Carnaval ~ Ecuadorian Style

I'll be the first to admit, I have some rather complex personality quirks. I love big cities as well as the solitude of living in the country, but don't care much for mid-size towns and break out in hives at the thought of suburbs. You'd be hard-pressed to get me to spend much money on a hotel, yet I'll readily spare no expense on a good meal.

This same sort of odd reasoning applies to festivals, parades, parties, etc. I either want a wild-and-crazy-blow-out or nothing at all. Which is why Carnaval in Gualaceo was such a downer. The paper listed three days of activities that led me to believe I was about to experience something fabulous.

First misleading promise was the "artisan fair in the park with handicrafts" that turned out to be row after disappointing row of Made in China. Board shorts, t-shirts, plastic toys, hair accessories. Not one solitary item made by the hands of a local artisan. It was like an afternoon at the Santa Maria flea market without the potential of discovering an interesting antique.

I finally gave up on finding one of the Panama hats the area is famous for to find a spot on the parade route. Scheduled to begin at ten, in the spirit of mañana it actually started moving along at 11:30. Sort of. It moved for about five minutes and then stopped, with a marching band playing the same refrain over...and over...and over.

At this point my friend Jean and I decided that walking the parade would be more entertaining than waiting for it to pass us. Good thing because it took a good 30 minutes before they started moving. By which time we had discovered a little pub along the route where we enjoyed the remainder of the parade.

In the end we determined that Carnaval is just an excuse for grownups...mostly of the male gender...to throw water, flour and spray foam on passersby while consuming large amounts of beer. Apparently the flour and water bit is leftover from a indigenous celebration involving the second full-moon of the year. I guess that was my little taste tradition!

If I'm still living in South America next year I've decided to do it right. Anyone care to join me in Rio?