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Published: March 10th 2011
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As in most of South America, Carnival is the major holiday in Ecuador. It marks the time before Lent begins, when all of the vices that people must deprive themselves of for forty days and nights can be binged on.
However, as we've recently found out, Cuenca isn't a center for this celebration. Sure, there were some of the telltale signs here and there (parades, water fights, fireworks), but for the most part, Cuencanos use the days off to get out of town, heading to the coast or the country, spending time with extended family. This leaves Cuenca, normally a bustling city of half a million, as eerily quiet as a Twilight Zone episode.
Our vacation started promisingly enough. On Thursday evening, as we attended a writer's group meeting on the riverside Calle Larga, we were thankfully interrupted by the approach of loud drumming. Looking out the second-story windows, we were treated to a procession of drumming groups, all playing a variation of the Latin rhythms that are so popular here. Afterwards, we ran into former hostelmate Susan with her beau Ken... we headed into the nearest bar, which turned out to be the charming and sedate La Percal.
The next morning, we headed to work... well, sort of. Because of the impending holiday, all classes were cancelled. Instead, the school held a Carnival party for the children. What this entailed was an introduction for us to the biggest of all Ecuadorian Carnival traditions... getting covered in water, shaving cream and flour. Thankfully, we had purchased some serious water guns at the Coral, so the little buggers met their match. Justin was a particular favorite, and was pretty well soaked within a few minutes. It's fair to say, however, that the kids got the worst of it.
That night, we headed to the ex-pat Inca Bar to watch the Bulls beat up on the Magic and move into second-place in the East... afterwards, a pretty good Ecuadorian jazz band took the stage. On Saturday, we headed to the 9 de Octobre market to stock up on food, since the stores were going to be mostly closed for the holiday break. We fortified ourselves on the third floor, where a plethora of delicious food stalls are located. We picked one with a splayed roasted pig, and weren't disappointed with the tender meat and crispy skin (eat your heart
out, Zanatta).
It was around this time that we realized that the water throwing wasn't over. From Friday to Tuesday, walking down the street entailed chancing our dryness. Water guns shot from cars, buckets rained from balconies, shaving cream flew from open doorways. We started to tense when we heard a car slowing down behind us... it will be days before the PTSD fully passes. Although we were Gringo targets (as Chris found out when she was drenched by a bucket from a balcony on Monday), it seems the worst was reserved for friends and family. The most extreme was the woman we saw attacked with raw pork at the market on Saturday, although she took it with typical Ecuadorian good humor.
Saturday night, we headed back over to Karen and Dameon's for some pasta and garlic bread. Afterwards, we taught them what a real spades team looked like. We also kicked Dameon around the Monopoly board for a while, although Karen eventually outlasted Justin in a battle of epic proportions.
We took the opportunity Sunday to recover from our days of libations. Chris began the process of tearing up and weeding our garden; Justin did some
work on the computer; we watched the entire first season of Breaking Bad. Late in the night, we received an e-mail that after 48 hours of labor, our friends Erica and Ryan Kappes had welcomed their daughter Frankie into the world. Congratulations to the new family!
Monday, we decided to check out what was going on in town. It was then that we realized that the warnings about the shutdown of Cuenca wasn't an exaggeration. With rare exception, stores and restaurants were closed. The streets were empty, except for the occasional water-spouting car or window. It was calm and beautiful... after stopping by a museum featuring the wildlife of the Amazon that happened to be open, we headed back to the apartment for some more relaxation. That night, we were pleasantly surprised by some fireworks off our front porch that seemed to come from Parque Calderon.
Tuesday was more of the same... sleeping in, gardening, a walk around the quiet town. Feeling a bit bored around nightfall. we met up with the Walkers at one of the schwarma places that happened to be open. After slapping them around in spades some more and enjoying an apple shisha, we
headed back to our apartment for some more drinks, including canelazo, a traditional Carnival drink made with cinnamon, sugar, aguardiente (a local sugar-cane liquor), lime juice and hot water. Feeling bad about all the beatings, Justin allowed Dameon a few victories in chess before consciousness faded.
Today, things were back to normal. The alcohol waylaid our plans to try to check out the Ash Wednesday services... by the time Justin made it to the square, nothing was left but the smudges on people's foreheads. After doing some food shopping, he retrieved Chris and we finally bought a much needed dining room table. After a simple dinner, Chris called her father to wish him a Happy Birthday.
Tomorrow, it's back to work. It will not be an easy wake-up.
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