This was our sixth viewing of the annual Pase del Niño parade in Cuenca (see here for the report of our first viewing in 2012). The festivities start with a Catholic mass at Iglesia Carmen de la Asunción, built in 1730 and located at the Flower Market, usually around 8:30 AM, but things were running late this time. (The […]
Saraguro Celebration
We joined Esteban Arevalo today, with 20 others, for a visit to Saraguro and their Kapak Raymi (December solstice) festival celebration. Saraguro is a tiny town of only 9000 residents, about a two hour’s drive outside Cuenca, and known for their traditions. We were told we would be seeing a parade in Saraguro, and have […]
Cuenca Christmas Concert 2017
Many thanks to the Cuenca International Chorale, el Coro Infantíl from the Conservatorio “José Maria Rodriguez” of the city of Cuenca, and the Cuenca Symphony Orchestra for their Christmas concert at the old cathedral (Iglesia del Sagrario). “Conciertos Navideños” was the 4th annual concert presented by the Cuenca International Chorale, with songs in Spanish, English, German […]
Tulcán, Ecuador
After our anniversary celebration, we drove to Tulcán, the highest city in Ecuador at 2,980m. There are two famous tourist sites in this area, though one is actually about 10 km across the border into Colombia. To get to the iconic Las Lajas Sanctuary (a Catholic church and pilgrimage site, as shown above), we took […]
Mindo, Ecuador and 45 Years!
We have explored most of Ecuador in past trips, but have never been to either Mindo or Tulcán. Since we were flying through Quito on our way from Panama back to Cuenca, we decided to spent a week in this part of the country. We rented a (highly underpowered…) car at the airport, and took off […]
Panama 2 – Bribing a Cop in Spanish
Driving back from Boquete towards Panama City, I was stopped by a cop for speeding. Yes, I was driving over the limit — which was 35 mph on a 4-lane, 200 mile (literally) straight stretch of road where I saw another car about once every 5 minutes, and no city or other obstruction within 10 […]
Panama 1 – Boquete Coffee Farm
Our first night in Panama was spent in Panama City, where it was so humid that we felt we were walking into a steam oven. We’ll come back to the city in a few days. The next morning we rented a car to drive to Boquete, about 200 miles to the West, at a higher […]
Cuba 8 – Farewell from Havana
As we prepare to leave Cuba, it is mostly the Cuban people with expressives eyes that we remember. They have had a hard life, yet seem content. We ended our Cuba photo tour by returning to Havana for one last evening. On the way there, our van got a flat tire with the retread flying off […]
