Dinner at “That’s Amore” had only two choices tonight — “menu of love” or “menu of passion.” We had both! Valentine’s Day seems a bigger deal here in Cuenca than back in Berkeley. All day long, we saw women walking with single roses, and couples arm-in-arm. Though young couples dominated, there was plenty of […]
Free Music Everywhere
Free jazz concert in the plaza behind Iglesia Todos Santos We continue to be amazed by the amount of free music around Cuenca. A couple nights ago we were walking towards a restaurant and heard a band tuning up. We wandered over a block and found a hard rock band playing on a temporary stage […]
Volcano Erupts
Volcano erupts (image courtesy El Mercurio newsaper) Truck in our parking lot with fine layer of volcanic ash We lived in Beaverton, Oregon in 1980 when Mt St. Helens erupted. We could see the eruption from our house, and ash covered the town several times over the following weeks. Today we had a small […]
Earthquake!
I have lived in earthquake zones in California for most of my life. I have felt many quakes in that time, including the Loma Prieta quake of 1989 that did major damage in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tonight, sitting in my office in Cuenca, Ecuador, I felt the chair start to rock. I paused […]
Another Brick in the Wall
The Cuenca Symphony had their first concert of the year tonight and, as always, it was free admission. This is a full size, professional symphony on caliber with any other city in the world. There were 54 musicians on stage, about half string and half horns. The program was varied, running from the classics of […]
Baptism Parade
Iglesia La Merced was the starting point for today’s parade celebrating the Baptism of Jesus Yet Another Parade is almost becoming a mantra around here. Seems every week (day?) we walk out the front door and find a parade under way or in the making. Today it happened again. After yesterday’s small parade and the […]
Fireworks and Parade – An Epiphany
Tonight I could see six separate fireworks shows going on at the same time from our condo office window. Though seeing fireworks is a common sight around this time of year, I think a record was set tonight! Sometimes walking around town, fireworks will suddenly erupt, as happened behind the Iglesia San Francisco Evelyn was […]
Evil Is Only Fantasy
The banner says “if there is love, evil is only fantasy” Yesterday was the annual Fiesta de los Inocentes, or “Party for the Innocents.” Originally it was meant to commemorate when Herod decreed that all male children under 2 years old should be killed, after he had heard of the birth of Jesus. Historically, the […]
La Merced Niño Parade
We left the house today heading toward a major festival (see tomorrow’s post for details). As soon as we were on the street we heard music and started walking towards it. We had stumbled upon yet another small parade. We hit these by accident throughout the year. We have never been able to find a […]
Subdued New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve day was warm with just enough clouds to add character to the sky New Year’s Eve this year was rather subdued, when compared to last year. All the same activities were there, but fewer of each. Fewer effigies in doorways and on car tops. Fewer neighborhood competition displays. Fewer firecrackers. Fewer fires. […]
