Carnaval Cuenca Style

As I mentioned in previous blog, Carnaval in Cuenca is a "mild" event as compared to other So. American countries.  I'm sure there were parties with music, dancing, banquets of food etc. for the people who party; also leisure time for the employed and school children (they all had at least Mon. and Tues. off), but I don't think there were extravagant costumes and parades.  I missed the opening night festivities because of rain, so that will be on the schedule for next year.  

     It's Sunday afternoon at 5pm and I just returned home from an excursion with a friend to the largest (and spectacular) shopping mall in Cuenca, Mall del Rio.  It was a beautiful, sunny morning and we decided to walk ~ an hour to get to the mall.  One reason for the decision to walk:  the bus that we intended to take was re-routed because the street where the bus stop was located was closed.  Closing streets to motorized traffic is a common occurrence on Sundays because there are many joggers and bicyclists who participate in races on Sunday.  It's great to see joggers, walkers, children on bicycles -- all enjoying a safe environment where there are no cars, buses, motorcycles.  We walked the mall, window-shopped for awhile, then enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Creta Restaurant.  I had a very tasty trout with almonds entree -- yummy and very generous serving.  After a late lunch, we got on the bus toward our apartments just before a terrific rain storm started.  We had chosen to sit at the back of the bus near the exit; unfortunately the window in the bus was leaking and we began to get wet.  We teased each other as my friend put on her raincoat and I opened my umbrella -- a time to remember, we used rain gear in the bus!

     Anyway, back to Carnaval.  I went to a few activities for the days that I thought the mischief-makers would be throwing water balloons and spraying the "white stuff" (still don't know what it is).  I went out for groceries; visited my friends in Yellow River on Sunday; went to a rock band performance at a nearby restaurant, The Coffee Tree, on Monday night; and most importantly was invited to my landlady's mother's home for Tuesday (end of Carnaval celebration).  During those times when walking, I only got slightly splashed with water twice;  the kids were very kind to me. 
     My landlady, Rebeca's, immediate family consists of six brothers and sisters.  Rebeca is pictured on the left, her mom on the right; below is one of the brothers toasting with beer.

The family gathering at her mom's house in the suburbs of Cuenca included 20+ people and I lost track of the connections.  Among the family group, there were grandchildren, a 6-mo old great-grandson, teenagers and a 92-yr old uncle (uncle is top left in hat).  Man pictured in bottom left picture is brother who currently lives in Connecticut and was visiting family.

The front yard was quite large, so the younger generation had a ping-pong table (also used for the dining table) and a volleyball net for playing games.  The after-lunch games also included the young people playing "keep away" and throwing water at each other--all in great fun with lots of giggles from the young women.  Here "Mom" takes a break from cooking and watches the grandchildren/great grandson.

A table was set up for playing card games and I was included in playing many hands of rummy.  And of course, lots of food and drink (sugar cane liquor) were included in the day.  Lunch was yuca soup, salad and pork grilled over hot (wood) charcoal.  Dinner was cuy (the traditional grilled guinea pig) -- my first taste of cuy and it was great to be introduced to another aspect of Cuencan cuisine.  One of the brothers preparing the wood charcoal for grilling the cuy. 

The day was very special for me.  It was the first time I was included in a family celebration.  There was so much fun and joy among the family -- great interactions among everyone -- lots of conversation (no t.v.!!!!!) I'm hoping I'll become "part of the family".
     Busy week coming up.  I'll continue with "street Spanish" lessons, an art tour on Wed. and I'll be going on a 2-day tour on Sat. and Sun. to an indigenous village, Saraguro.  The village is south of Cuenca and Lonely Planet says, "surrounded by golden -green hills that have been sown with hearty tubers and grains for perhaps thousands of years. In both the chilly mountains and humid lowlands, the Saraguro dress in traditional woolens."  Sounds like it will be chilly!  I'm looking forward to learning more.  
Chao . . .
 

Craft Villages Part 2

I didn't intend to be at home tonight, but it's raining, so I am.  It's the beginning of Carnaval and there was a celebration in the central park, Parque Calderon, but I chose not to go because of the rain.  As I understand it, Carnaval is not a big event in Cuenca, but there's an element of mischief.  The younger generation thinks it's fun to throw water balloons at people on the street, so I may get wet the next few days even if it is not raining.  My plan is to go to the gym in the morning, then to the grocery store to get food (most of the restaurants/businesses will be closed) so I won't have to go out again Sat. & Sun.
     Today was an interesting day.  The Chamber of Commerce provided a tour to the local milk distribution plant.  It was very impressive, but they wouldn't allow us to take pictures.  It is a huge plant, the two shifts of workers are there 16 hrs/day, 7 days a week, everything is immaculate (we wore smocks, head & face coverings, and took off our jewelry), and everything and everybody are so well organized -- I was truly amazed.  The equipment is from Switzerland and Columbia.  The plant manager is a young woman who was passionate about telling us about their processes; she didn't speak English, but a young man (who had his MBA) and who works there translated for us.  The milk that we buy is all packaged in .5 liter plastic sacks.  I asked why today; reason, it is a lot less expensive than cartons.  
     I hear Ecuador described as a developing country (and I think that is true in the rural areas), but in the cities, I am learning that some of their businesses/business practices are very well developed and they care about their employees --what a concept!
     Now back to the craft villages:
We visited a village that is known for their ceramics.  The ceramic shoes are probably used for flower pots, the center dishes are a ceramic somewhat like the one I bought previously (but it is a creme and green color) that can be "cured" and used in the oven (or on a fire--the ceramic on the right (being held up by bricks) has been darkened by the fire).  This was a typical place in a market where the women were cooking.  The "tortillas" being prepared are more like pancakes rather than tortillas.  

We visited Chordeleg, known for their jewelry and baskets.  

My jewelry purchase

And my basket purchases.  The basket on the left can be used in many ways. i.e. bread, etc. on the table.  The rectangular baskets are a traditional way to have the silverware and napkins on the table.  The restaurants either use them for each person or collectively for silverware and napkins for the table.

One of the most outstanding people we met was a guitar maker.  As a young man he made guitars in Ecuador, then moved to the U.S. and worked in a guitar factory.  He returned to EC, made his own equipment and now makes phenomenal guitars in very basic surroundings. 

                      

The first guitar is a one with fine inlay (approx price is $350).  The second is an acoustic guitar in progress and the third is a completed acoustic being played by our guide.


As you can see, my experiences are varied and wonderful.  I'll let you know about Carnaval next week.
  

  

Tour of Craft Villages Part 1

Last Thursday, Feb. 9, Southland Tours provided an all-day tour of five craft villages near Cuenca.  The tour leader, Carlos, was excellent -- he has been a tour guide for 18 years, and had studied in England, so his knowledge of the area and his English language were superb.  By the end of the day, I was on information/beauty overload and I feel the same way today as I try to select pictures for the blog.  My process today was also interrupted by a terrific thunder/lightning/rain storm where we lost electricity for awhile.  So I didn't complete the series of villages with all pictures, but this is a start.  First stop was the weavers.  The woman in the center is the expert in ikat weaving which includes hand-tying the threads at the ends of the shawl.  She has traveled world-wide to talk about/exhibit her weavings.  Her children help her now, but this is probably the last generation who will learn/practice this art. 

She uses all natural fibers and colors.  The pictures show how the gray color is derived from coal (which is found on her property) and the red is an insect that is captured and used for red and variations of red.  She uses things like baking soda to change the variation of colors.  When she is hand-tying, her hands move so fast, it's hard to see what she is doing.  The white shawl is a historical piece which is museum-quality and is valued at $1,200.  The cotton and silk shawls that she had for sale were $30 & $40 respectively. 

Another village was Sigsig which is known for the women's cooperative that makes Panama hats. Did you think Panama hats were made in Panama?  Think again, they are made in Ecuador (in many, many factories).  In the entrance of this coop, this hat really gets your attention--it's huge.   

This coop has a combination of many women who do a lot of manual labor--the women below are washing hats and dying the straw--and heavy equipment that forms the hats.  

These were hats and baskets/fibers that show the colors and processes of the weaving. 

These are two of the women who were weaving the hats/baskets. The woman in front is wearing a typical hat for her village.  Each village has a particular color and shape of hat that designates the village where they reside. The women's skirts also "tell" their village. 

These are just a few of the finished hats for women (and men have just as many choices).

I'm going to close part 1 with some of the scenery that I took from the bus window.  I hope you can get a sense of the beauty of the countryside.  The top two show a sample of the flower greenhouses that are so common.  Ecuador exports a huge amount of roses and other flowers. 

There is green everywhere!  And on Thursday, sunshine.

I'll be back later in the week for the continuation of the tour.

Zoo Pictures - two locations in/near Cuenca

The Cuenca Chamber of Commerce sponsored a tour to the newly-established Amaru Zoo near the city.  I was very impressed with the progress the planners have made to date.  Land was purchased where the animals have a lot of space and the staff is working diligently to rescue animals from less-than-desirable places; i.e. circuses and places that have abandoned 'exotic' animals that were pets and owners found that they could not care for them properly.  The signage seemed excellent (I couldn't read most of them!)  There were 22 areas, but we didn't get to see them all (some of the older expats were not able to walk the distance).  I would love to go back to see the tropical area.

Since it was mostly expats, we had an outstanding young woman as a guide who had studied in the U.S. and spoke excellent English.  She and her husband are part of the staff and are passionate about the animals.  This picture shows her talking about the cactus to the right in the picture.  She explained that she and her husband saw a similar one in the wild, picked the beautiful flower that was in bloom at the time and put it in the car. They didn't know it was hallucinogenic and didn't know why they were feeling 'so weird'.    We were fortunate to see the Andean bears; their enclosure is quite large, but one male and a female were exploring when we were there.  There are two females and the guide said there are signs of jealousy.

These are alpacas, not llamas (the brown 'spot' is another one).  Know the difference?  I'm learning.  

The mama deer was very nice to show off her youngster.

The lions were rescued from a circus and mama gave birth to two babies shortly after being brought to Amaru.  They were in secure cages -- thank you very much.

The in-town zoo is the reptile/snake/turtle/spider collection.  
Also well-organized/maintained.