Metamorphosis: Changing to Retirement in Ecuador: "Viva Cuenca"

The holiday weekend began with our first excursion out of Cuenca in the car. The Grimms wanted to look at a development in El Valle. The development is in the final stage with some townhomes remaining. The earliest stage is 5 years old. The property has not aged well and all agreed that it was reminiscent of a federal housing project in the states. Here's Mick in front of some of the townhomes.

This section overlooks a marsh. There are no picturesque views here.

Afterwards we went to La Piastra for pizza. It was delicious.

Sunday morning found us at the park. With the onset of the independence celebration, Cuenca had been bombarded with vendors, artists, and tourists. On our way to Parque de La Madre to see the art exhibits, we stopped at Sankt Florian for lunch. There is a terrace out back with a lovely view. The Barnes were with us and we all had tuna melts, which were quite tasty. The restaurant has good coffee and is nice for a relaxing coffee break on the terrace.

As we were walking down Calle Larga, I spotted the lovely balcony. Also, at the entrance to a restaurant, whose name escapes me, was the beautiful stained glass.

There were crowds of people everywhere.

There were musicians.

There were friends. Here's Mick, Clarke, and Brenda.

Nancy, Mick, Jim, Angie, and Doyle

There were many paintings.

On Monday afternoon, Mick, George, Carol, and I made our way to the Cajas for a brief excursion. It had rained and there was a bit of fog, but the drive was still breath-taking.

George insisted on climbing to the top of the summit. It took quite a bit of talk to keep him with the rest of us. Here's Carol, Mick, and George. You can see the enthusiasm!

It was a quick jaunt, but our vistas were so beautiful. It was quite evident that you were at a higher altitude. Below is a bit of the vegetation.

The Independence Day celebration continued Tuesday. We rode to the neighborhood on Don Bosco between 12 de Octobre and Av. Loja. It was bustling with activity; several corners had mariachi bands. The numerous picanterias were brimming with food; roasted pigs and cuyes were everywhere. One picanteria had someone costumed as a cuy, dancing with a chola. There was truly a carnival atmosphere.

On Tuesday evening, Mick, Jim, Angie, Henry, and I went back to the area. Even though we had dinner at California Kitchen, we had pork and yapingachos; everything was very delicious. There was to be fireworks and a castillo later. Henry thought that we should go to Parque Calderon for the bigger display.

At Parque Calderon, there were multiple castillos and a band. The park was packed with people. The gringoes in our group had never witnessed a castillo. It is one of those things that you must experience because it is actually beyond words. It is a tall, 4-sided bamboo structure with pinwheels on the sides. Each floor of the structure has fireworks. It is ignited on the bottom and each floor has a different display. There are streams of fireworks. The pinwheels ignite and are propelled around. Finally, the top, the corona is ignited, which sets off the fireworks that are propelled up in the sky. The last castillo of the evening was near the entrance to the New Cathedral, as it was ending, ignited at the top was "Viva Cuenca". It was all magnificent. I did not have the camera with me, but found a picture on the internet of a castillo taken a couple of years ago.

The military parade was held on Wednesday morning. The reviewing stand was in front of Monte Sinai on Solano. We watched across from the stand. The junior civil patrol was lined up, ready to assist.