Today’s vlog is all about surprises and special gifts. Join us as we take a little day trip to Chordeleg, renowned for its exquisite jewelry, and explore the colorful beauty of Uzhupud Gardens and their amazing orchids!
Orchid Excursion at Uzhupud Gardens
Our day begins with a delightful detour to Uzhupud Gardens, where Ecuagenera presents an impressive orchid show. Michelle, our resident plant enthusiast, is in her element as we browse through rare finds. From Philodendron Florida Ghosts to exotic orchids, we curate a selection to bring home.
Jewelry Quest in Chordeleg
Next stop: Chordeleg, the gold capital of Azuay. With a special gift in mind for Michelle’s mom, we set out to find the perfect piece of jewelry. Exploring the quaint streets, we stumble upon Lucas Orejana, a young jeweler with a passion for crafting unique designs. After exploring various options, we settle on a custom necklace adorned with the names of our kids – a little tribute to Abuela’s love and support she’s shown us.
Charming Chordeleg
Wandering through Chordeleg’s picturesque square, we soak in the town’s vibrant energy and rich heritage. Surrounded by artisanal gold shops, we enjoy the craftsmanship on display. Chordeleg’s allure lies not only in its gold but also in its warm hospitality and small-town charm.
The Gift of Gratitude
Back in Cuenca, we present Abuela with her personalized necklace. Despite a minor hiccup with the name (which the jeweler happily fixed), the joy on Abuela’s face makes it all worth it. It’s moments like these that remind us of the power of simple gestures and cherishing family bonds.
Wrapping up
And that wraps up today’s adventure! From orchid hunting to jewelry shopping and heartfelt surprises, it’s been a day filled with love, laughter, and cherished memories. If you enjoyed tagging along on our journey, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more adventures from our corner of Ecuador.
Until next time, ciao ciao!
Further reading:
- Cuenca Real Estate
- Cuenca Apartments for Sale
- Cuenca Apartments Rent
- Pet Adoptions
- Cuenca Events
- Cuenca Deals
View full video transcript
Chordeleg Jeweler (gift for Abuela) & Uzhupud Garden Orchids [Trasncript]
Jason 00:00
Hey, welcome to today’s vlog. We’re at Chordeleg. We’re going to pick out some jewelry for Michelle’s mom because she’s been such a great help to us it’s a little bit of a surprise gift. Let’s go.
Jason 00:14
But before we get there, we have a little pit stop first at this orchid show put on by Ecuagenera at Uzhupud Gardens. Let’s go check it out.
Jason 01:56
What do we have?
Michelle 01:57
We have a Philodendron Florida Ghost. This is one that I don’t have in my collection and I feel like you should buy it for me.
Jason 02:05
How much is it?
Michelle 02:06
It’s $45.
Jason 02:08
Wishhh.
Michelle 02:08
It’s very rare. This is not something that you’re going to find in the other nursery.
Jason 02:13
45$ I’d hope not.
Jason 03:37
What did we get?
Michelle 03:38
We have 4 orchids. The kids wanted an orchid, each for their rooms, and then I have other two that I don’t have in my collection I don’t remember the names.
Jason 03:47
And how much do we spend today?
Michelle 03:50
$60.
Jason 03:50
Ok, we could have spent a lot more, but then we would have spent all the money before we even got to the jewelers.
Michelle 03:56
I’m happy with this. These are plants that I cannot find somewhere else, so I’m good.
Jason 04:01
Awesome.
Michelle 04:03
And Jason didn’t pay…
Jason 04:30
We’re in Chordeleg and we have a bunch of fans apparently behind us. Chordelg is a town that’s very well known for a lot of the jewelry, especially the gold around this area. And we’re going to pick something out. We have a couple of different designs in mind, but we do want something a little bit custom so we’re going to see what we can find.
Michelle 05:37
So we were thinking of what could be a good design for my mom to have the names of the kids on. So we’ve been going through different options. One of them was like a clover with four leaves so they can have all the names. And also another option was like a different hearts joined together. But the one that she decided is the one that she likes the most. It’s like drops – one inside another with all the names of the kids so that’s what we’re going to do.
Jason 06:08
And we’ve been to a bunch of different jewelers here, and the reality seems to be that even though there are a ton of different jewelers, only a select few will actually do some of the proper custom stuff that we’re really looking for. So even if you come here, don’t choose the first jeweler that you come across, you may need to do a little bit of searching before you find the one that’s right for you.
Michelle 06:32
Yes, we found one that is called Lucas Orellana and he is very young, but his family has been in this business for a long time. So he wants to do like fresh designs and things like that so it’s really open to doing something new.
Jason 06:47
And it’s going to take how long it’s going to be Wednesday, so about four or five days for our custom design to be ready and he is going to deliver it to Cuenca, which is super helpful we don’t have to come out here again. And it was really quite reasonable in terms of the price. We didn’t go for the solid gold. That was just super too expensive for us, like eighteen hundred dollars. But what do we end up paying for ours?
Michelle 07:12
We are having silver covered in white gold that is going to cost us like seventy-eight hundred dollars.
Jason 07:18
No, it’s going to cost us $85 total.
Michelle 07:21
Yeah, with the chain, yeah.
Jason 07:23
So this main square of Chordeleg is pretty much where all the tourists are going to come and hang out. All the gold stores are pretty much all around the square. It’s very picturesque. What we do like to do is we combine this trip at Chordeleg with Gualaceo and Paute for a really nice, popular day out. A lot of people do like doing this day trip as well, and you can definitely fit all three towns in on the one day.
Jason 07:48
They’re not big at all, and honestly, there’s not a lot to see in every single one of them. And so you can generally comfortably fit them in one day.
Jason 08:16
This is called Rosero. Like lots of fruit and we all love it.
Jason 08:42
Look what has arrived for Abuela. Can’t wait to show you. Check this out. Look at that. The names of the four kids, how awesome. I really hope Abuela likes it. I think she will.
Jason 09:51
Abuela loves her necklace, which is fantastic. They did actually have a little error with the name, so we did have to get that fixed and they were more than happy to do that free of charge and all that so we’re very happy with the outcome. Abuela is super stoked that she’s enjoying the necklace. She really does so much for our family it’s really nice to be able to just to repay her back just the tiniest bit with a little gesture like this. She really does put a lot of other people ahead of her. So it’s just great to see someone like that receive something just for them.
Jason 10:24
And Sebas, Sarah, Billy, they all had a great time giving the present to Abuela. We’ve been playing in the park for the last hour or so and we sprung this on her as a little surprise.
Jason 10:34
And that’s going to be it for today’s video if you did get any value from it, please do like and subscribe and all that stuff. And of course, if you’re in the market to rent or buy real estate here in Cuenca, you know who to call – [email protected]. Thanks a lot for watching we’ll catch you in the next video. Ciao ciao.
