Independence Day Festivities

It’s been a while since I blogged, so I thought I should make an appearance before you think I disappeared for good!

We had a glorious time during the Independence Day Celebrations in Cuenca (officially November 3^rd), but it actually ends up being about six days of parades, fireworks, street vendors, food vendors, and tourists from all parts of the country who converge on Cuenca to make it a memorable time for all. This year was spectacular in that the rain decided to make an exit and every day we were greeted with crystal blue skies and white fluffy clouds.

To quote my Ecuadorian neighbor, “We lump the ‘Feast of the Dead’ and Independence Day all in the same week!” For me it’s more like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July and Christmas all rolled up into one. In fact, my hubby’s students at CEDEI say that this holiday is celebrated with greater intensity than Christmas. We’ll see about that as last year we flew back to the States for the holidays.

Our days are full with Spanish classes, Mark’s English classes at CEDEI and my writing. I just finished a huge editing project and now I’m able to get some things done before our son, Jeremy, arrives for a visit during the last week of November. We plan on celebrating his birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas all at the same time while he’s here. In fact, our Christmas tree just went up and all the sand dollars that I collected during our vacation in Puerto Lopez are now woven together with red ribbon and are gracing our tree with holiday cheer.  

We have met some amazing folks this past month—too many to mention in this blog, but all have been such a delight. Diego and Be Ta are from Slovakia and plan on returning to Cuenca in four more years. We first met them through Facebook and it was so nice to actually meet them in person. They have an apartment for rent, which I have posted a link to on the sidebar of this blog. Don’t worry, I’m not involved in real estate or property management; I’m just doing it as a favor for some wonderful new friends.

In August 2012, however, Mark and I will be in the States and plan on doing some seminars on “Living and Retiring in Cuenca.” In fact, our story will be in the upcoming book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbyeto Stress. The dates and locations of the seminars will be announced as time gets closer, but they will be in the San Francisco Bay Area (August 1-22), so if you happen to be in California during that time, we look forward to meeting you in person. 

I’ll leave you with some highlights of Cuenca’s Independence Day Celebration…

Until next time…hasta luego!

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*The Map Maker's Wife is a great read if you want some South American history mixed in with a romantic fiction novel.

Happy Independence Day Cuenca!

Independence Day in Cuenca is celebrated much like Fourth of July in the States: a day off from work, families get together for an afternoon picnic, and fireworks at night (okay, sometimes in the afternoon!). We've been celebrating as well with Ecuadorian families, watching parades, dancing in the streets and non-stop music.

Cuenca's history is steeped in tradition going back to the Canari Indians who first inhabited this jewel in the Southern Sierras, to the Incas, and then the Spaniards who ruled for 300 years until the liberator, Simon Bolivar, gave Cuenca back its independence.

The Spanish left quite a legacy in Cuenca, giving us the old colonial homes that occupy much of "el centro," the Spanish language, and the Roman Catholic Church. With such a long and rich history, no wonder it takes a month to celebrate!

We had an unfortunate incident happen in Parque Calderon last Saturday afternoon with some friends, so we have avoided the main square.

Cuenca is very safe, but during this week of festivities you have tourists from around the globe descending upon this beautiful city. We have a friend who has lived in Cuenca for 17 years and said that he also avoids "al centro" during the Independence Day celebrations. Because there is so much going on everywhere, you don't have to be at the center of the action to enjoy the beauty and splendor of this joyous holiday.

We have made so many wonderful Ecuadorian friends and count ourselves blessed to be taken in by these families. We missed a trip to Paute yesterday with an Ecuadorian family because I've been experiencing some eye problems (hopefully it's just old age).

Happy Independence Day Cuenca!
Until next time...hasta luego!



Viva Cuenca, Pumapungo and Amigos!

In Cuenca, there’s so much to see and do that—quite frankly—you can become overwhelmed, so we try to do something new every other day and visit a museum once a month.

Last week we started out at Parque Paraiso (Paradise Park) and were transported into another world. It’s Cuenca’s largest and most beautiful park. There are walking trails, a lake with paddle boats, a river running through it, playgrounds, places to picnic, a running track, soccer field and statues. You could easily spend a day there and not see everything!

Our favorite part was the walking bridge through the “forest.” It reminded us of Tom Sawyer’s Island in Disneyland. We went on the trail several times—taking a different entrance and exit each time. We were like two little kids discovering the park for the first time!

We worked up quite an appetite and stopped to have a frozen yogurt for 15 “centavos” at one of the “tiendas” and then off to the Pumapungo Museum.

Like many of the museums in Cuenca—this one is free. My favorite part was the shrunken heads! I heard about them before, but there’s nothing like seeing the real thing. Sorry, no pictures (cameras are not allowed in the museum), so I guess you’ll have to go see for yourself. I’m still trying to figure out why they had to sew their mouths shut!

The museum has two floors, the underground, and the lobby where there is an exhibit of contemporary silver art and jewelry. I so wanted to take some of the pieces home with me, but I’m not all that excited about spending the rest of my days in a Latin American prison, so I walked on by!

We briefly strolled through the Pumapungo Archaelogical Park, but soon realized we would need an entire day to explore this fascinating place in its entirety. It helps to know a little bit about Ecuador’s rich history to appreciate its present glory – “The Emerald of South America.”

From Pumapungo, Mark and I walked to El Centro and Parque Calderon to have an ice cream at Tutto Freddo and watch the festivities starting to “percolate” for the Independence Day Celebration. On November 3rd, Cuenca will be celebrating 190 years of independence from Spain.

Last week, we had a chance to enjoy a little of our own celebration with friends: Kathy, Mick, Nick (their adorable poodle), Mike and Pat. Kathy is an amazing cook and combined with southern hospitality, we had a great time savoring a great meal. Mocha gained a new friend—Nick—and learned how to share toys. Being an only “child,” Mocha needs to be with other “kids,” so we’re encouraging more play dates for our boys!

On Sunday, we took in more of the “Independence Day” celebration at La Esquina de las Artes with traditional dancing and food tasting. I bought a huge chunk of Guayaquil dark chocolate from one of the vendors and it’s safe to say that it won’t be making it to California as a Christmas gift!

We feel so blessed to call Cuenca home. We celebrated festivities with our Ecuadorian friends on Saturday and look forward to many more celebrations this week as well. Viva Cuenca!



Until next time…hasta luego!