We Finally Have a Car to Drive Around Cuenca, Yippee!!! by Star

Two months ago or so mom and dad came back home with a brand new car. They were extremely happy and, honestly, I have no idea why. I'm not a car lover. So the Yippee above was said with a bit of sarcasm. You see, as a puppy I used to get sick in the car and even though I don't get sick any longer, I really don't like to get in any car ever since. I have loved all of our walks here in Cuenca, so a car didn't sound like a very good idea. But it hasn't been all that bad since we still do most of our business walking. We use the car to go to our new home and watch it being built, when it is too far to walk or to go places when we need to get there fast, but I normally stay home those times when mom and dad are in rush. We also use the car to do the important things in life, like going to my agility classes.

Mom says that our car was probably the only one with an automatic transmission available in the country at the time. It's black like me, so it gets quite hot in the sun. My parents say they didn't have a choice of colors. It's a Volkswagen Gol Motion. Not at all what my mom wanted, but to her surprise, she really liked it when she saw it. If you ask me, I think she was just tired of searching. Dad really likes the process of buying a car and mom simply hates it. In the US she didn't have to even go to the dealership when they bought a car, except to pick it up; dad did everything: the research, the negotiations, the test drive and so on. But here mom had to get involved because she speaks Spanish and dad is still learning. But, she seems to like the car just fine.

Riding with mom is a bit crazy. She has become a very aggressive driver which you apparently need to be here in Ecuador. Also, she is constantly talking to herself. She says she is talking to the other drivers, but they can't hear her so I think she may be loosing her mind a bit. Dad shakes his head a lot when he's in the car with her, so I think he also agrees with me.

Because cars tend to get stolen a lot here they have very loud alarm systems that go off at all times, a truck that goes by or just thunder triggers the alarms. I hate that noise, but I am getting used to it. This car has automatic windows in the front but roll up windows in the back when we are riding. What the heck is with that? Now mom can't open or close the window for me. The car is otherwise comfy and I can see out better than I was able to do in mom's jeep.

My parents knew they would buy a car when they purchased our house in Challuabamba which is a 15 minutes drive from Cuenca. They also say we need a car so we can travel around Ecuador which we hope to do soon. Check me out below as I am arriving to our new house which we hope will be ready in a month. We go there everyday to check the progress and also to bring food to Blackie, a dog living with the security guard who takes care of the building project. We hope she can join our family when we move there; we'll see. She may leave before we move. All in all, having a car is a good thing, even when I am not thrilled to get in at first.