Holiday Weekend

It was a festive time this past weekend.  There were more than 300 events planned and we took in as many as we could.  The weather cooperated with lots of sun and just one downpour of rain.  The festival began on Thursday night, October 30th, with a concert at Parque Calderon which is very close to where we live.  During the day we watched as a giant stage was set up.  We also saw lighting being strung throughout the park.  Later, we learned that it was for lighting the arches on the new cathedral (which is a mere 200 years old) with different colors, and to spotlight the trees with colors.  The concert began sometime after 8:00 P.M. with two older gentleman that sang songs familiar to most of the locals in the crowd.  Many people, young and old, sang along with them.  One singer in particular was very animated, dancing on the stage and telling jokes in Spanish.  It was really fun to watch him and to see how the crowd reacted to the show.  Later, a younger band with multiple instruments came on stage.  By that time we were tuckered out, and headed back home.

Sorry...this is the only picture I have of the event.  It shows them setting up the stage.  I haven't learned how to take good night time pictures with my phone camera.  The photos always look washed out if there are bright lights and I am not sure how to adjust the camera.  Any suggestions on how to solve this problem would be appreciated.

Friday, October 31st, we met our friends, Roz and Ken, at the Art Festival and viewed the numerous tents set up selling all kinds of arts and crafts.  We saw lots of jewelry; items made of leather, such as purses; baskets; handcrafted decorations for your home; recycled art; paintings; and too many other things to mention.  

These pictures were taken from above, and it shows a few of the tents set along the river.  However, it doesn't do justice to the huge number of tents set up for the festival.  They stretched along both sides of the river as far as the eye could see.  (The broken bottles you see in the foreground were often placed on the top of walls or fences to deter people from climbing over the top and coming inside your home or business.  These bottles were placed on a wall bordering the church that I talk about in the next paragraph.  Today, they are not used as much.)

After viewing some of the art, we went to lunch at a restaurant located inside Todas Santos church.  We were the only people in the restaurant and enjoyed a lovely meal.  Later our waiter was kind enough to let us tour the gardens that supply some of the food for the restaurant.

This is the dining room where we ate.  It would be a great place to hold our book club...very peaceful and quiet.  

There is also a bar in the church.  Look at the cooler...I guess It's Miller Time sometime in every corner of the world.  

Lance and Ken are standing in front of a large wooden container that was used back in the day to make bread.  They are holding two breads we had purchased earlier from our favorite Italian baker.

Here is a picture of the ovens used to bake the bread at the church.  The people were busy getting ready for the Todos Santos Traditional Bread Festival that was to take place on Saturday, November 1st.

Below is brief explanation about the bread they were preparing and some pictures that were posted on a blog by Nancy and Chuck-Retirement in Ecuador.  She does a much better job explaining it than I can.  

November 2nd is called All Souls' Day here in Ecuador.  It is observed to some extent by all parts of society, but is especially important to the indigenous peoples of the Andes.  Families gather together in the cemetery with offerings of food for a day-long remembrance of their ancestors and lost loved ones. Ceremonial foods include colada morada and guagua pan.

Guagua pan is a type of sweet roll shaped like a small child or baby.  They are decorated with icing and sometimes have a sweet filling.  Guagua is the indigenous word for "baby."  It is pronounced "wa-wa."  The origin of this sweet bread is here in Ecuador.

Colada morada is a beverage prepared with purple corn flour and small pieces of fruit including the Andean blackberry which gives it it's color.  It is prepared with cinnamon, allspice and cloves and other herbs.  (The two pictures above were taken by Nancy.)

(A few days later I came across this alter set up at the art festival, which I believe might also be in honor of All Saints Day.)

After leaving the restaurant, we took a taxi to Parque el Paraiso.  While there we looked at some more crafts, watched part of a talent show and walked around the park.  This was a new experience for Lance and I and we enjoyed seeing this popular park in Cuenca.  

When we arrived at home we saw some festivities taking place at Parque Calderon.  

The picture above is a woman holding a small girl.  These are our neighbors from France.  They live right next door to us in our building.  Her husband told us he will be working in Cuenca for the next two years.

Saturday, November 1st, we met up with Glenn and Mara to take in more of the festival.  On our way to the Todos Santos Traditional Bread Festival we saw the end of the Parade of Students.  Here are just a few highlights of what we were able to see.

Check out those heels.  Many women walk around in high heels all day here ...even on a parade route.  

When we arrived at the bread festival, we shared a glass of colada morada and guagua de pan.  The drink was thick, sweet and spicy and the bread tasted like most white bread you might have had in the past.  While at the church we took a tour with a guide who spoke English.  She explained the history of the church and took us on a walk through the garden where she talked about all the plants that were growing there.  She did a great job.  I'm sorry I didn't capture her face...she was very pretty and sweet.

We ate lunch at a small cafe that we use to frequent when we visited last Christmas.  Then, we saw more of the art, including the paintings that were displayed by the broken bridge.  From there we walked back to Parque Calderon, enjoyed an ice cream treat, and parted ways.

  

Check back later for the final two days of the Festival.    

Hacienda Uzhupud

On Friday, October 25th, Lance and I were lucky enough to be invited to lunch at Hacienda Uzthupud.  Our helper, Victor, drove us to Roz and Ken's house, and then he took all of us to this beautiful place.  When we arrived, we met up with 2 other couples that are friends of Roz and Ken.

Hacienda Uzhupus is a beautiful estate located about 30 minutes outside of Cuenca.  It is surrounded by mountains, lovely gardens, a heated pool and hot tub, and an organic vegetable garden that supplies the restaurant and cafe.  It also offers horseback riding.

We all took a tour of the grounds, then sat down for a delicious, relaxing meal.  We enjoyed everyones company and are looking forward to the day when we can return and spend the night.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

 Here I am posing with Roz and Ken.

Here is a nice picture that Ken took of all of us at the table.  Thanks for sending it my way Ken.

On Saturday and Sunday we went to the park and the market.  Here are a few photos from the weekend.  

There were some kind of demonstrations going on at Parque Calderon on Saturday.  The woman above is weaving a hat and the man below is writing names with glue and applying glitter to the glue.

Here is a sample of all the wonderful fruits and vegetables we have to choose from at the market.  When we go to the market we always ask permission before taking a picture.  We usually ask to take the photo after we have purchased something. 

Lance loves all the different juices they offer.  He had a coconut drink and I tried Mora juice.   Yum!

This picture was taken from above.  

On the way home on Saturday, we saw this clown standing in front of a store trying to attract people to a grand opening of a new store or a sale...we are not sure which one it was.  He saw me with my camera and posed.

Just another delightful weekend in Cuenca! 

Oh the Places We Go...and the People We Meet

It continues to be a busy life here in Cuenca.  Everyday we discover something new and meet so many nice, kind people.  Last Saturday we finally had the opportunity to meet up with our new friends Roz and Ken.  We went to the Jazz Society to hear a duo from Southern California.  It was nice to catch up with them and hear about their past year in Cuenca.  They have always been so kind and  helpful to Lance and myself.  We appreciate their friendship and hope to see them as often as possible, even though they now live on the outskirts of Cuenca.  Sorry...no pictures of the event...I didn't think to bring my phone.

Sunday Lance and I headed down to the Inca Lounge and Bistro for lunch.  As we passed the park we could hear music playing.  We were surprised to see two native (North) American men playing instruments and entertaining a small crowd.

A little bit later, I received a text from my daughter, Erin, asking if anyone watches the Packers in Cuenca.  As we approached the Lounge, here is what we saw...

it was Mike, the owner of the place, wearing a Packers jersey.  I asked if I could take his picture and he happily posed.  Mike hails from Alaska, and he told us that some girls from UWM had given him the shirt.  The Inca Lounge is part restaurant, and part sports bar.  They are one of the "go to" places if you want to watch North American football.  Mike is very friendly, and runs a nice establishment.  He referred to living in Cuenca as an expat "lite" experience.  I would have to agree.  Despite our lack of the language, we have found it very easy to get around and the people most helpful.  I'm sure it would be much harder in other countries.  While there we met a couple from Cleveland who are interested in moving to Cuenca, so we sat with them and shared a little bit of our experience.

Monday, we had lunch with another new friend, Barbara, that we met on our previous trip to Cuenca.  Barbara is originally from Germany, but she has lived in many different and interesting places.  We had a nice conversation and will no doubt get together with her again sometime soon.

Tuesday we paid a visit to the Mall del Rio which is the biggest and fanciest mall in Cuenca.  They have a Coral store there...which might remind you of Walmart...and many other upscale shops that display items and brand names that would be familiar to people back in the states.  Most of the stores at the mall and in El Centro are already preparing for Christmas.  We saw a huge Christmas tree being assembled in the mall and the Coral store had large displays of candy and animal crackers.

 Here is a picture of the food court at the mall.  It has a large screen T.V. and many familiar fast food restaurants, including McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway etc.  It also has a car dealership.

These pictures show Lance holding the large sacks of candy and animal crackers that can be found in the Coral store.

Wednesday, we had to take our unexpected trip to Quito to get pictures for our residency visa.  We flew with another couple, Glenn and Mara, who also needed photos.  Glen and Mara moved to Cuenca a few days before us.  They were very nice, had interesting stories to share, and had much more knowledge of Ecuador due to several trips they had made in the past.  They were also very good at speaking Spanish...which was a great help to Lance and myself.  Interestingly enough, Glenn had gone to school in Oak Creek, WI and Mara had gone to Northwestern University, but also spent some time in the Milwaukee area while dating Glenn.  However, they spent most of their married life in Alaska.

Mara taught kindergarten...go figure...and I believe Glenn worked with computers.  They are both musically talented.  In fact, Glenn's brother, Gordon, is in the well known Milwaukee band, The Violent Femmes.  We appreciated having someone to spend the day with while we took care of business.

   

 It was our first visit to Quito, and we were amazed at how close the mountains are to the city.  Parts of it are very beautiful.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit the historic center.  Instead we flew into the new airport...which is many miles away from the city.  After a long cab ride we arrived at the old airport, met someone from Gringo Visas who was there to help us, then drove with them directly to the office where we had our paperwork and pictures done.  Afterwards, we went for lunch with one of the helpers, a very nice gentleman who had previously done mission work in Cuenca.  When lunch was done, we headed back to the airport where we sat and visited for the afternoon, waiting for our 6:00 flight back to Cuenca.  I wish I could have gotten some nice pictures of the area, but we spent most of the time in a car and it was hard to get a good shot.  Someday we will have to return to Quito for a longer, more relaxing visit.

We continue to enjoy our stay at the Gran Colombia Suites.  There are so many nice and helpful people that work here.  One of our favorites is the handsome gentleman who works at the front desk.  His name is EnZo and he always has a smile on his face, is impeccably dressed, and goes out of his way to help everyone.  He grew up in Cuenca, but speaks very good English...which is helpful to us.  We LOVE EnZo!!!

Today is Thursday...and Lance and I have our second Spanish class.  It is going to be a challenge.  We attend as true beginners, but there are many in the class that clearly have more experience than us.  We will continue to work hard at this because it is important that we know how to talk to the local people.  That does it for today.  Tomorrow we take another exciting trip with Roz, Ken, and friends of theirs.  I will have a new post about that experience in the days to come.

If you are a friend of mine and following this blog...please let me know by becoming a follower.  It's nice to know who is taking the time to read it.  On a personal note...Mrs. Weaver, if you are reading this, please email me...I would love to hear from you.  I hope you all enjoy a nice weekend.  I'm sure it's starting to get cold in Wisconsin...here the weather seems to get nicer each day.  :)