Happy Mother's Day

Thinking of our Mothers today and wishing all Mothers a very Happy Day!

Pictures of Moms in Ecuador.

 

 

Fun at the Square, a New Saint and a Bike Ride

Always some fun activity at the main Square.  We always enjoy sitting and watching.

One day, we saw this...

...and their school sign.

A band was playing.

Inside the New Cathedral, folks were paying their respects to Pope John Paul II, a brand new Saint.

Pope John Paul II is the only Pope who has visited Cuenca; he was here back in 1985. Ecuadorian friends tell us that they saw him!  He performed Mass in a park in the Mireflores neighborhood and the entire City attended.  Crowds were immense and the excitement and pride overwhelming! 

 This huge statue of him is right at the main doors of the Cathedral.  He is a favorite of the People.  Cuencans are also fond of the current Pope Francis, a South American!  Folks are hoping and praying that Pope Francis will visit Cuenca, too, but it may be unlikely as he only has one lung and we are at altitude......but  anything is possible.  You never know.

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Another day we saw these signs of a bike ride at the University.

Here is a picture of the ride down Av Solano.  It seemed to go on for miles.  But, where were  all the newly trained traffic pólice?  Horrible traffic backed up on the side streets.  This was not a Sunday and the bikers took up both traffic lanes on Av Solano with cars honking. 

There is nothing safe when bikes and crazy car drivers are mixed in the same lanes. One impatient taxi driver on a side street actually jumped the line and HIT one of the students, knocking her off her bike.  The poor gal sat in the street for a couple minutes, then got back on her bike and rode on.  The taxi didn't even stop...

So -- to uninformed? bystanders, it looked to us to be total chaos.  A huge bike ride, mid morning, down one of the busiest streets on a work day and no traffic control (at least that we could see).  Actually, there was ONE guy, not in uniform, trying...


OK, maybe there were other facts in play, maybe we missed something...

So glad no one got killed!

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Happy Ecuadorian Labor Day today!  A National Holiday today celebrating the Workers. 
Schools are closed, a parade or 2...fun day.

April Walking

We've been walking alot this month...always something fun to see! 

This is an earlier progress shot of nearby construction.  This is where the llamas used to live.   Some say this building will be a hardware store, but we think it will be a car dealership, but hard to tell.

One of the old buildings at the Square is finally under restoration.  We can't wait to see it all done and beautified. 

Fun Street art.

Fun name for a shop!

Colorful, fun art at the bus stops along Av Solano.

 

 

 

We don't know the stories associated with this sidewalk art, but we're sure there are some.

We miss our walking partners,
Chuck and Nancy!

Cute little boy, cute hat.  This pic was taken on Palm Sunday, note the herb bouquet.

More adorable children, so sweet!

Yes, there is a MacDonald's here.  We're not into the burgers as we once were though. 

The best part of the place is "meeting Ron''!

Thanks to Cesar, we now know the name of this tree.  He calls it ''Fresno".  We also know that this same tree produces both the beautiful yellow flowers AND the curious seed pods. 
Thanks, Cesar!

More bus stop art...when pigs fly?

Cuenca's flags flew everywhere during 12 de Abril celebrations.

More beautiful flowers.













Stay tuned for more later.

Happy Easter!

Lots of things to do and see during Holy Week.

Easter is mostly a traditional, religious holiday here in Cuenca.  No Easter eggs, no baskets, no Easter bunnies.  Just an occasional chocolate bunny, but not necessarily just for Easter.  We did find a few bunny cookies this year.

A special Easter soup, called Fanesca, is prepared with 12 different ingredients, representing the 12 Aposilles, and salted cod.  Each family and restaurant have their own récipe. It can take days to prepare the ingredients.  Fanesca is only served during Holy Week.

Sincé we hadn't had Fanesca for a couple years, this year we tasted 2 kinds with friends.  One versión served the fish separately, the other version's cook added the cod in as it cooked. 
Kind of a strong, fishy flavor, both versions, but milder tasting without the fish cooked in.

(The first 2 soup pictures show the soup with little empanadas and then the separate fish.  The third pic is with the fish in.  That is not an onion ring.  We think it's banana. Both have lots of different kinds of beans and grains.)

On Good Friday, it is traditional to visit 12 Churches.  We managed to visit only 3 this year.  Mass was in progress during our visits, so no pictures, out of respect for the faithful.  We'll have to go back at another time for some interior shots.  Not all of our 53 churches are open every day, so it was a treat to be able to see the interior of some often closed.

Easter morning began with, what we thought, sunrise services at first.  LOUD singing, off-key...But, you know what?  Now we think it was the tail-end of a monster party in the neighborhood!
Those off-key singers were probably on their way to bed (or should have been!)

Church bells rang out all over the City during the day.  The Church nearby began Services about 9am, a more sane hour for music and celebration on Easter morning.

We enjoyed this parade of high school students! 

Not sure what the occasion was, besides Easter.

The parade was a good block long, very organized with transit pólice, ice cream vendors, street cleaners (in green), and an ambulance bringing up the rear.  Fun to take these pics from 6 stories up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're hoping you found the golden egg today and everyone ate lots of chocolate bunnies (or See's chocolate eggs!  or jelly beans!  or Peeps!!)   

Happy Easter!  Happy Spring to all in the North, too.

Crafts, Doce de Abril, 2014

12 de Abril Celebrations are always fun, especially the craft booths.  Always fun to see the variety of goodies and baubles.

Fun to people-watch, too.

Several craft venues, This one was  along 12 de Abril and Mother's Park.

This handsome couple should be posing for a portrait by this artist, too.

Craft booths went for a few blocks.

Nancy W making a purchase...






Our next big Holiday here is Holy Week leading up to Easter.  We're looking forward to that, too.