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Day 15 – Tuesday
Tuesday was an early one. We had a 7:30 AM appointment with my doctor at the hospital so we woke up at 6:30, got ready, and caught a taxi. Amazingly, the doctor had already seen two patients before we arrived! She is one busy rheumatologist.
Seeing the Doctor
We had a fruitful visit and she was able to narrow down my condition to a few specific possibilities. One in particular was the most likely. She prescribed a course of treatment for me to start over the next month. After that I will get a few labs done to see how things are progressing and make sure there are no issues.
She is quite a good doctor. Very clear and pragmatic. We found out she has several patients she consults with who come to see her from around the world, including the USA.
Our medical facilitator, Diana, said that all of the doctors she knows in Quenca (including a few from Europe) specifically said that this was the best rheumatologist in the city.
So, with a plan in hand, we got our medications at the hospital pharmacy. I got a 3 month supply of 3 different items for just $27. One of them, folic acid, is available over the counter in the U.S., but certainly not at a price of $2.54 for 3 month’s worth. (I checked online and the cost of a 90 day supply of folic acid is around $5 – $8 in the U.S.)
Our initial consultation with the rheumatologist was $50, and that included this follow up to review the labs, and also covers future consultations via WhatsApp or email to review future lab results.
It is almost cheaper to pay $400 for a round trip ticket to see a doctor here in Ecuador than to see one in the U.S.
La Gata Cafetería
Diana and the doctor both mentioned that their favorite tigrillo place in Cuenca was called La Gata Cafetería. (Google map link) And since the doctor also told me that I need to have some physical activity every day, we walked the 800 meters down the street to the restaurant to try it out.
It was farther than I’ve gone on my crutches in a while (if ever) so I was pretty winded by the time we got there. The 8,400 ft (2,560 m) elevation probably contributed to that.
It was a super cute cat-themed restaurant that did, indeed, have amazing tigrillo. We each had a version of the Tigrillo de Gata which had the fried and mashed plantains with cheese, covered with a fried egg with some stewed meat on the side. Ruhi had the medio ($4.50) and I had the completa ($7.00). Also we each got a coffee drink (Americano for me, Cappuccino for her).
I’ll let the pictures do the talking …
Parque de la Madre / Sinfonía
We grabbed a taxi to Sinfonía Cafe, but it turned out we were early so we sat over at Parque de la Madre for a few minutes to relax. We were able to help one American couple (I assume, based on their accent) with directions to their doctor’s appointment, and helped another two men with their business endeavors selling cookies.
Plus we saw a lot of pigeons and people walking around getting exercise.
At Sinfonía we got a table near the wall outlet, ordered a couple drinks (and a banana bread) and buckled down for a work session.
Eventually Ruhi left to walk back to the apartment and I stayed to keep working and wait for Tai Chi to start at 4:30 PM. Overall a pretty productive afternoon.
Tai Chi
Around 4:20 PM I packed up an walked over to the park to meet up with the Tai Chi folks. And maybe because the doctor specifically told me I need to move more I was inspired to go through some movements while standing up.
I mean … I didn’t move my feet anywhere. But at least above the waist I was doing stuff while in a vertical position. And that is an improvement. Maestro even said that I did better today than the last class.
At the start of the class the weather was absolutely stunning. But right towards the end of class it clouded up and the rain started drizzling a bit. Nothing that someone from the Pacific Northwest would call a real “rain”, of course. But it kept things interesting.
Ruhi showed up at the end of class to hand over the ceramics items we had made the other day, as well as more she had worked on in the afternoon, to Patricio. He is going to put in the kiln and then we’ll polish and/or paint them up later in the week.
Taipa Restaurant
Since the “rain” was falling and I couldn’t get a taxi on the AzuTaxi app, we decided to walk over to a Peruvian restaurant called Taipa to get dinner. It was mostly seafood, but we found a couple yummy dishes. We ended up taking some of it home for the next day’s lunch. But we finished things off with an amazing flan.
Ruhi and I agreed that both dishes were excellent. The steak dish was a little on the salty side, but that was tempered by the potatoes (or maybe yuca) next to them. The roasted corn was also quite nice.
The fried rice was really good too. It had a bit of seafood in it, which I scooped out since Ruhi can’t eat too much of that sort of things. But between the two I think I like the fried rice the best.
But I think both of us were in love with the flan. I mean, just look at it. If it was any thicker you could build a small house with it. Pretty flan-tastic (groan).
Amazingly, while we were sitting at the table we felt an earthquake. It was a small shimmy that went on for almost 20 seconds. After a quick online search it turns out it was down near the border of Peru and registered at a 5.1 on the richter scale.
The earthquake didn’t seem to phase anyone in or out of the restaurant. Least of whom were the young spider-man we spotted crossing the street, nor the group of Zumba dancers in the park.
After a taxi ride home we settled in the for the evening. The next day would mostly be spent at home, but the evening would have us attending a Bahá’í Holy Day celebration at the Cuenca Bahá’í Center!
Day 16 – Wednesday
Because of the early morning to see the doctor on Tuesday we slept in a bit on Wednesday. Granted, we still woke up around 7:30, but that was a solid 8 1/2 hours of sleep.
After a shower and changing, I decided I would go outside and get some fresh air and some of that movement the doctor prescribed. My inflammation is slowly improving and I’m able to slowly walk with a cane now, so I tried it out to see if I could go two doors down to the Chilean bakery.
Picking up Empanadas
I move slowly, but I can move. I was pretty happy with my improved mobility and it felt good not to have crutches riding up in my arm pits for a change.
And, of course the weather was just stunning as it always is during the first part of the day in Cuenca. Here are some pictures during my “walk” to pick up two empanadas.
After I picked up the two empanadas ($2.50 each) I hobbled back down the street to Apartamentos Otorongo. It was a nice day so I took some more pictures. You can see one of me with my cane.
Working Away
For the rest of the afternoon Ruhi and I were working on our laptops. We did eat the empanadas, and Ruhi also made some delicious spaghetti for our lunch. Time flew by and pretty soon it was time to head out to pick up some cream puffs from Panasia before heading to the Cuenca Baha’i Center for a celebration.
Picking up Cream Puffs
Due to the Paro going on here in Ecuador, there was some traffic issues on the main street along the river. We were able to catch a cab, but they had to circle around to the south towards Rio Yanuncay and then east towards the other side of El Vergel.
For those of you who don’t know, a Paro is a large-scale national strike and protest action in Ecuador, led especially by Indigenous groups, against economic austerity and fuel-price hikes. The last one was back in 2022 and this one, from what we have heard by local folks, is not quite as intense.
Eventually we arrived at Panasia, home of the best pastries in Ecuador. We had some time before we had to head to the Bahá’í Center, so we each grabbed our own cream puffs (assuming there would barely be enough for the Twin Holy Day celebration we were going to) and each had some coffee.
The pictures speak for themselves …
When 5:00 hit we picked up our 15 cream puffs to go and caught a taxi to the Bahá’í Center. We drove through Las Herrerías, which is the iron working street that we visited a lot back in 2023. Here is the famous statue at the end of the street.
But soon we made it to the festivities. Almost everyone was already there and we arrived just in time to take our seats.
Twin Holy Days
If you aren’t familiar with the Bahá’í Faith, the Twin Holy Days celebrate the births of the two central figures of the Bahá’í Faith: the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. They are observed on consecutive days according to the lunar calendar, usually in October or November.
The Báb, whose name means “the Gate,” heralded the coming of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith. These days are marked with joy, community gatherings, music, and prayers, focusing on unity, spiritual renewal, and gratitude.
Together, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh’s lives and teachings launched a new era of divine revelation centered on the oneness of humanity, the harmony of science and religion, and the establishment of universal peace. The Twin Holy Days are among the most sacred occasions for Bahá’ís around the world. (More info at bahai.org.)
We had visited the Cuenca Bahá’í Center back during our first visit in 2023 so this was a nice re-visit. We got to see some more of our old friends as well, which is always nice.
Overall it was a very uplifting celebration. Afterwards everyone partook of refreshments and it seems like our cream puffs were a big hit. I heard a lot of people, after trying one, asking other people “What is this? Where did it come from?”
After chatting with lots of folks it was time to go so we headed out and grabbed a taxi back to Avenida 12 de Abril.
Vegan Dinner at Fratelli’s
Since most of the food at the Twin Holy Day celebration was dessert-based, or just some small hand-held appetizers, Ruhi and I stopped at Fratelli’s Vegan Restaurant next door to our apartment for some vegan pizza. It was pretty darn good.
Then, back to the apartment where Xavier was nice enough to bring us a refreshed bottle of water before we headed to bed.
Here is another song to wrap things up:
Today’s Song: Dos Días Más
Lyrics:
Chorus:
Dos días más. Two more days
Dos días más en octubre
Doctor visit then Tai Chi class
Twin Holy Days here at last
Day 15 was a Tuesday
Just one more week to go left
7:30 with the doctor
Get my potential diagnosis
Get some tigrillo at La Gata
Cute cafeteria with a lotta
Comida que es muy sabrosa
Then Sinfonía for work gloriosa
Head to the park for Tai Chi
Trying to train with a bad knee
Nothing to do but do what I can
Nothing to do but stick to the plan.
Keep on movin’, don’t stop, no
Keep on movin’, yeah! (Keep movin’!)
Chorus x 2
Day 16, miércoles entrada
Morning walk for empanadas
Work at home. Then grab a taxi
Riding shotgun, Ruhi’s in the backseat
Pick up cream puffs from Panasia
Back in a taxi for the race to
The Cuenca Sede de la Fe Bahá’í
Walk in. Sit down. Time just flies
It’s the Twin Holy Days
A special time in the Bahá’í Faith
Beautiful prayers. Speakers and songs.
Feeling the spirit all along
Keep on movin’, don’t stop, no
Keep on movin’, yeah! (Keep movin’!)
Chorus x2
Oh, dos días más!
Yes, to Tai Chi class
¡Mira! Dos días más!
Twin Holy Days at last! (At last!)
Chorus x1