Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

This was the post I tried to post when I posted "I hate computers". I thought I deleted it, but really it was saved. I'm just that technologically challenged. Well, here you go.


The glamorous side of Ibarra.
On the 4th of October, we had the Caceria del Zorro which is this festival/event thing where there are Zorros, dressed as Zorro (hat, mask, cape, everything black) on horses. The point of the festival is to crown the next Zorro. At Yahuarcocha lake, in the afternoon, the Zorro races and there are a bunch of other people on horses who chase after him to catch the flag at the back of his horse. Whoever catches it is the Zorro for next year. It´s an event that happens every year and it really is just an excuse for all the Ibarreños to go out and drink and socialize at the race track. But earlier in the morning, the Zorros and the competitors have a parade on Bolivar street. That part is for all the rich Ibarreños to come out and show off their expensive horses, designer clothes, and very European looking children. I´ve never seen so many blonde and red headed Ecuadorians or so many popped collars outside of UVA. Talk about feeling like I was in a Ralph Lauren advertisement. But it was really fun and really pretty. I don´t want to write anymore, so here are pictures.

Zorro on Bolivar street.

A cute little Ecuadorian blonde rich girl. I took many pictures of her. I´m a creeper.

The actual race track with a female Zorro, not a zorra...

The Nonglamorous side of Ibarra.
That would be me. Yeah, I was a sick little gringa during the Caceria. I will not disgust you with details.

Another side to Ecuador.
On Saturday, Debby and I went to an AfroEcuadorian town of Santa Ana with some PC vols. They were nice enough to invite us to experience the different culture of an AfroEcuadorian town while they distributed eyeglasses from a project they had worked on earlier. We took a bus to Santa Ana and helped with the distribution. It´s a small town of about 600 in the Sierra and it really is very different culturally. It is a much smaller, poorer town, but the people were so personable and warm. And the town itself was small and rural, but the area around it was gorgeous. We couldn´t get a bus out of the town so we got a ride on the back of a truck to the Panamerica highway. That was a pretty ride. Then we flagged a bus down on the highway and got back to Ibarra. Good day.