Carnaval: Azogues

The day after Gualaceo, we attempted to bus to a set of Incan ruins called "Ingapirca," about two hours away from Cuenca to seek some respite from our water wars. The group got separated on the way to the bus station on account of some Panama hats (I had purchased my own custom-made straw Panama hat several days earlier) and it ended up being just me and Teo.

When we got to the bus station, we couldn't find a bus to Ingapirca. Apparently, many of the bus lines had been cancelled on account of the holiday. We asked around and were told that we could get to Ingapirca if we went through Azogues. Teo and I were up for an adventure so we got in the weirdest looking bus we'd ever seen (pictured below) and headed off.

weird bus

Upon arrival in Azogues, we learned that the next bus to Ingapirca would leave the next day but if we wanted we could take another bus to some other city and try to get to Ingapirca that way. We opted to stay in Azogues and explore.

Azogues is a small town set, for the most part, on a large foothill in the Andes. Perched on top of the town is the town's cathedral. In the distance, perched on a higher hilltop is a statue of an angel. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to walk up until we reached the cathedral.

Azogues

Along the way, we were accosted by some young girls with buckets of water. We attempted to cross a river to wade across getting wet (backwards?). I managed to escape the buckets and only got my shorts wet up to just under the pockets (I also managed to take a nice chunk out of my toe, which I didn't notice until later). Teo, on the other hand, wasn't quick enough getting into the river and got drenched. Thanks to the beautiful weather, he wasn't too upset about it so we continued up the hill.

While the cathedral itself wasn't anything extravagant in comparison with some of the others we'd seen, as you can see from the picture below, the view from Cathedral was exquisite.

view from outside the cathedral

After we realized that the cathedral was closed for Carnaval, we walked back down the mountain to try to find something to eat. Everything seemed to be closed on account of Carnaval but Ted and I luckily happened past a small market with a few shops left open. One of the shops was a small lunch place. At first, the kid said he only had soups, which was fine with us, but after we started eating he kept bringing us out more and more courses. He brought us rice and corn and empanadas and some beers. It was delicious. Anyways, we ended up sitting there with the kid for about an hour and a half cause we didn't know where else to go. We ended up telling him a lot about ourselves and our travels, and he told us about his family and what how he works at this little restaurant and also paints cars. Then we swapped music tastes, thanked him, and went on our way.

our awesome lunch friend

He suggested to us that we try to take a cab to the next town over, because it was supposedly more beautiful than Azogues. So Ted and I went in search of a taxi. On our way down to the main street, we ran across a group of guys - we will call them "The Dudes" - barbecue-ing and celebrating Carnaval in the street. The Dudes asked us to have a drink with them and asked us what we were doing in Azogues and we got to talking. They were all nuts. They were all drunk, and they were thrilled to have some gringos to introduce to Carnaval in Azogues. We were as thrilled as them, if not more.

The Dudes & Ted

As it turned out, one of the Dudes was named Vicente. This was incredibly exciting for the both of us. See how happy we are?

Vicente & Vicente

Vicente was so excited, in fact, that he invited Ted and me to meet his family a few doors up the street. We joined him to his house and his family was very hospitable, offering us food and allowing us to use the bathrooms. Then, they started playing Ted's and my favorite music in Ecuador: Manu Chao. Then, randomly, Vicente came out with two guitars and asked if we knew how to play. Thrilled, we tuned up the guitars and played back our favorite Manu Chao, "Clandestino," song for the family.

Vicente & family, Ted & one of the Dudes (our favorite)

Vicente's family loved our little performance and brought us back outside to the group to play for the Dudes. The Dudes went crazy when we started playing and started offering us food and drinks and asking us if we knew this and that American song. One of the Dudes (our favorite) joined us on his flute which he was really quite good at. He had no trouble joining us on basically every song. Ted and I did a pretty good job of catering to their music tastes while they literally put food and drinks in our mouths as we played.

our Azogues friends

Ted & I stuck around on the street with the Dudes and Vicente & family for about two hours. By the time we realized it was time to go, we were stuffed full of delicious food and had played almost every song in our repertoire. We said some goofy yet solemn goodbyes to our gracious hosts, took a fantastic photo and went on our way. As soon as we got a decent ways away, Ted and I burst out laughing, incredibly happy about our experience and unable to believe what had just happened. We were so happy that we never made it to Ingapirca. Before we left that morning, we had never even heard of Azogues. We never would have guessed what was in store for us for the day. And somehow, magically, I will probably remember that afternoon for in Azogues for the rest of my life.

Photo album: "Carnaval en Azogues"