this past weekend & today

Friends of mine from WorldTeach (the program under which I am teaching here) who teach English in Riobamba were in Cuenca this past weekend.  My friend, Nancy, who lives here and is in the process of getting her residency here had told me that if I had friends from WorldTeach who visited Cuenca & needed a place to stay that they could stay with her.  That was a generous offer & I took her up on it, putting Nancy in touch with my friends who visited this past weekend.  I had no doubt that they would all get along as all 3 of them are former Peace Corps volunteers.  Needless to say all went smoothly & to top it off, we hired my friend and tour guide, Hugo, to give us a city tour of Cuenca.  It wasn't so much that we needed a city tour, but he does have insights that one just doesn't know about by walking on the streets.  It was interesting and a pleasant way to spend much of the on again off again rainy/sunny typical weather.  Here are some photos from our tour.

Got eggs?  (An egg store!)

More eggs, including quail eggs

The new cathedral in Cuenca.  This is what Cuenca looks like

interesting roof top (I think animals from Aesop's Fables.)

Hugo & me horsing around--he is pretending to lift me up a pole that is supposedly greased

Hats drying at Homero Ortega Panama Hat factory

Man working at Panama Hat factory

More hats!


After the tour, we went to some handicrafts shops.

sewing machines at hat factory

My friend, The Coconut Man, at his tagua (seed from the Amazon rainforest) artesenia shop

In the afternoon we went to a Beatles Tribute show, which I found to be very nostalgic.  Loved 

listening to the Beatles music juxtaposed to what was happening in the U.S. at the time--Viet Nam War,

civil rights issues, Martin Luther King's death, student protests.  Interesting to re-experience this in Cuenca, Ecuador.

On that note, I have experienced a number of things here that I never would have dreamed of even hearing about here:

Two weeks ago I went to a photo exhibit of non-Jews who rescued 1000s of Jews during the time of the Nazis in Europe.  And today I went to an absolutely amazing poster exhibit of Barack Obama.  It was called Campaña Presidencial: Barack Obama, Marcando Historia, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and El Centro Cultural.  I could have cried.  There were 70 posters, all beautifully done, mostly before he was elected.  Very poignant and to think that I saw this exhibit here!  Wow!

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