Sunday Out & About

Today is April 12 - it's a very big day here in Cuenca. The city turns 458 years old.  Well, that's 458 years since the Spanish "founded" the city.  The Canari and Inca were here for centuries prior.  458 years of being "Cuenca," I guess!

Because this is a key date in Cuenca's history, there are street craft fairs all around town.  After lunch this afternoon, we walked around one such fair.  Lots of booths; however, most were selling the exact same things:  woven hats for kids (ski caps that look like Hello Kitty, Angry Birds, etc.) clothes, jewelry, and oil paintings.  Many booths were selling very ornate toilet seat covers, oddly enough.  I've never noticed them here before.

It has been sprinkling rain on/off all morning and afternoon. We dodged the rain as best we could before hopping on a bus back home.

Here are some shots from today's trek.  Because of the rain, I could only do quick "point & shoot" pictures, but they will give you a glimpse into some of the scenes we saw today.

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Street fair across the Tomebamba River

On the bridge crossing the Tomebamba River.  The woman (wearing white) is selling grilled plantains from her cart on the left.

On the other side of the Tomebamba.  We had lunch up those many, many steps on the left.

Starlite Trailer Lodge is represented in Ecuador!  Sorry for the fuzzy shot - we were holding on for dear life (as usual on the buses here!)

BELOW:  This is a major north/south street in Cuenca - Avenida de Las Americas.  Near our house.  We were standing under a canopy just waiting for the rain shower to pass.  That's a school bus heading northbound, by the way.  Most school buses are much smaller than this one. 

The "Unidas" store in the background is a giant paint store.  I've only seen it open once since we've been here.  They cater to the professional painter, I believe.  

Behind the Unidas store is the city's biggest market, Feria Libre.  You can buy anything from St. Bernard puppies to cell phones to handicrafts to freshly slaughtered cattle.  World's greatest people watching - beats an airport, Wal-Mart, a cruise ship, you name it!  I'm sure you could even find a vertical tail fin stabilizer for a 747 if you look deep enough.  I love to walk there.

...still waiting on the rain to slow down.  That's our building in the middle of the picture.  We then took our lives into our own hands and darted across Las Americas!

This is Tom's favorite house on our street.  It is always impeccably maintained.  Notice the vintage VW Beetle in the driveway. 

Our building, Edificio Amazonas, is on the right.  Tom's crossing the street to avoid the dog poop on the sidewalk!  This is Los Pinos Street, and will soon be on Google Maps!

Some of the beautiful plants along the fence at one of the homes on our street. Any/everything grows here!