Religious Iconography

A collage of just a few of the churches around Cuenca. I've probably only seen a quarter of them!

Funny Money

Money is always a mystery when traveling. I'm not sure why, given that technology has infiltrated every last patch of dirt on the planet. Nonetheless it seems there is always some twist.

In Thailand they freak out if the bills you're trying to exchange for local currency are torn. And heaven forbid you should accidentally catch a Thai Bhat in the zipper of your wallet and deface it. It's adorned with the face of the Prince and it's a crime punishable with  jail time for being disrespectful to His Majesty.

When I was in China they would only take brand-new bills. So I wandered around for a month with a purse full of bills with just the slightest crease. Un-useable.

Armed with the information from my previous excursions abroad, I stopped by my local bank prior to leaving for Ecuador and requested all new $100 bills. Wouldn't you know those bills have been nothing but a pain in my ass! The US government issued new currency in late 2013. All the bills I have are so new they haven't even seen them in Ecuador yet!

The first time I tried to use one, it took some serious fast-talking to convince the the clerk at the store it was not a counterfeit bill. There I was with my limited Spanish vocabulary pointing out all of the security features of the bill. All the while she was rubbing it between her fingers convinced I was trying to pull a fast one.

Today I realized I was running low on $10s and $20s and, and everything soon to be shut down until Wednesday due to Carnaval, so I headed off to the bank to break a $100. I stopped at Banco Pinchinca, where I've performed this task twice before, only to be told the only place I could get change was at Banco Central.

Walking in the pouring rain, I arrived at Banco Central where there was only one teller working and a line of 15 people ahead of me. I finally get my turn with the teller only to be told they won't give me change without my passport. WTF? This has never, ever been requested before. Keep in mind that I am not changing US dollars for a local currency. They use the USD!

By this point my little banking expedition has eaten up an hour of my day. I'm wet and frustrated and decide I could use a cocktail. Aha, if I stop by SuperMaxi and buy a bottle of rum not only can I break that damn $100 bill, but I can make use of the frozen pineapple in my freezer. Turns out there is a silver lining to those clouds!

Stairway to Turi

Counting down from 440 can be demotivating when the counting down involves climbing up; in the mid-day sun at altitude. Especially when I'd already climbed 175 stairs prior to the numbering system kicking in! Of course I could have taken the bus up to the "best views" of Cuenca, but where the hell is the fun in that?

While the views were rather pleasant, I found the shrine with bundles of horsehair and the cemetery more intriguing. I'm not sure where this odd obsession with old cemeteries stems from, but I'm sure it's related to my fascination with ancient churches; despite the fact that I don't really feel a connection to religion. My curiosity takes over and I want to understand why.

Why do they dress up their Saints in really horrible quinceañera dresses? Why is there a procession nearly every Sunday with young children wearing tacky adult wigs? What is this shrine with globs of horsehair, sheep wool and ribbons? Why is the cemetery fenced off from visitors yet piled with discarded diapers and food containers?

Alas, all questions that may never be answered. The good news is I got in one heck of a workout and plan to make the trek again one of these days to explore the villages on the backside of Turi. Who knows what hidden treasures await!

Shrinking Heads - Cuenca, Ecuador

There are so many museums in Cuenca I've realized I need to explore them based on geographical location rather than try and fly through them all in a few days.

Starting with Museo del Banco Central brought me up close and personal with the shrunken heads of the Shuar. Oddly, this is the only exhibit in the museum with both English and Spanish descriptions. That must say something about the curiosity of the tourists!

The process of shrinking a head is rather complex and I was astounded how the features are retained. Basically the skull is removed and the remaining cavity is filled with hot sand. The head is continually rotated while the sand cools to ensure uniform drying. Several applications of hot sand are necessary and the whole process can take many days.

The purpose of shrinking the heads is to destroy the evil spirit of the soul of the person who was killed. According to the placards at the museum, the Shuar believed they were performing a great service for the planet in decapitating their enemies.

Quite honestly, the rest of the museum felt a bit like Disneyland. It's basically a collection of dioramas representing the various indigenous groups of Ecuador. There was basically zero explanation, in any language, of the traditions, customs or way of life of the people depicted.

Adjacent to the Museo del Banco are the Pumapungo Ruins. The ruins are believed to be the spiritual and ceremonial center of the Incan city of Tomebamba. Sadly, after the Spanish conquest many of the stones from the site were used to form the foundations of the colonial buildings in the town centre. Supposedly the site bears evidence of the pre-Columbian tradition of burying a man alive in the foundation to give it strength.

Ruins of Pumpapungo

All-in-all this museum visit was just a tad macabre! Thankfully my tour through Museo de las Culturas Aborigines was way less gruesome. Room after room filled with artifacts from every Ecuadorian culture from 13000 BC up to the Spanish conquest. 

What I found most interesting was the vast collection of decorative stamps. Carved on cylinders of stone, the designs were quite intricate and were rolled in plant dyes to create a border on the object to which they were rolled. For some reason I always enjoy seeing an infusion of beauty in the implements of daily life!

Clockwise from upper left: water vessel, Macanas (battle-axe), decorative figurine, carved stamps, large water vessel, primitive game board and a collection of bowls.