R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 137

Ecuador — Cuenca; Inside the New Cathedral

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New Cuenca Cathedral

Upon our return from viewing Eduardo Vega ceramics, Ecuagenera orchids, and La Casa de la Makana scarves, our tour returned us to Cuenca for our next attraction. We’ll get to that in a moment, but I thought I would share with you some Cuenca street scenes that greeted us stepping off the tour bus:

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Store color

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Reading the paper

After several hours on our own, in which we and some fellow tour participants went back to Cositas 10-24 for dinner, we caught up again with the re...

Ecuador — Cuenca; Ikat weaving at La Casa de la Makana

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La Casa de la Makana

Heading back to the west toward Cuenca our tour had one more stop to make. This nondescript-looking two-story adobe structure houses quite the little treasure. This is La Casa de la Makana. Inside you’ll find local artisans demonstrating dyeing wool, mostly alpaca, and mostly with natural dyeing agents ranging from the juice of berries to crushed insects.

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La Casa de la Makana

Artisans both young and old then weave the dyed wools into scarves (makanas) and clothing.

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La Cas...

Fun Photo Friday — Cuenca 2, Ecuador Favorites

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Mild Burden

Today’s Fun Photo Friday gallery and slide show of Cuenca:

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Cuenca, Ecuador, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation

Ecuador — Cuenca; More Ecuagenera orchids

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Ecuagenera Orcid Farm

One of the two largest species of flowers, ranging over most of the entire plant, is the orchid. Here at Ecuagenera over 8,000 species of orchids, as well as a wide selection of other types of flowering plants.

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Ecuagenera Orcid Farm

Eight thousand species of orchid is surely enough tor even the most famous collector of orchids in detective fiction, Rex Stout’s creation Nero Wolfe. Now, being both a fan and a writer of mysteries, you just know at some point I was going to...

Ecuador — Cuenca; Ecuagenera Orchid Farm

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Overlooking Cuenca — blue domes of the New Cathedral

Wednesday, February 17, 2016 our tour gathered for a little excursion just beyond Cuenca. Our first stop was the Eduardo Vega Gallery, which specializes in ceramic art from master artist Eduardo Vega. As lovely as the art was inside, the views of Cuenca from the hills high to the south were well worth the trip alone.

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Eduardo Vega Gallery

After a brief visit at the gallery we continued east for several miles to Ecuagenera Orchids of Ecuador....

Fun Food Friday — Cuenca, Ecuador; Cositas Restaurant Review

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Cositas Restaurant on Simón Bolívar

On our first evening in Cuenca, Ecuador, Ursula and I asked various locals where they enjoyed eating for a taste of traditional local food. Several recommended the place you see here — Cositas 10-24 Restaurante. How good was this place? Good enough that Ursula and I broke away from the tour group the next night and, with two tour comrades in tow, returned for a second helping. More on the second visit and our companions in a moment.

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Cositas 10-24 Restaurant...

Ecuador — Cuenca; Dusk to Dark

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Ministry of Social Welfare

It was getting late, and Ursula and I were getting hungry. So, after receiving some recommendations from the locals, we set out on foot to a restaurant that was so good we visited it twice, the second time with a couple from our tour group who asked to accompany us on the return. You’ll see a review of this little gem on this week’s Fun Food Friday.

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Cuenca Street Scene

Dusk was starting to settle, so I had to get creative on exposure control and finding ways to hold...

Ecuador — Cuenca; Church of Santo Domingo

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Iglesia de Santo Domingo

Not all the churches in Cuenca worth visiting are around Calderón Park. If you travel on foot northwest of the park you’ll come across another gem, but before you get there you’ll find some colorful buildings along the way:

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Street Color

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More Street Color

Eventually, at the corner of Gran Columbia and Padre Aguirre, you’ll stumble across the incredible Iglesia de Santo Domingo.

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Outside Iglesia de Santo Domingo

The exterior is nice, and fun to photograph:

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Iglesia de San...

Fun Photo Friday — Cuenca 1, Ecuador Favorites

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New Cathedral

Today’s Fun Photo Friday picture gallery and slide show (click on any image below to activate):

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Cuenca, Ecuador, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation

Ecuador — Cuenca; Street scenes and buildings

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Holding hands in Cuenca

Today I present some street scenes and architectural shots of Cuenca. The Santuario Mariano is across the street from the New Cathedral:

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Santuario Mariano (Mariano Sanctuary)

Next to the Santuario is a flower market:

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Cuenca flower market

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Cuenca flower market

Near the flower market is the Church of San Francisco:

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As you can see, Cuenca is a picturesque destination with a lot going on. Below is a photo gallery/slide show of shots taken that evening:

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