Pictureless and Handcuffed

Since arriving in Cuenca, the blogs have been specific regarding the progression of business matters required for our permanent stay. Many pictures of everyday life were being held for an entry containing the pictures and explanations. That entry has been nixed.

Our goals for this trip were: 1) find an apartment, 2) purchase those items immediately necessary for Day 1 of our return, 3) leave most of the clothes that we brought down at the new apartment. All of those goals were accomplished. We were elated and love our new home. We brought back far less than we went with. One of the items left in the bodega was the new laptop that Mick purchased just before the trip. He insisted that that would be one less item to bring as a carry on. I had downloaded all the pictures to the computer. Even my precious flash drive is there.

Our trip was wonderful and truly seems surreal. We have met some great new friends. Tuesday we met Brian and Shelley for lunch at Ramypampa. Afterwards, we went to the 10 de Augusto market. The fruits and veggies looked great! This is the market that serves the roast pig that Brian is always talking about. It looked delicious. We then received bus training (I road the bus in DC about 25 years ago and Mick road a bus in Charlotte many years ago to pick up his car at Toyota.

Henry came over late Tuesday afternoon to tell us goodbye. He seemed sad that we were leaving. Mick promised to make him Buffalo wings when we return. He dropped us off at La Vinca, where we were meeing Ed and Tresa for dinner. This was a new restaurant for us. Mick had a pizza and I had ravioli at Tresa's suggestion. You have a choice of sauces and since I've such great difficulty in making a decision, the waiter suggested making the dish a sample. When my plate arrived, there was sectioned off, each with a different sauce. My favorite was the mushroom sauce. It was a great day.

Gabriella worked Wednesday morning. She ironed while we went to California Kitchen for breakfast. We had brought grits, didn't use them all and were going to give them to Ed and Tresa. We were running short on time, so we ran into Woody, who is vacationing for a month with his wife, Janine, across the hall from Ed and Tresa. Woody said that he would drop the grits off for us.

Gabriella helped us take our things to the bodega. The apartment is going to be painted this month. Next month, Gabriella will clean the apartment. Carlos is in charge of the deliveries.

We left Cuenca on Wednesday for Quito. It was clear enough that we could see Cotatpaxi, a grand site. It was also visible from our room at the Hilton Colon. When we return in September, we will overnight again at the Hilton Colon. We were told repeatedly that Nikolas will be permitted to spend the night.

Things were so busy in Cuenca with big picture items that we had no time to check on smaller things. Thursday morning was spent at El Le Jardin Mall. There is a giant Sukasa there. It's similar to a chain that was once in Charlotte, Reading China and More. It had everything and seemed to be of good quality. Sukasa has 300 thread count sheets, good towels, open stock dishware, including Noritake. There are also small appliances, Black and Decker, Oster, Cuisinart, and Kitchen Aid. I was debating about transporting my Kitchen Aid mixer. The decision was made while at Sukasa. A Kitchen Aid stand mixer is almost $900. Microwaves are also expensive, $150-$200+. (I did see one for $93 at Coral Center).

As for electronics, there was not a huge difference in price between there and Best Buy. The difference is not worth wasting crate space to ship a TV and computer.

We left Quito Thursday night, late of course. Delta is NOT ready when you are! Check in went well at the airport, everything was under weight. Each gate has its own security. When we arrived at the gate, Mick was taken aside and searched, hand searched by a female security guard. We thought it strange. She was not inhibited in the least; she put her arms around him from the front and back. She felt his thighs and went up in the groin area, feeling everything. She felt of his butt cheeks. Mick asked if they were getting married. She smiled.

We took a seat and waited for boarding. Just before boarding, a list of names were called, one was Mick's, we went to the counter. Mick was told that he needed to go with the security person because the police were downstairs and wanted to open his luggage. Mick had no choice but to go with him. He was taken through a number of "Authorized Personnel Only" doors. When he reached downstairs where the luggage had been placed, he was handcuffed. Also, as he entered the room, he saw bricks of cocaine being removed from another suitcase, which had a handcuffed person in front of it. There were three other handcuffed people there, all were carrying cocaine. Mick new that when the luggage left our possession that it was clean; however, it had been out of our possession for hours. He just knew that this was going to be an episode from "Locked Up Abroad", starring him.

Mick was on the verge of panic. He was told by a very large black policeman that he was handcuffed for his own safety, as well as the safety of the policeman, who spoke broken English. He was told that the drug dog had picked the suitcase and he was never wrong. Everything was removed from the suitcase. It was checked for false bottoms. Our bottles of medicine were opened, checked, sniffed.

Meanwhile, back at the gate, I was also thinking of what I had seen on "Locked Up Abroad". I waited and waited. The other passengers were boarding, no Mick. The other passengers continued to board, no Mick. I was on the verge of panic. I had wanted to go with him, but was not allowed to do so. My imagination was running rampant. I had decided that if he did not come back, that my only option was to contact the embassy.

Before the boarding was complete, I saw Mick entering the gate area. He told me what had happened and how unnerving it was. He was at their mercy. The police finally conceded that the dog had made a mistake. The clothes were put back in the suitcase, it was locked and Mick was released.

We got to Charlotte on Friday morning. Nikolas had just been groomed and was elated to see Mommy and Daddy. Denis and Centhia came and unpacked for us. It was a wonderful time and we already miss Cuenca. Our new home awaits us.

Until next time,
Mick and Kathy