Our plan for Thursday (Cuenca's Independence Day) is to attend the military parade then check out more of the artesian fairs around town. The parade is advertised to start at 10 am and the route is a 15-20 minute walk from our apartment.
We leave the apartment at 9:45 am and walk down Simón Bolivar toward Parque San Blas. As we are walking along people are gathering curbside and William comments that it seems like they are preparing to watch a parade. Sure enough, a few minutes later we hear a band and notice a parade coming our way. Turns out this is the La Morlaquía Parade, with contingents from different Cuenca neighborhoods. We stop periodically to see some of the floats and people in the parade, but continue on our way to the military parade route.
We leave the apartment at 9:45 am and walk down Simón Bolivar toward Parque San Blas. As we are walking along people are gathering curbside and William comments that it seems like they are preparing to watch a parade. Sure enough, a few minutes later we hear a band and notice a parade coming our way. Turns out this is the La Morlaquía Parade, with contingents from different Cuenca neighborhoods. We stop periodically to see some of the floats and people in the parade, but continue on our way to the military parade route.
The military parade is slow moving and honestly, the portion we are seeing is boring. A highlight is the tricks of the motorcycle police. The vendors and people along the route are more interesting than the quasi-military groups who are marching. After 30-45 minutes we decide to walk to Museo Pumapungo. We find that there is a food fair setup around the Museo, but forego buying some treats - Waffles de Belgica and splitting a waffle is on our minds.
After our waffle we walk along to the art and crafts tents setup on the south side of the river. The sun is hot and the crowds are pressing. This is the official holiday and most people have off of work. Plus, it is estimated that 100,000 people will visit Cuenca this weekend. Our pace slows significantly. At the next bridge we walk across than up the 88 steps back into El Centro. We stop in the courtyard of an old monastery which is being converted into businesses. In addition, there are tents setup where vendors are selling their wares - everything from Ecuadorian wine to clothing. One of the businesses is a bistro, and we stop for some cold beverages and a light lunch.
Mid-afternoon we arrive back at the apartment. The walking app on my smartphone registers just short of 10,000 steps.
After our waffle we walk along to the art and crafts tents setup on the south side of the river. The sun is hot and the crowds are pressing. This is the official holiday and most people have off of work. Plus, it is estimated that 100,000 people will visit Cuenca this weekend. Our pace slows significantly. At the next bridge we walk across than up the 88 steps back into El Centro. We stop in the courtyard of an old monastery which is being converted into businesses. In addition, there are tents setup where vendors are selling their wares - everything from Ecuadorian wine to clothing. One of the businesses is a bistro, and we stop for some cold beverages and a light lunch.
Mid-afternoon we arrive back at the apartment. The walking app on my smartphone registers just short of 10,000 steps.
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