Carnaval: Gualaceo

The first two days of water fights in Cuenca were unlike anything we had ever seen. We had been unexpectedly soaked in many different fashions and covered in several different fairly harmless substances... espuma hurts in the eyes. However, most of our fights had been fairly tame - a soaked sleeve or pants leg here or there, some espuma on the back or in the hair. It was much to our surprise (and delight) when we realized that the real holiday started when the adults got involved.

our new hostal: "La Casa Río"

Adults, as it turns out, have better access to water. And weapons with which to dispense water. On day four (Monday) of our trip to Cuenca, we were preparing to leave for a nearby town called Gualaceo. First, we needed to move our bags to a new hostal - a beautiful, river-side hostal called La Casa Río. Inconveniently, our street was blocked off by some six or seven full-grown men armed with large "waterarms," large buckets of water and hoses. There was no escaping them.

If Looney Toons taught us anything, it's, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Thus it was.

We had two major battles with our Cuencan rivals. Our first was rather weak. We only had three guys and five water-guns. The main purpose of our first battle was to provide our girls with coverage while they ran by with our luggage to the new hostal attempting to avoid getting soaked. While successful in that respect, we three boys were rather dripping después (after).

After being entirely soaked, we decided a full-fledged attack was in order. While getting situated in our new hostal, we filled dozens of waterballoons, several Nalgenes and as many waterguns as we could carry and prepared for battle. Everyone got involved. Craziness ensued. Here are some pre-, during- and post-battle photos:

off to war

at battle

triumphant

drive-by

As you can see from the last photo, drive-by shootings or bombings were common.

After shaking hands with our rivals and changing clothes, we were on our way to the bus station to head off to Gualaceo. Before leaving the bus station, we refilled our water guns and equipped ourselves with several can of espuma. The bus we got on was unsurprisingly packed. The majority of us were standing. In the spirit of the holiday, about fifteen minutes into the one-hour bus ride, a young boy sprayed one of our girls quite thoroughly with espuma. Unaware of his company, the young boy was barraged all at once by ten streams of espuma from our group. Immediately, the bus errupted into a full-out war. Inside the bus! Within five minutes, everyone (including mothers with infants on laps) was covered in espuma or water or confetti or flour (or all of the above). The bus looked like it had been snowed in. For the next forty minutes or so, the bus was filled with periodic skirmishes and ceaseless laughter. Upon arrival in Gualaceo, we were again in need of a change of clothes and again in need of espuma.

post-bus photo

Gualaceo is a beautiful town of maybe two thousand people. On Carnaval, however, the riverbanks of the town were lined with hundreds of Ecuadorians from near and far. The pathway along the river was another war zone. By this time we had worked ourselves out a strategy. Any time one of us was sprayed or hit with a water balloon, we collectively chased the assaulter down and covered hir with foam. We were not to be messed with.

A Peruvian artisanal clothing vendor

Besides water fights, we saw some beautiful artisanal goods being sold (see above). The majority of the venders had bussed over forty hours to sell their clothing at the big celebration in Gualaceo. Along with the shopping, we heard live music, tried delicious food, and walked around the beautiful town. Unfortunately, I don't have too many photos from Gualaceo. I didn't take my camera out that much for fear of it getting soaked or covered in flour.

Photo album: "Carnaval en Gualaceo"