Cuenca at night
A weaver from Gualaceo. He was pleased to hear that I am also a weaver, and therefore understood how much work goes into each piece. He also taught me how to do the knotted edge on scarves and shawls.
Richard, surviving a beautiful hike in Parque Cajas, altitude 3850 metres. He thought he might die from shortness of breath, but he didn't!
The "new"cathedral in Cuenca.
One of our fabulous lunches. A typical almuerzo comes with fresh juice, delicious soup, bowl of popcorn, and a main plate with some type of meat, rice and veg. Always tasty. Ranging in price from $2 to $3.50, depending on the location.
We chose Cuenca as our starting point, because we'd heard comparisons to Antigua, Guatemala. This is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, mostly because of the spectacular architecture. Lots of cathedrals and colonial mansions, most in a good state of repair. The town is very clean, with quite a few pretty plazas. There is a modern and efficient transit system.
Our second night here we went to the Jazz Society Cafe for some good live jazz while having pizza and beer. On the way home there was a fabulous jazz band playing in one of the plazas.
People seem a lot more prosperous here than in Guatemala. There are quite a few indigenous people living and working in town among the Latinos. One doesn't see terrible poverty, at least not where we've been. A few beggars, but I don't think there are people living on the streets.
The indigenous attire is very similar to Peru. Here the women wear knee length gathered velvet skirts, with a beautiful embroidered hem. The women are short and wide, and the skirts really sway as they walk. They wear a simple blouse and cardigan, sometimes with a special shawl. But they always wear a white Panama hat, which apparently originated here.
Today we took a local bus to a town an hour away, for their Sunday market. No chicken buses here! It was a very comfortable bus, more like the Greyhound buses, but still very cheap. The one hour ride cost 80 cents US. BTW, they do not have their own currency, and use US.
As in Guatemala, one is often subjected to an evangelical sermon on the bus. Our first one was a young man who first handed out candy sticks to everyone on the bus (except to those who said no thank you, like us), while praising the Lord. Then he did his spiel, talking about doing good, and making a donation in return for a blessing. I only saw one man give him a donation. Then the young evangelist collected the candy sticks from everyone else and put them back in his bag! He got off at the next stop, presumably to hop on the next bus that came along.
There was also a young cool looking couple on the bus, who seemed to have similar motives, but a completely different style. After the first guy got off, they cranked up a boom box and shared a microphone. They sang a couple of pretty good funky numbers about being positive, and praising the Lord. They were actually very good, from Colombia I think. Then they also collected donations. I saw one person give them something. Then they hopped off too.
The weather has been more or less as expected in the highlands. Cool at night, but warming up to 22-24 in the sunshine. It often clouds over in the afternoon, and yesterday we had a huge thunderstorm for a couple of hours. We came prepared for all kinds of weather.
What I didn't mention in my email, was that I was robbed on the city bus in Cuenca. Here's how it happened: Transit users have a card they swipe on the bus. We were told that we could just pay cash- 30 cents each. As the bus approached, I got out my wallet to get change, and Richard dug into his pocket and announced that he had change for us both. I quickly put my wallet back in my purse, and hopped on the bus. The driver wouldn't accept the change from Richard, but a woman sitting behind the driver " kindly" swiped her card for us and Richard gave her the change. We thanked her very much, and went to stand further back. It wasn't until I got a seat that I realized my purse was open and my wallet was gone. I was very upset, but no one on the bus said anything. We got off at the station, and a young woman who got off with us asked if I'd been robbed on the bus. She said she saw it happen. While I was distracted by the card swiping, another woman took my wallet. I asked her why she didn't say anything on the bus, but she gave a lengthy response in Spanish which I didn't understand.
I reported the theft, but I don't expect any follow up. I consider it a lesson learned, without much loss. Luckily I didn't have any cards in my wallet, so I only lost $30-40, and a brand new Guatemalan wallet.
When I told the guy at the hotel, he said that people often turn a blind eye to these things. And then they blame the Venezuelans. In Guatemala they blame the El Salvadoreans for pickpocketing.
Anyway, I'm more careful now.
