Paute, EC - Feb 9, 2014

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Many times in the past couple of months Braulio and Chanel told us they wanted to take us to Paute, about 45 minutes from Cuenca.

It seemed every time we planned to go Debi either had her accident and was in a cast, or she got sick and we couldn't go. We told them that they needed to surprise (kidnap) us so Debi wouldn't get sick.

So one Sunday after church, they just told us we were going to Paute. We took the drive there, which was really nice getting to see the area surrounding Cuenca. But my camera was in my backpack in the trunk of the car, so no pictures on the way.

When we got there we stopped and took pictures of the cable bridge over the river, the river itself and the surrounding mountains. It is hard to believe that some people have homes so high up the mountain. I am pretty sure that the house up the mountain in the last picture has only well water and no electricity.

I have no idea why they have the Sphinx in Paute.

It started raining a little so we didn't get a chance to walk around the town. However we did find Valley Farm Butchers. They have the best meat in Ecuador. It is aged beef. We ordered some and two days later they delivered it to us in Cuenca. Roast beef, ground beef and T-bone steaks. The meat was so tender and flavorful. We have ordered more.

On the way back we stopped in San Cabo and had dinner at a local eatery, just one of about fifty that lined the streets. I really need to bring my camera with me all the time.

We all shared half a chicken (they grow big chickens here), with potatoes, rice (they are really big on steamed rice), and ensalada (salad). There was even left-overs. The bill was $10.00.

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