More Cuenca! and the villages -- IKAT!

More architecture shots, just for Maureen :-)

Here are some more road shots...another city park...oops, a duplicate, I'll have to figure how to delete it later.

This next one is an overview shot of the city... a sea of RED tile roofs...

Somehow, the camera got switched to video so I don't have stills to share of the rivers...but they are just beautiful, reminds me of the Applegate River at home... fast moving, white water. Some ladies were doing laundry there. Gorgeous apts and houses line the rivers...

After the morning drive tour of Cuenca, we had a delicious lunch at a beautiful restaurant owned by one of Carlos' friends, the El Jardin near the Victoria Hotel... wonderful veggie soup, chicken with herbs, fresh veggies and tiramusu for dessert. One of the best meals in Ecuador. Here's a pic of Edy, me in my rain hat (bad hair day, no water at the hotel!) and Carlos...

THEN... the afternoon of nearby villages...I was in textile heaven!

Meeting Carlos' friends, a couple of ikat weavers and dyers, made my b'day!

They graciously opened up their studio to us... I am still sooo impressed with Carlos' knowledge of the looms, the techniques! Who would have thought...

Here is the gentleman wrapping cone yarn (sheep wool)... an intricate wrap... you can see the woman has begun the tying process on the hot pink thread...ikat is like tie dye, but much more complicated.

After the threads are dyed, ties removed and threads washed, the threads are 'connected' into fabric by back-strap weaving... so fascinating!

OK, I know these pics are a little crooked, but you get the idea... here is the woman knotting the fringe...

This couple has a wonderful collection of really old shawls... they should be in a museum...

The fabric is ikat, with the fringe of old lace (kind of like filet crochet, very delicate and detailed...) Patti, thinking of you!

Here's me, Edy and Carlos admiring the goods...

Here we are modeling shawls... these guys were such good sports!

A floor loom for bigger pieces...The woman embroiders, too:

Check out the wonderful garden, fellow Master Gardeners!... and the threads drying...

We got sidetracked admiring the hummingbird...

Not a dye day... but, Carlos says the dyes are made from roots and leaves from the market...

Back on the road...more colonial style...


I'm going to post now...with the rest of the day to follow later!

==N

Cuenca!

We're back in Quito now, after an absolutely wonderful side-trip to Cuenca!

We had a whirlwind day yesterday... so much to share! Wow, where to begin...

Carlos, our guide, and Edy, our driver, showed us Cuenca and

some nearby villages... Both Gentlemen are absolutely delightful -- full of knowledge, totally professional and such good company.

Carlos grew up in Cuenca, knows it like the back of his hand... both he and Edy spent time in the US, Canada, UK and their English is impeccable. We started along the cobblestone streets to the city square... not many folks on the street as most are celebrating Carnaval and most businesses are closed.

This church is right on the city square... the first church on the edge of town. On the right of the pic, you'll see a huge cross... called the 'humiliation cross'. Since Cuenca didn't have a jail until the 1930's, local citizens regulated justice, by taking the bad guys to this cross for a whipping and then a trip out of town...

Cuenca was an isolated city... about 18,000 people until the 1930's, so everyone knew everyone.

First paved road to the city was built in 1960, when the population grew steadily to the current 350,000. Cuenca has 6 universities, and is considered the cultural capital of Ecuador with a strong middle class....... you can see the Spanish colonial style everywhere.

The square used to be a bull-fighting ring until 1960, when it was outlawed after a death of an unfortunate citizen.

Carlos says behind many of these doors are courtyards.

Moving on to the markets...

Crafters from Otavalo sell here, too:

Right around the corner from the market area, near the new cathedral and the construction of new vendor areas, is a tiny buildingwhen the Carmelite nuns live.

The nuns are 'cloistered', meaning they don't meet the public. In order for them to survive, they sell some goods... This wooden 'wheel' is the ingenious way for them to sell, and not see the buyers... Buyer speaks to them through the walls... nuns place the goods in one of the cubby-holes and 'turns' the wall... buyer takes the goods and places the money in the cubbyhole and spins the wall back...

The nuns also leased surrounding property for additional income.

The nuns sell soap, herbals, lotions...

Here is the new cathedral, construction started in the 1980's and isn't complete. A crack appeared on the backside and the folks are still trying to decide what to do next. Marble is from a local quarry.

More pics later, N

Hey, Jim -- a b'day gift!

Rich has arranged to ship this Arabian to you... you're welcome!

Love, N

More on textiles/needlecrafts

You'll see assorted pics that Rich posted earlier... here's more words to go with...

You'll see back pack-type wraps with babies... I didn't get close enough to see how they were tied, but it reminded me of Sam's zulu baby slings. Also, some of the women's head scarves seemed to be long pieces of black fabric, intricately tied around the head...

There is a pic of a woman crocheting a hot pink hat, with some scratchy chenille-type yarn. Her stitches were perfect, all sc... she was the fastest crocheter I've ever seen!

At the leather town, you'll see ponchos and scarves made of scraps of leather, crocheted together with a shiny thread... pretty.

You'll also see my new handmade navy jacket! Woven wool/cotton, very warm.

At the market, alpaca (woven fabric) shawls and ponchos and were popular with the gringo shoppers, too. Not sure if Rich posted pics of some of the beautiful embroidered clothing and tablecloths...we know those are locally made, as they were stitching those as we watched...

The mall experience yesterday was pretty interesting... Nordstrom-type stores doing a brisk business, shops were all the 'usual suspects'...Gucci, Tommy, New West, Gap, Fossil, etc. With USA price tags. Designer jeans and designer high heels...

==N

More about the yarn shop

Just have to add some details to go with the pics that Rich posted earlier today.

Yes, that's a yarn shop at the mall! A small shop, with limited yarn, some ribbons, some x stitch kits...

The yarn was a whole lot of sparkly acrylics, small skeins of 83% acrylic/cotton blends (at $8.90/sk!) Just a few of what felt like wool, maybe alpaca blends (no labels, but priced at almost
$10/sk). I didn 't see any needles or hooks...no purchases, but it was interesting all the same.

Hoping for more of a selection in Cuenca.

==N

Back in Quito, a restful day on Sat, a Walk and the Mall.

We just vegged on Sat and put pics up and returned some e-mail. Later in the afternoon we took a walk around town and to the park nearest the Hotel. There is a Mall across the street, so we thought a look was in order to see how marketing was done to the urban buyer in Quito.

What a difference from yesterday in Otavalo.

Guess what Nancy found.

Back to the Hotel. Sunday we take a flight to Cuenca in the afternoon.

Rich