is taking a mid day break.

                       This picture is to give you an idea of just how comfortable he is with heights.

Some times we see things that surprise us a little. This is a truck full of eggs being delivered to one of the "tiendas" a grocery store. The eggs here are not refrigerated and are very tasty. Each egg is stamped with an expiration date. We are told if the egg isn't refrigerated to start with it doen't need to be put in the fridge at home either. So ours sit on top of the fridge out of the way until we need them.

The milk sits out on a shelf in the store as well. It is not refrigerated until it is opened. We saw this in the states with "Parmalat". The "Nutri Leche" brand is sold in both bags and cardboard boxes. The cost is $1.07 for the box and 97 cents for the bag. Each package is one litre. We don't like to pour from either so we put it in a pitcher in the fridge after opening the package.
We buy our coffee freshly ground also in a bag. The coffee beans are still warm when it is ground. It is very rich coffee and has a high oil content. It is sold by"Cafe Lojano" near the "New Cathedral" at $3 a pound.
  We have gotten word from our shipping agent that our pallet (household goods we shipped from North Carolina) is expected to arrive in Guayaquil Ec. on the 13th. and we should be able to go to Guayaquil and do the necessary paperwork on the 16th, one week from today. Mick and Kathy think that is an optomistic estimate, but we are hoping they are wrong. We want our stuff!!!!! It has taken so long it will be like Christmas morning when we finally get to open the boxes.
  A second reason for wanting to go to Guayquil is the restaurants they have that Cuenca does not have. Mickey D's is just one of them.
Hasta Pronto,
Dale and Joan