Fiesta del reys

I was so exhausted from traveling yesterday I just had enough energy to drag a mattress out from storage and pass out exhuasted so early. It was all I was able to do, so frazzled and weary...

This morning though I woke up feeling so good! Sunshine and bird song....and explosions. Back in Ecuador where there is no ryhme, reason, or need for justifying fireworks at any time or hour. I wake up to explosions reverberating across the rooftops and echoing up to the valley ridges all the time. I walked out on the balcony to a parade of horns and trumpets, decked out pick ups, and cute little kids dressed up in religious garb this particular morning though. It is la fiesta del reys, the kings celebration which seems to be a local tradition here in the Southern sierra. I should expect this every weekend all month long my neigbhor tells me and next month is carnivale. Like the snow back home, here I leave and arrive to festivals and parades though. I wonder what that could possibly mean :)

I wandered back down the same side streets, boulevards, alleys, parks, and river walkways into the center of town. Retracing the now familiar steps I just stepped away from. Did I ever leave? Jenny and Chris just opened their cafe, the kookaburra cafe to be exact. I stopped by to say hello and chat. I am so glad to have met them and have some friends here finally. White cappucino, an herb omelete, and *real* bread even for brunch! No charge, they are so sweet and I love their cafe. It radiates positive energy and calm.

Later I passed by the parade again, the fiesta turned to siesta along calle larga, enjoyed some gelato in the plaza de armas, ran errands, and met Catherine up on her rooftop just in time to watch the sun slink over the abobe tiles of the city, brooding clouds hanging low in the valley teasing the rooftops almost close enough to touch.