10 de Agosto Market, Cuenca

 Wherever we go, one of my favorite things to do is wander the local markets...

Canyoning in Banos

slide

They call it canyoning, but what it really is - rappelling down waterfalls. Kinda crazy, but lots of fun! It's a series of 5 waterfalls - and the bottom of the last one is small, so we just slid down it on our bottoms...

going down

That black dot below is Manuel

long way down

almost there

Here I come....

A Blast in Paradise

following the stream

 On the second day of our 2 day jungle tour, we followed our guide through paradise, down a beautiful stream into caverns, through bat filled caves (or at least they were before we got there- the bats flew out en masse when we invaded their space), over logs, shimmying up crevices - getting muddy, soaked, scraped up - and having a blast!!

Our fearless leader

going in...

up and over

bat cave!!

tight fit (no comments, please)

following the leader...

lunch on the river

Our River Transport

Tilapia

Lunch stop (view from above)

Quinoa

The Beach

We booked an overnight trip into the jungle- part of the adventure was floating down the river in inner tubes and stopping for lunch by the side of the river. Lunch was tilapia cooked over a fire in banana leaves, quinoa, yucca, and lemon grass tea, with leaves from the jungle as plates. Yummy.

Papallacta Thermal Springs

A popular trip from Quito is Papallacta, thermal hot springs (2 hours and $2.50 for the bus). The "Termas" is a series of tiled pools, filled with water from the natural hot springs, each one hotter than the next. There are also cold pools (very cold!), and a cold river running through the area, for a "take your breath away" experience. We spent the night in a nearby hostel, with it's own thermal pools. We even had a thermal pool in our room.

Hot!!

Hot and Hotter

Chillin' by the river

Steam Room

surrounding area

hot stream by the road

hostel fireplace and thermal pool and shower

http://www.hosteltrail.com/pampallacta/

to market, to market

What will $5.10 buy in a Quito market?

11 tomatoes
5 apples
9 short, fat carrots
1 small papaya
1 avocado

1 bag of uvillas (see below)
2 shopping bags

Uvilla (Ground Cherry, Gooseberry, Husk Tomato): These small yellow fruits are called ground cherries because they grow close to the ground are roughly cherry-like in size and shape. They have nothing else in common with cherries, including taste and the fact that there is no stone. They are bright yellow and grow inside a husk that looks a little like a tiny paper lantern. The flavor is a little like pineapple and they are eaten raw and fresh, one after another, like popcorn.

Good Friday Procession

flagellation

ouch

penitent cross bearer

J.C. and roman soldiers

barefoot cucuruchos

young J.C.

procession 

cucuruchos

"Held in honour of Jesus’ sacrifice, this procession consists of thousands of penitents marching solemnly through the narrow streets of the old centre of Quito, from and to the San Francisco church. Cucuruchos, Veronicas, Jesus holding the burden of the cross, Roman soldiers, representations of Jesus del Gran Poder and Our Lady of Sorrow… Many characters take part in the procession. The most prominent are the Cucuruchos, penitents wearing purple robes with white rope around their waists and cone-shaped hoods (hence the name cucurucho which means cone-shaped), hiding their faces, with two holes for the eyes. Historically, the robe and the hood were worn in Spain by flagellants, by people sentenced to death, or during the Inquisition. As for the Veronicas, they are veiled women dressed in purple. They play the role of Veronica, the woman who wiped the face of Jesus Christ when he was on his way to the Calvary. All these characters can be performed by anyone willing to suffer for their sins."  (sounds and colours magazine)