Layers of Cuenca

Cuenca from the Turi Church

We happened to arrive in Cuenca, Ecuador for the 3-day festival that encompasses All Saints Day (Nov 1), the  Day of the Dead (Nov 2) and the celebration of Cuenca's independence from Spain (Nov 3) in 1820.  The weekend was full of  festivals, parades and beauty pagents.  The newspaper reported that hotels were at 90% capacity with visiting Ecuadorians.  There is also a large ex-pat population here (estimates vary from 500 to 5000) and a network of english language blogs, support groups, bars and Chamber of Commerce sponsored programs.  (Cuenca was first named the world number one retirement destination by International Living in 2009 due (I guess) to cost of living, health care and its UNESCO world heritage status.  However, a fair number of the ex-pat blogs are pretty whiney).  Whether expat or gringo (those of us just passing through) we were also out in large numbers in the city this weekend.  Though it makes Luc and me cringe to encounter aging Texan punksters with pink hair, black spandex and piercings on the street, I am sure we stand out to the local population as much as they do.  I am easily a foot taller than the average woman on the street, and Luc's motorcycle is 1000 ccs bigger than most bikes we see here.

We missed most of the parades and the beauty contest, but we did have a chance to sample one of the special foods of the holiday:  a warm drink made with andean blackberries, purple maize, cinnamon and unidentified peach-like floating fruit.  Along with this colada molada, you usually eat a baby-shaped bread called Pan de Guagua (which means baby in Cechua).  Yum (or at least I thought so).

Colada Molada y Guagau de Pan

Cuenca is a layer-cake of cultures.  There is evidence of inhabitants here as early as 8060 BC (surprised?  see Charles C Mann's wonderful book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus for a complete revision of the history of the Americas as you learned it in school).  There is little that remains, at least in the archeological museums, but there is plenty of evidence of the Cañari people who were here starting in 500 AD.  They were absorbed (if this is the right word for the Inca style of empire building) by the Inca's in the 1400s, and the Incas, in turn, were overwhelmed by Spanish diseases 100 or so years later.  Cuenca at the time of the Incas is said to have rivaled Cusco in Peru.  Many people in Cuenca wear tradition dress.

Cuenca girl on her iPad

Any street corner

Not every street corner

At the little Museo Manuel Agustin Landivar, you can see the archeological remains of the three cultures literally layered one on top of the other.  At the Parque Arqueologico Pumapungo down the road, you can walk around the remains of the vast city of Pumapungo that was rumored to be El Dorado (as many places were) and contemplate the view they had of their dominion.

Cuenca Layers

Pumapungo

Another thing you notice in Cuenca is the number of churches, all Catholic from what I have seen (there were quite a few evangelical churches further north, in Tena, for example).  They say there is a church in Cuenca for every Sunday of the year, which is only a slight exaggeration (there are 40).  Though a good deal of the pillage was shipped back to Spain, much of the colonial Spanish city, including the gold on the church alters, was built with the building blocks and booty from previous civilizations.

While I have been combing through museums and churches, Luc has been back at campground, a lovely little organic farm in the city, working on maintenance and repairs.  Besides the consistent little problems that need fixing (toilet seal, leaky window, broken window lever), he has decreased the width of the trailer from 95 to 84 inches, which means it is now about the width of our van including rear-view mirrors. Now he is changing out something in the motorcycle (valves?). Hopefully when we head to Peru in a few days he will be riding the bike!

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