Cuenca Ecuador is for the Birds…and They Are Singing!

Oddly, when we first moved to Cuenca back in 2011 we did not hear any birds chirping and singing at day break, not one. We enjoy the sound of birds talking to one another in the mornings; it reminds us of the lovely nature that surrounds us, and the birds wake us up, letting us know, “Hey it’s another beautiful day”.  We thought that perhaps because we live in the city there probably are not very many birds hanging out. 

Pumapungo bird sanctuary in Cuenca Ecuador

It is a lot different in the southern U.S where it’s warm and sunny and every morning in the spring and summer the birds are going wild trying to talk over one another. The birds would literally be our wakeup call; no need for a rackety radio station to jolt us out of bed. Waking up to the sounds of chirping birds sure beats a clanging alarm any day.
 

Fast forward about 2-years (2013) in Cuenca Ecuador; one morning we wake up to the sound of chirping; there were a couple of chirps there, a couple of tweets here. I looked at Frank and said, “I hear birds singing!”  It was a pleasant surprise to hear the singing of birds once again. Where had they been for the past 2 years? That remains a mystery to us. 

Pumapungo llama in Cuenca Ecuador

After that, more birds began coming onto our roof and into the two avocado trees growing in our back yard and we were surrounded by these lovely birds of Ecuador.  Now, 2015 every morning around 5:30am we can hear the birds talking and singing with each other, waking us up and letting us know, “It’s time to get up guys”.  So, Cuenca is for the birds…as they say and we’re thrilled that the birds are enjoying their time around our house. 

Bird sanctuary Pumapungo in Cuenca

In Cuenca Ecuador we wake up to birds chirping, roosters crowing, cows mooing, dogs barking, and sometimes even hear sheep baaing, and we do live in the city. Many of these animals you will not hear in the city in the United States, unless you live further out of town in the country.  



So since moving to Cuenca we have become rich in animals waking us up in the early mornings. Most of the animal sounds are perfectly fine to listen to in the mornings, and we don’t mind, except for maybe the dogs barking and barking and barking…welcome to Cuenca!
 

FYI:  According to Wikipedia there are 1663 species of birds in Ecuador.  Source:  Birds of Ecuador - Wikipedia 



Until we write again…
 

If you liked this article, try this one out for size.

• Wild Animals We Have Not Seen In Cuenca Ecuador

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• Cuenca Ecuador AMARU Zoo

• Pumapungo Botanical Garden and Bird Sanctuary

We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

We Drink Bad Water with Sport Berkey Purifier on Ecuador Coast - Did We Get Travelers Diarreah?

We drink bad contaminated water when traveling the Ecuador coast and neither of us got any ill effects from the water. Why? We used our new Sport Berkey Purifier Water Bottles. They not only filter out bad contaminates such as parasites but also heavy metals, chlorine, etc. The travel Sport Berkey is great for travelers on the go; we're really happy we have them. They sell for $39 on the Berkey website but we got ours brand new in box for $20 on eBay.

                    


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Healing the Heart and Soul with Laughter

Happiness
cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is
the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and
gratitude. -- Denis Waitley

I believe the happier we are and the more we laugh the longer we will live. Having contentment and peace in our lives gives us the freedom to laugh and be happy and because of that, laughter can be a great form of natural healing. In fact, joy and happiness have even been found to boost the immune system!

We’ve all heard the old saying" laughter is the best medicine," and it definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting the heart according to Michael Miller, M. D. of University of Maryland Medical School. His studies have shown that laughter is linked to a healthy function of blood vessels. So start laughing out loud more!  Laughter is also a good cardiovascular workout. It increases the activity of the heart and stimulates circulation. In addition, after the laughter subsides, the cardiovascular system goes into a state of relaxation.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Unfortunately, not everyone feels joy or happiness in their lives. Some people are chronically depressed, others are going through personal hardships and still others, just aren’t very happy people. I believe the more we tell ourselves we aren’t happy the more the walls of unhappiness close us off from helping and being of any use to others.



Happiness... consists in giving, and in serving others.
Henry Drummond



If laughter is a form of healing medicine, how can we bring joy and happiness to those who are hurting and depressed?  Well, one way to help others who are feeling discontented is to be joyful and happy ourselves. People are like chameleons, if we turn red so will those around us but if we turn yellow everyone around us will too.
 

Some people allow their surroundings to control their happiness. They equate happiness with having stuff. As long as they believe it's people, places and monetary possessions is where happiness is, they will invariably be unhappy. THEY are seeking joy in all the wrong places. An example might be how some people might think moving abroad will somehow make them feel happier, but happiness doesn’t work like that. Happiness comes from within not from without.  



A place doesn’t make us happy, but to find our place within ourselves will make us happy. Sometimes we can't help others, as much as we try, some things are just beyond our control and belongs to the big guy upstairs. 



It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. -- Charles Spurgeon 



What if you can't find anything to laugh about? Get creative! Everyone has creative juices flowing within them; sometimes it just takes a bit of soul searching and the ability to stop and “smell the roses” kind of attitude. 

  

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.
Abraham Lincoln



So if we aren't feeling particularly joyful or happy, which happens to the best of us from time to time, then we can provide a little change of pace for ourselves and seek out things we enjoy in life.  We can take up the hobby we always wanted to do; creating, building, cooking, writing, painting, photography, gardening, volunteering, service, drawing, pottery, etc are all wonderful forms creativity and when we create from our talents we feel contentment from that; not talking about making money with these things but rather just doing what we like to do for the sake of doing.



Have you seen the movie Patch Adams?  It is about a doctor, portrayed by Robin Williams who heals others using laughter. In the movie he goes to a children's hospital dressed like a clown and gets all the children there to laugh and be happy. It is based on a true story and Hunter "Patch" Adams is still alive today practicing what he preaches. I recommend everyone watch the movie; young and old alike will find it entertaining; it will make you laugh, I promise…and it might make you cry...but if I remember right, it has a happy ending.

Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. -- Og Mandino



If You Liked this article, you might like this one too!

• Living Frugal, Healthy, Happy in Cuenca Ecuador 

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We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!