Government office closed

So yesterday our lesson in being flexible just kept playing over and over...when we got back from the beach we lazed around a bit til it was time to make something to eat. I went to wash something, and there was no water, what the heck?! 

We called Wolf and he said he'd be over soon, when he got here, he looked around and said "here's your problem, the valve is turned off, who did that?" And we said, "what valve? Nobody turned it off!" We are on city water, we have a cistern (like a well) that gets water supplied to it sometimes twice a week, since this valve was turned off, closed, no water was able to be filled into the cistern. Before we got here they cleaned the cistern, they closed the valve to do that, just in case the city tried to supply water while they were in it cleaning. They then filled it with a water truck, and somebody forgot to turn the valve back on. This is the only scenario that could have happened, unless we have some jokester that scaled our 10 foot spiked walls to turn the valve off...hmmm.

Wolf got the cistern cleaners to come again, husband and wife team that showed up with their tools...a 5gallon bucket, and for $10 he climbed down into the cistern scooped out the remaining water and handed the bucket to her up the stairs, she emptied it, and the process continued. They swept out the mud and sediment and made the tile sparkle. After they were done, we turned the valve to open, but the city did not resupply last night so this morning we got a water truck to deliver and fill us up.

So while this was all going on yesterday afternoon, we asked Wolf about a taxi into Manta for our new Visa appointment, and he informed us that the office would be closed due to the holiday...the same reason for the parade, I called Fernando to confirm this, and after he checked with the website, said yes that the government offices in Manabi province would be closed. Good to know! Geez!!

We decided to make the best of our "free day" and went to lunch and the beach, and now I write this from the hammock. So we had the water delivery this morning, checked email and such and tried a new place for lunch. It was a $3 al muerzo (lunch special) and will certainly tide us over til late evening, 

  The soup is Viche, a peanut based broth, with a plantain dumpling, like a meatball, these were filled with cheese, very good,  then the second course is rice, beans, these were like split peas, ( the other day we had lentils) and a pan fried fish. So tasty, nothing needed salt, too much food, but the fish was so good I was sad when I was at the last bite. The fried plantain still has a little sweetness to it, so I save it for last and it suffices as dessert (would be great with vanilla Ice cream). Today it came with a small soda, I would prefer water, but it was cute.

We then walked some of it off, went to the beach, Mike went swimming, while I sunbathed on the sand. Since it's a holiday, there were more families today than on a usual Wednesday, but it was not too busy. The tents were up and it looked festive,  the marine layer was still hanging on, so it wasn't blazing sun and the breeze was great. We thought about sharing an ice cream on the walk home, but it was siesta and all the tiendas were closed for their naps. Sometimes we think we need a watch, and then we smile and think, no...be flexible!

Our reward for being flexible yesterday was this amazing sunset. We'll catch the bus into Manta in the morning, meet with Fernando and have another adventure, stay tuned. Buenos tardes.