Glorious Days

We've been having some absolutely glorious days here in Cuenca.  Brilliant blue skies, warm weather, not much rain.  Perfect for getting out and about.

We had TWO in a row, walking mornings to town:  our traditional Sunday walk and then another walk on Monday (holiday) with the Watsons.  Both, fun, as always.  We caught up with the news, had breakfast out, delighted in all the happenings of our City...totally enjoyable.

Here are some pictures along the way...you can see the brilliant sky and the sunshine!

Rich and Chuck are taking a break along the way...(The 2 Nancy's are resting, too, off camera...)  We like to take a quick break on these benches near our SuperMaxi.

We traditionally stop to pet this very sweet doggie.  This week we brought him a doggie treat, which he loved!  We'll have to bring him more.

The sky really was this blue!

We enjoyed this street art and the woman's colorful dress.

Monday was a National Holiday, celebrating the Battle of Pichincha in 1822.

 This event marks an important step toward Independance from Spain (since 1532), and the eventual formation of the Republic of Ecuador (including Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca.)

Newcomers will soon recognize the name 'Pichincha'....It's the name of the largest Bank in Ecuador and the name of the province where Quito, the nation's capital, is located.

It's also the name of an active volcano (15,692 ft high),  which most recently erupted in 1993, with dire consequences in the region.

We had heard that the there would be a parade on Monday, and we were really looking forward to seeing it.  But, we got to the main square as all the fun was ending.  Soldiers were in the process of getting back into the trucks...beauty queens were removing their sashes...crowd was dispersing... 

We missed the celebration and it wasn't even 10am! 

But, the flags were still flying high...

Sky was still this gorgeous shade of blue...

(Old Cathedral at the Square)

Another angle of the New Cathedral...blue domes against the blue sky...

We ended the day with another glorious sight...a rainbow!