Cuenca

We were lucky enough to be in Cuenca for their Christmas Parade - the largest one in Ecuador.

The parade began at 10am, and went on for about five hours. Children, vehicles, donkeys, horses, sheep even, all dressed up. It was marvellous to see the whole community participate so wholeheartedly in this event, even though it must have cost many more than they could afford.

The parade went past our hotel, so we were able to watch the procession from its balconeys. Children tossed sweets and biscuits to the crowds. Towards the end of the parade, they distributed the fruit used to decorate their vehicles and things got a little violent then as the poor rushed forward to rip these off the trucks.

Cuenca's supposed to have a large number of poor, but most people were pretty well dressed here. Clothes are so cheap, I couldn't resist buying yet another pair of jeans for US$20. This was the fourth pair I'd bought in Ecuador, and I reckon that by the time we get to Brazil, I'll be restricted to buying bikinis only as they'll be the only things small enough to fit in my bag by that stage.