Saturday, Sep 10, 2016

Hi, I'm Max. Let's go for a walk.

Hi, I’m Max. Let’s go for a walk.

Max, the landlord’s dog, has been crying a lot. Long, slow, soulful howls. I think the owners have been away for awhile, and although the maid comes each day and gives him food and water he gets lonely. We try to take him for a walk every couple of days and I think he misses us if we go longer than that without walking him.

This afternoon we heard him crying so we made a point to get him out with us. He is a great dog but he is not easy to walk. Max is an Alaskan Malamute, only about 3 years old, and very strong. Sometimes when I have him on the leash he will unexpectedly dart toward something and I almost get whiplash from the jolt.

The other issue is the street dogs all around. Some days we run into dogs that act aggressive and that throws Max into an aggressive response. Trying to keep him moving forward and away from these dogs can be a challenge. I’m basically walking him on his hind legs and he is almost as tall as me when he stands up.

Nevertheless the four of us and Max had a nice walk around the Yanuncay river today. The sun was out most of the time and created warm temperatures. A couple of times it went behind some clouds and it instantly got cool, and for me…just plain cold. The sun makes all the difference up here in the Andes.

My day has been relaxed. I’ve spent most of it writing articles. I think one I submitted for Gringo Tree will publish tomorrow. I took a break from writing this afternoon and watched a movie with Heidi and my sons. Later I talked to Robert, my ex-colleague at work, and got caught up with happenings at my old stomping grounds at Dixie Regional Medical Center. It was a nice call.

It’s been a sedate but satisfying day here in Ecuador.

Chau.