Putting the "K" back into Colonial
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2006
1
39
90
Trip End
Dec 25, 2007
Cuenca,
Ecuador
Monday, June 4, 2007
And with the rain still falling, having seen planet earth saved yet again in the movie Sunshine there was nothing else to do but travel out to Ingapirca, Ecuadors premier Inca sight. Sure this involved a seven hour return journey for 90 minutes worth of ruins, but we got a great English guide, took photos of nunīs and llamaīs (no unfortunately not in the same shot) and strolled in the sun....and rain of course but it was better than being stuck in a wet, non-colonial Cuenca. And the "interesting" Museo del Banco Central got a quick walk though at pace with the shrunken heads being my standout here no such luck for religious art which failed to register on the "interesting" scale. And then it was farewell to Tiffany as she headed off to the Galapagos Islands for her rendezvous with Charles Darwins subjects.
My final night in Cuenca completely blew my previous impression of Cuenca right out of the water. After eating dinner and sniffing out some action in the main plaza I happened to stumble across the celebrations for Corpus Christi, that is the religious feast day that falls the Thursday after the eighth Sunday after Easter...of course! All of a sudden the city had an energy to it that had completely illuded it the days before. That may ave been in part to the sugar fix everyone was getting as they ate their way around the main square with every inch of pavement packed high with sweets, a diabetics worst nightmare. There was the intoxicating sound of music blaring and locals dancing up a storm, the procession of the big gold things (my words not theirs) back into the packed church and the sound of fireworks exploding over the night sky. This was soon joined by hundreds of lanterns which were lit and then released illuminating up the night sky, and some not so lucky lanterns falling back to earth in a ball of flames as the locals (and this tourist) scattered to avoid the not so pleasant third degree burns which results from being sconed on the head by a burning lantern.
Which brings me to the question of death by fireworks. Sure you hear and see stories of people being killed or injured by exploding fireworks around the world, usually in countries devoid of the words "occupational health and safety". Welcome to to Ecuador! My curiosity to get close and witness the lighting of this huge metal structure in the main square soon saw me running and ducking for cover as fireworks exploded not only into the sky but seemingly at right angles and heading directly for the crowd. As I turned around expecting to see a my second dead body in Ecuador, all I was greeted with were overly excited locals flocking to the next metal structure, with the fireworks positioned even closer this time.
Deciding not to push my luck after seeing neither a single fire engine or ambulance in place (why would they with children dodging flaming lanterns falling from the sky and fireworks positioned amongst crowds?) I headed for the local casino, that is an 80 year old man with a home made game containing dice, pictures and a hell of a lot of coin exchanging hands. He had deftly positioned himself next to the 30 odd fussball tables and between the mountains of sugar on offer, thereby capturing the crowd and pocketing their cash. Smart man indeed!
Which brings me to now, Thursday 7 June, my last 12 hours in Cuenca before I head down to Vilcabamba, another 8 hours on a bus and for a small bloody country I have spent a helluva lot of time sitting on a bus. However $10 full body massages await, along with darts, pool & ping pong tables. Nothing ruinous or colonial about that but bring it on I say...plus the view from the hostel looks amazing in the brochure, along with recomendations from fellow travelers. And the owners are German so you just know things will be ticking over like clockwork...amen to that!
