Happy [Cuencan] Independence Day

This last week Quito was dead.  As in, no traffic jams, very rare honking, and the street outside my apartment was eerily silent.  That was all thanks to a 5-day weekend in honor of Dia de los Difuntos (All Soul's Day on Nov. 2) and the Independence day of Cuenca, Ecuador on November 3, 1820.  While I decided to take the time to relax here in Quito and stay away from the huge crowds, I figure this is a good time to share some pictures from my trip to Cuenca last year for the celebration. Since my now apartment mate is from Cuenca, she invited me to visit her city and her family for the holiday.

Cristina and me at the Turi church above Cuenca

Turi Church

The highlight of my time in Cuenca was the burning of the castillos or "castles," which can best be described as 2-story towers of metal and paper machete riddled with firecrackers and other dangerous pyrotechnics.  This celebration happens in the evening in the central park, which was packed to the gills when I was there.

I think from those images you can get the picture--sparks flying everywhere.  The fun thing is that they set up the castillos all around the central park, and you never know which one they will light next.  So everyone crowds around one only to be part of the crowd running to the other when a different one is chosen.

Everyday in Cuenca during the holiday there were fairs, parades, and other celebrations.  I went to two fairs with Cristina and her family.  The first reminded me much of of a typical county fair, and the second was a lot like an arts and crafts show. 

This aint your typical Midwestern fair--llamas and alpaca are a prominent fixture.

As are guinea pigs

Mariachi band at the arts & crafts fair

 Cuenca is a World Heritage Site because of its well-preserved colonial architecture.  A few evenings while we were waiting for events to start or driving around town, I captured these pictures:

Next time I get to visit Cuenca I hope to see more of these buildings, and maybe not just from the outside.  Another goal for the future is to go hiking in the Cajas National Park, which has hundreds of lagoons.  The closest I got was fishing along the roadside on the outskirts of Cajas, but even what I could see of the park from a distance was beautiful.