The next stop in Ecuador, Cuenca, the third largest city in the country.
Lonely Planet speaks of the "colonial beauty" as "the tidy jem of the South" which "takes the cake when it comes to charm." However, the night arrival and hotel in perhaps the most ghetto area didn't quite conjure up the same images.
It cost a whopping $6 per night to sleep here at Hotel Norte. And upon entering the lobby there was a group of ganster-esque guys cackling, chattering, and listening to loud music.
They always came out at night, listening mostly to reggaeton, then watching a movie together around 10pm. I could hear everything because my room was nearby and my room's walls weren't completely sealed.
The neighbourhood and city looked a lot nicer during the day, but Loja impressed more so, perhaps because there were no expectations.
This is a market right by my hotel. Markets are usually the best place to get an authentic local meal and for a good price.
Rio Tomebamba
No pictures allowed inside - only in the outdoor exhibit - Museo del Banco Central - Pumapungo.
Exhibit: Mueso de Numismática (the study or collection of coins)
All the info about the fluctuating value, name of the currency, and construction of Ecuadorian money. Coins, at times consisting of one or more portions of copper, silver, or gold - depending on market value. Finally, resulting in the use of American currency today. I haven't seen one dollar bills used here, but one dollar coins and fifty cent coins are common.
Exhibit: Etnografía
This exhibit detailed the various ethnic groups living around Ecuador, and included information about dress, holidays, traditions and more. One of the more interesting groups is the Shuar, which means 'man' or 'human being,' a.k.a. 'Jibaro', "a designation the community rejects as perjorative, as it means savage."
The Shuar live in southern Ecuador & northern Peru, and archaeologically their presence has been proved from the last 2,500 years. Within their linguistic family (Shuar-Chicham), there are 40-50,000 speakers of Shuar & Achuar.
Gold! Oil! Natural rubber! The colonists want it all, as usual. As colonists came into the Amazon region of the Shuar, they were able to establish cities and farms, though they were also met with resistance.
"Thanks in part to warlike condition & sense of identity, the group has been able to maintain itself outside the reach of external cultural influence." Perhaps as evidence of that, my guidebook even says that the Shuar do not want unguided visitors in their community.
The Shuar have complex ceremonies and celebrations, one which notably uses the shrunken heads of sloths. It used to involve human heads, but today Ecuador prohibits it. There were plenty of rules about what head could be shrunk, not just any is OK. For example, after the Shuar conducted raids against Achuar, they didn't shrink the heads of children, women, or white-mestizos because they were considered inferior.
Even though the Shuar may appear to be violent and war-like, there's more. It is their belief that "no Shuar is the owner of life, for which he should not kill. Beliefs including punishment for those who take life is not personal vengance, but an attempt to reestablish the cosmic-cycle: life-death."
Funnily enough, all the exhibits here were only in Spanish with the exception of the exhibit on the Shuar which was only in English.
Exhibit: Pumapungo
These Incan ruins are what remain after a fratricidal (conflict in which one kills a member of their own group/society) war & time. The site was an important religious and housing complex.
soup at a hippie vegetarian place
It rained a fair bit in Cuenca when I was there. The first night I heard water hitting the roof, but in my sleepy haze I thought it was someone taking a long shower.
Stopped for a peek at Museo Arte Moderno. To be honest, most modern art I see disturbs or bewhilders me. I think the reason I haven't given up on it yet is that it's usually thought-provoking, and I remember seeing some great modern art in London. I also had a student in Russia who was well versed in modern art (and religious Russian art), and talking with her seemed to make each piece clear and interesting.
One of the exhibits in the museum had a video which depicted a woman inducing vomit, then singing.
After staying at my hotel for three nights I got to chatting with some of the guests. There was a 74 year old woman who saw me holding my guide book and asked me if it was the Bible. She then told me how she was holding a Bible once when a light shined down from the clouds and she saw Him. The other times I saw her she either asked me for money or complained about the inadequacy of youth today.
I also spoke with some members in the gangster lobby. It turns out that they're not gangsters, but a group of 20 friends who are merchants here to buy stock to take back to their respective towns. I told one guy I was from Canada and he said I was from the "baby, baby, baby" country. Justin Bieber's influence is strong!
