For decades, we have wanted to see a bullfight. Not that I endorse cruelty to animals, but I do like seeing different cultures and their customs (the USA ain’t the arbiter of morality to the world…). Though we have been in Mexico at least 50 times, plus to Spain and other Latin American countries, but […]
Ambato Prepares for Carnaval Parade
We spent today exploring Ambato, seeing the city prepare for the big parades of the next two days. We started up by having a taxi take us to “that big Ecuador flag up on the hill.” We discovered that it is the “parque de la familia” and is an educational park intended to attract family, […]
Carnaval Ambato
Flambé dinner our first night in Ambato It took us 12 hours of driving yesterday to end up at Black Sheep Inn — an isolated vegetarian eco-lodge that had gotten rave reviews. Suffice it to say that our reviews were not as high, and that we left early to arrive in Ambato today… We have […]
Carnaval La Merced
As usual, the kids were the center attraction of these parades Today starts off Carnaval week in Latin America. Cuenca has always been a snoozefest in past years, but the government is now trying to encourage tourism and this year has some “first time” events planned. We heard a band playing outside our condo this […]
Another Niño Parade
The parade was led by roughly 30 horses, most with children riding in costume. Christmas eve has the biggest Pase de Niño parade (click here for our 2012, 2013 and 2014 Christmas parade posts). Between then and Carnival though, there are a series of smaller Niño parades put on by various church congregations and neighborhoods. […]
Another Inocente’s Parade
Food vendors were the first to set up, and kept the audience fed all night. This is our third year attending the “Día de Los Inocentes” Parade in Cuenca. It seemed this year was a bit more subdued than last year (2014), which was our favorite so far. You can also see our first year […]
Dante’s Inferno Is Shrinking
Masks go on sale a few days before New Year’s Eve and are popular with old and young alike New Year’s Eve in Cuenca, Ecuador is like no other we have experienced around the world. This is our third NYE in Cuenca, and it seems to get smaller each year? You can see our blog […]
Pase del Niño Gallery is Live
We wrote about the Pase del Niño parade a few days ago. We now have that gallery live, with full size images. Hope you enjoy seeing what Christmas Eve is like down here at the equator. You can reach it by clicking on ‘Ecuador’ in the menu above, then choosing the upper-left page, or just […]
Pase del Niño Viajero Otra Vez*
*Parade of the Traveling Child Again Every Christmas Eve there is a massive parade in Cuenca. The centerpiece is a statue of baby Jesus that was sculpted in 1823, then carried by Monsignor Miguel Cordero Crespo on a pilgrimage in 1961, where it was blessed by Pope John XXIII. This is our third annual parade […]
Murder He Wrote!
The body of prominent Reaper Junction resident, Grimsby Graves, was found early this morning at the bottom of a newly dug grave in the Reaper Cemetery. The eerie find was made by sheriff’s deputies after they received a call from a local resident. Graves, whose ancestors helped found the town in 1770, owned the large […]
