We meet a lot of people on our travels. A lot.

Making friends? That’s a different story.

It’s not that people aren’t friendly. They are. And it’s certainly not that we’re opposed to friendship. Quite the opposite ...we crave it. But real friendship isn’t built in a weekend. It grows over time. Sometimes years. And as travelers, our time in one place is measured in months, not years.

A few years ago, while in Ecuador, we attended the opening night of an art exhibition. We were introduced to two very nice women.

“Are you living here now?” they asked.

“No. We are here for three months,” we replied.

“Three months?” they said, turning to our host. “It is too much trouble to even remember someone’s name who is only going to be gone in three months.”

We smiled... and silently agreed.

They weren’t being unkind. They were being honest. We would soon be in another country, and the chances of our paths crossing again were slim to none. Closer to none.

We are back in Cuenca, Ecuador for our third, three-month visit to this beautiful jewel of a city. An amazing place with warm, welcoming people. Rich in culture and the arts. Steeped in history, yet confidently focused on the future. Cuenca is often rated as one of the safest and cleanest cities in South America, and it has become an absolute favorite of ours. We have even entertained the idea of maybe moving here.

This time our visit has been different.

We’ve been blessed to connect with a group of long-term North American expats (Cuencaños lovingly refer to expats as “Gringos”). A few of those acquaintances are slowly becoming something more.

Friends.

The question of relocating to Cuenca comes up regularly. Our answer usually carries a bit of sadness ...on both sides.

We are deeply tied to our families, our children, our grandchildren, and lifelong friends in the United States. And now, we find ourselves tied to friends here in Cuenca as well.

Life has a way of stretching the heart.

So for now, we will continue this life of discovering new worlds, new cultures, new ideas born out of the journey. We will keep showing up, meeting people, sharing meals, telling stories and all the while knowing that some connections may be brief, and others may quietly deepen over time.

To all the lives we have touched — and to those who have touched us — we say:

Thank you.
We love you.
We will return.

​

Rock and Barb