Awakening to Retirement in the Andes

Door to Andean Church, outside of Cuenca

It has been a year we've been "retired" in Cuenca, Ecuador. I put the word in quotes, because honestly, it hasn't felt like being retired (whatever that means) at all.

We've been busy. Fred is seeing some patients and writing a book, and I've been WORKING HARD writing my book, The Plan. The best part about our first year has been meeting such wonderful, interesting and fun people.

Recently, we took a Sunday with four new friends (years younger than us!) to visit a small fishing lake and village in the Andes. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day, and when we dropped down into lower altitudes, we didn't need our jackets that we'd so carefully packed.

 Traveling by bus with our friend, Kathryn McCullough (an author!)

Taking photos of us taking photos!

Here's a quick video from our trip. I invite you to see for yourself what retirement can be all about.

Oh, be sure to click on the bottom right of the Youtube screen to enlarge the video. (When you mouse over the four characters the words full screen will pop up.) The Esc. key brings you back here.

The words on the bottom of these photos are from a poem, Awaken, that was written in Ecuadorian Quichuan, a lanaguage spoken by 2.5 million people! As I watched the parents interact with their children, it reminded me a little of this poem.

Enjoy!

Susan