Colonnial Chic and Valley Heaven

My last week or so in Ecuador, sob sob... It´s been a fantastic time in this little country and I´ve really grown to love it for all its quirky, ramshackle charm and gorgeous natural beauty. I spent a few very pleasant days in the refined city of Cuenca, taking in its relaxed pace of life and slightly more cosmopolitan inhabitants, before heading south the the muy tranquilo town of Vilcabamba which turned out to be just the haven I was looking for. A place I could live I reckon, as a few other gringos have discovered over the past twenty years or so. Thankfully, this hasn´t taken away too much of the slow-paced charm, as the town remains pretty small and the local influence strong.

Cuenca
I really liked Cuenca. It has a sense of pride and style that seems seperate from the rest of the country. There is lots of great colonial architecture and its very nice and clean.





The Mercado 9 De Octobre was spotless and the produce of better quality than than most places back home! The city is also perfectly safe to wander around during the day (and I never had any problems at night either) and that was rather refreshing. It has a massive cathedral in the centre of town, the Neuve Catedral, which was built in the 1800s and manages to be pretty damn grand inside as well as out:



Across the way there is the Viejo Catedral, yes, thats the ´Old Cathedral´, build originally in the 1500´s and a little run down but fascinating inside. Unfortunately you can´t take pics. As I emerged from the Nueve Cathedral though, there was some sort of protest march going on, led by a full-on military marching band and consisting almost entirely of older locals, many in traditional Andean dress carrying placards and waving flags. I was really happy to see them out on the streets, demonstrating and taking issue with events. It struck me you wouldn´t see the old out marching in England, it takes alot to get more than the die-hards out on the streets these days, myself included. Most of us are happily tucked up in our houses in front of the TV moaning, sure, but actually getting out there and making a point? Doubtful. And that I find to be a rather sad state of affairs. Makes you think.


Some of these people here must be pushing 80 too (though obviously its hard to tell) and their passion for their cause was palpable. My favourites however were the old timer musicians playing in the back of a Jeep following the whole march. Complete and utter dudes, the lot of them:


There is supposedly a church for every week of the year in Cuenca and I went to a couple of the best ones, outside the Asunscion there is a very colourful flower market:


I also found a really fantastic exhibition by the Ecuadorian painter Jorge Chalco at a little Museum by the river. I´d not heard about him before and his stuff really is great, wild and fantastical with a real sense of place, kind of like if Gabriel Garcia Marquez was a painter if you know what I mean:



The Museo de Art Moderne was also worth a look with a good selection of exhibits, covering all sorts of different media:



I also went to Ecuador´s only Inca ruins, Ingapirca, which is certainly no Machu Picchu but was still worth a look:



With a great place to stay (La Cigale on Honorato Vasquez for those that might be interested.. Andrea ;) and a couple of cheap and tasty veggie rstaurants (coconut milkshakes made with soya milk, coconut bits and served WELL cold = blissssssss) I was set up perfectly for my last few days in the country, hiding away from it all amidst the drop-dead gorgeous scenery of Vilcabamba.



Vilcabamba
What can I say about this little place that would do it justice? I guess it just has to be experienced. Its probably one of my favourite spots I´ve been to on the trip so far, amazingly tranquil but with just enough going on to keep things interesting. From friendly locals and mind-blowing views to yes, another fantastic and cheap vegetarian restaurant, it was the perfect end to Ecuador. I even got a full body massage for the equivalent of a tenner that had me floating around for an afternoon feeling like a little fluffy cloud. And no, San Pedro was not involved. At least not that day.

A quick mention for what must be one of the most most bizarre rave scenes ever. Pretty much the whole town had gathered in front of the main church which had two sets of large speakers either side blasting, and I mean BLASTING, out a really really bad blend of reggaeton of hard house. Yep, that bad. Everyone just sat around the place silent and motionless, all apart from one little girl who took it upon herself to dance in the middle. It was really weird.


As if I don´t post enough, here´s a load more lovely photos to end on, including some hot Ladybird sex, some seriously good views and a sunset so beautiful... well: