| Oct 23, 2005 - Cuenca, Ecuador (part 1)
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 | New Cathedral
| | New Cathedral
| | New Cathedral
| | New Cathedral
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 | New Cathedral
| | New Cathedral
| | New Cathedral
| | New Cathedral from afar
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 | New Cathedral again (taken from the web)
| | Interior of New Cathedral, vertical
| | Interior of New Cathedral, wide
| | New Cathedral with flower market
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 | New Cathedral from market
| | Side of Cathedral
| | Playing with light flare
| | Playing with light flare 2
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 | Playing with light flare 3
| | Playing with light flare 4
| | San Blas church from a distance
| | San Blas closer
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 | San Francisco flower market
| | San Sebastían Church w/ courtyard
| | San Sebastían Church
| | Tomebamba River, clothing washers
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 | Tomebamba River, other side
| | Tomebamba River (taken from the web)
| | Local women with lotto
| | Now she's just one
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 | Another shot at the women
| | Other Lotto women
| | BMX racing park near my house
| | BMX racing park
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 | | | | inside the BMX racing park
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| Ok, well, I am finally getting to filling in this entry, about 6 months after the fact. The pictures have just been sitting here waiting to get desribed ever since I took them in October. In reality, I am typing here in Brazil on the island of Florianopoplis, in the southern state Santa Catarina, on the last day of March. But I'll see what I can recall, at least enough to make these pictures make sense.
First, an intro to Cuenca. With a population of about 300,000, up to 600,000 if you inclulde the outer areas, Cuenca is Ecuador's thrid largest city. Still, it manages to keep a much more laid-back and small town feel than either Quito or Guayaquil. And it is a gorgeous place, so much so that it is a protected Unesco world heritage site. There is the center of the city, the ¨old¨ part of town, on one side of the Tomebamba river. This is the more concentrated area with narrow streets, cluttered stores, markets and plazas, and many many churches. On the other side of the river, where I lived with my family, is the ¨new¨ part of the city, more spread out and much more residential. In the center of the city is Cuenca's main plaza, host to many shows, fairs, protests, and all-day general lounging. Facing this plaza is the centerpiece of Cuenca's architechture, the ¨new¨ Cathedral. I say new because they have an older one, although this one here was still built in the late 1800's. There is some story about how long it took to construct and all that, but I forget.
Some of my memories about my first couple weeks in Cuenca: Well, the first Wednesday I was there my host brother and sister decided to take me out with them, and we went down to the Broken Bridge. The broken bridge is a site where an old stone bridge used to cross the Tomebamba river, but now only the half on the old part of town remains, and it is also the site of fairs and parties. This night was no exception. We get there and there was video projection art going on, light shows, as well as a BMX ramp built where people were performing and doing triks. There was also a large cirle of people break dancing for the crowd, and after a while when this all settled down the DJ's started spinning, the electronic music, lights went a bit crazier, and the whole thing turned into a dance party. I also ran into some of my friens from Cedei, who you can read about in a separate later entry. Not at all what I expected to find in Ecuador on my first night out in Cuenca, very American I thought, but it was a fantastic night nonetheless.
Another funny moment I remember. My first time getting back to the house when nobody was home, and I could not get my key to work in the front door. I tried for a while, sat and waited, but still nothing. I was locked out. So I just left and walked around the city for a few more hours wondering what would happen. When I got home and explained what happened my host mother tried the key and it still wouldn't work. Then she turned it over, the right way, and opened the door without a problem. Stupid gringo.
One of my best and scariest disoveries of Cuenca. The ice cream. Ohh la la. Diretly on my walk from school to home are two competing ice cream shops that make delicious home-made ice cream in various savory flavors. They dish these out in large scoops for dirt cheap and are open until late. Needless to say, this became a big part of my life in Cuenca, and to this day, still the best ice cream I have had in South America. Yes, even better than the Freddo chain in Argentina, though many would argue with me.
And then, just to describe the last photos here. Right around the orner from my house is a BMX race track, where people, especially kids, are always praticing and racing. It became a hobby of mine to every now and then stop by tere and peak over the wall just for a few minutes and watch on my way home. Because normally, I would take the bus to shool in the morning, but ten walk home for lunch. Then walk back into the city for the afternoon activity, and then usually bus home when it was dark at night. I guess BMX is a pretty big thing here.
And that's it for part 1 of the Cuenca entires. |
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