Monday, June 6, 2016
How hard do you think it is to find a coffeemaker in Ecuador? I mean finding one that makes at least 12 cups and has an auto shutoff on the warmer. Oh yeah, and isn’t over $100. Well so far no luck on my part.
Looking for something that, from my experience is common place, and not being able to find it is when I become acutely aware I am living in a foreign country. No Costco, Best Buy, Home Depot, Target, or REI. No online Amazon or Overstock.
In Cuenca I have Supermaxi, Coral, and Kywi. In these stores I currently can find a max of two models of coffeemaker, and neither one has an auto shut off function. In fairness there is a store called SuKasa that has many household items at a premium price. They carry two Cuisinart models of coffee makers, but I’m not yet ready to pay over $100 for a brewer for my morning cup-a-joe.

Andean woman milking a cow
This morning I watched the farmer and his wife working in the pasture, and I got a picture of her milking the cow. It appears I have traded my morning view of waves rolling in on the beach for maids-a-milking. Still, it is interesting.
Heidi and I spent a large part of the day going around Cuenca looking for some things we need…waste baskets, laundry hamper, an iron, a toaster, copies of keys made…real exciting stuff! The place we found to make keys is in a farmer’s market, so while we were there Heidi and I had an almuerzo.
I’ve talked about this place before. In the center of the Mercado are several cooking stations set up, with benches that surround the cook, and lunch is served to people who come and sit at the benches. Some places were packed, others were empty. I suspect that the busiest places have the best tasting food.
Because we were in a hurry and couldn’t wait for an open seat, we ate at a place that had no one. The food was mediocre but filling…soup, rice, beans, and chicken. Oh yeah, it was $2 bucks each so how much could anyone complain? Next time though I know which place I am going to try regardless of the wait.

Clay pot to bake bread
While we were at the Mercado, Heidi decided to buy a clay pot and lid to try and bake her bread in. She has been looking for a deep ceramic baking dish since we left Bahia to no avail. If clay is good enough for the indigenous people to cook in, we gringos should be able to make it work too. I will let you know how it turns out.
We still haven’t found a coffee maker, so it looks like it will be French press coffee for us tomorrow morning. This means that we will also be wandering around Cuenca tomorrow in search of the illusive coffee maker with auto shutoff. Wish me luck.
Tonight I caught some cool colors over the mountain as the sun set. Enjoy.
Chau.
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