Miss Australia is Miss Universe 2004!
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2004
1
33
88
Trip End
Feb 01, 2005
Cuenca,
Ecuador
Friday, June 4, 2004
Watching the coverage from Cemexpo in Quito on the hostel television I was very surprised to see Miss Australia in the Top 15, and then the Top 10 and then the Top 5. When it came down to the last five, Trinidad & Tobago, Paraguay, Puerta Rica, USA and Australia I had everything crossed. It was comforting to know that all the Ecuadorians at the bar were cheering for Miss Australia too. They announceed the winner, between USA and Australia, and I`m glad to say that the Aussies stuck to the USA once again by having the most beautiful Miss in the Universe!!!! I would like to say that Jennifer did a guitar impersonation like the mens relay at the Sydney Olympics, but she just smiled and kept adjusting her tiara so it didn`t fall off
01 Miss Australia = Miss Universe
.Some sightseeing
Our first morning was spent doing a teensy bit of sightseeing, which included going up to a lookout and getting a good view of Cuenca with Francis and Matt from our dorm room. We then wandered along the river, very small but ferocious, and sat in Parque Caulderon, the main square. Parque Caulderon is a gorgeous square, the best I`ve seen so far. We sat on park benches like all the old people do and just watched and chatted. At one point an old man was leaving his friends on the bench next to us and was making all these boxing moves. We watched and then he came over, shook each of our hands in greeting, asked us where we were from, shook our hands goodbye and then spat and walked off!
Other bits Emily and I did was go to some Inca ruins in the city, very small, but free and a good way to pass time. This was followed by the flower market and then looking inside the big cathedral.
Movie mania
Since there were so many things to do in Cuenca, we ended up going to the cinema twice. Yes, the most exciting thing in Cuenca is the Multicines complex (followed closely by the internet cafe)
02 Cuenca River
. We went to see Troya (Troy) which was my second viewing. For some reason the jerk behind the glass panel thought that I had asked for 2 tickets. Whilst my Spanish isn`t perfect, I know that uno and dos sound completely different when I say them. He then shrugged as if it wasn`t his problem that he wanted to hear dos instead of uno and looked behind me to the next people. This got on my goat a bit to be honest, and I tried arguing in Spanish with him, but he just looked through me. Thank goodness the couple behind me came to my aid and bought one of the tickets, although the guy didnīt know what was going on, his much more switched on girlfriend sorted it all out.
Then, my large coke became a medium when I discovered that it was only half full after one sip. I know that I didn`t scull half in one gulp. Anyway, I suppose it was better than spilling it all over myself like I did the last time. The movie was great (again) and gave plenty of perving opportunities and marvelling at what wonderful arms Eric Bana and Brad Pitt had.
The next day, to kill an afternoon, Emily and I went and saw Love Actually. Enjoyed it, as I knew I would, and we came out of the cinema to find a catwalk set up with lots of paper flowers around the edges
03 Parque Calderon
. After a boring introduction we finally got down to business with a parade of little kids throwing rose petals, followed by some harem-like dancers with scary red glitter eyeshadow, and then the piece de resistance, the little girls wearing identical (to my eye) long dresses with smocking, puffy skirts, bows on the back and highly polished shoes. The only thing that changed was a couple of twirls here, a different colour there and a flash of a smile in the direction of her family.Outta there
After 4 days of trying to dry, my shoes were finally able to be put on, albeit smelling like it was the first time that they had been dry in their whole life. I think this, and having to wear sandals, only with socks at nighttime when it was dark, led to my cold. And so I left Cuenca in a trail of sneezes.
Things I Learned
* Churches are always dark
* I think the rain is following me
* Cuenca might be Ecuador`s third largest city, but it is also quite boring to boot
* If you are a chicita in Ecuador, all you want is a big puffy dress with smocking and a bow on the back
