Colonial Towns? Check
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2009
1
13
26
Trip End
Aug 11, 2009
Cuenca,
Ecuador
Saturday, June 27, 2009
From the university, we hit up a Lavanderia (it's both cheaper and easier to do laundry in Ecuador than in New York. I will just drop it off and for 80 cents a kilo, pick it up, clean and neatly folded four hours later. No coin-ops for me, thanks all the same) and hit up a restaurant for a couple al muerzos. An al muerzo (literally meaning "lunch") is a fantastic South American invention. These is a set menu and for between $1.50 and $2 (Ecuador uses the US dollar as currency) you get a drink, soup, a plate of chicken, rice, and French fries or some such, and a small dessert! So civilized! Actually, as the day goes on, I am continually struck by the differences between Ghana and Ecuador, two countries that would generally be lumped together as "developing" or "third world." Compared to Ghana, Ecuador is clean, shining, spotless, and organized. Sure, they have some issues with hot water and many people still work for very small amounts of meony, but literacy is high, they live in solid homes, and they enjoy luxuries the average Ghanaian could only dream about.
Cuenca itself is a lovely colonial city. We while away the better part of two days in the old town, strolling cobblestone streets, relaxing on benches in leafy parks (I am not yet acclimatized and in horrible shape, the first day I get tired just walking around) and visiting the odd art museum or church. On our second day, G decides I am up for a walk to Turi, a church overlooking the city. It's a long hike up (my legs will hate me the next day) but the view is wonderful. We catch our breaths, wander into the church for a bit, then wait for a bus back down. Unfortunately, we are out of quarters and none of the four or five shops we ask at will give us change for a dollar (as with many developing countries, they're incredibly stingy with small denominations here) so we walk, stopping along to enjoy the river along the way. Three rivers run through Cuenca, and they're all lovely, shallow, wide affrairs with rocks and boulders strewn in them, rather like Rocky Mountain streams.
After dinner our second night, we notice lanterns floating up into the sky and head over to check out a fiesta at the end of the street. A crowd has gathered outside a church, watching as lanterns larger than my backpack are lit, the heat released from their fires causing them to float into the sky. Nearby, fireworks are set off intermittently and a brass band is playing. In the center of the intersection, a large windmill-like structure has been errected, almost completely obstructing traffic. As one vehicle squeezes by, it suddenly starts going off, fireworks sppewing around in circles on the bottom level. It's an amazing display of light (though we won't get into the safety ramifications) and the pyrotechnics slowly work their way to the top of the windmill, culminating in shots going off in all directions, even into the crowd. We cower beneath a vendor's umbrella for marginal protection until the fireworks end. Odd ways of celebrating these folks have...
