Pase del Nino

Cuencahighlife.com describes Cuenca's annual Pase del Nino parade as "It's whacky, wild and it's sacred. It's Cuenca's largest event of the year and it heads down Simon Bolivar in the historic district beginning at 10 [Christmas Eve] morning. The annual Pase del Niño parade features more than 15,000 participants riding on 600 floats, 400 horses, with many more on foot. The event, which honors the birth of the Christ child, combines indigenous and Catholic symbolism, often in very strange ways. Don't miss it!"

Finally, after two years, we were able to view the best Christmas parade I have ever seen, along with about 100,000 other locals and tourists. This year, the parade lasted for ten hours.  About two hours longer than usual, we were told.  Perfect weather and wonderful friends to hang out with made it the highlight of my year.  The pictures will explain what took place better than I ever could.  Enjoy!

That is just a small sample of the pictures that I took that day.  I hope you enjoyed them.  It was well worth the two year wait!

Cuenca Country Club

Not many people get to see the Cuenca Country Club. I did not know it existed until an Arts, Crafts, and Food Fair was recently held there. It was open to the public for only a couple of days. So, you know we had to go check it out. 

Yes, the roses below, at the entrance gate, are fresh! Most of the roses sold around the world are grown in Ecuador. Therefore, they are very inexpensive here. 

We bought a few pottery pieces by a world famous artist here (Vega). The grounds are well landscaped. The pool looked refreshing. Didn't ask how much a membership was; we did not see an information booth. 😃. It's interesting to me that the "well-to-do" Cuencanas (women) bleach their hair

blonde, trying to look more white. Here I am trying to get as much sunshine as possible in order to look darker to fit in better with the locals!

New puppy!

A week ago, a local veterinarian let me know that he found a six week old male Miniature Pinscher that needed a new home. I walked to the clinic to see the pup and I fell in love as soon as I saw him. He is adapting well to his new home. His name is Chico. Here are a few pictures of the handsome baby. 

Be forewarned, I will be posting more pictures of him!!!

I'm doing better ...

It's been over a month since my accident. I am improving every day. My head injury has healed, leaving a scar about three inches long. The affects of the concussion are improving as well. I still have muscle pain. I am going to a massage therapist, once a week, and the sessions are helping me a lot. I'm looking forward to walking long distances again and getting on my bike. 

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IMAGES ARE GRAPHIC!

For those of you that may be interested, here are some pictures of my head injury and of me in the emergency room. 

The injury is healing nicely. I'm lucky to be alive!