Carnival in Naranjal :-)

Carnival weekend came early this year to Ecuador this weekend just gone, giving us all Monday and tuesday off work. These days of joyful excess (carne = meat, and folk talk of carnival as an indulgence in food and flesh) lead up to Ash Wednesday and the start of lent across the whole of South America.  Having had such a great time with Ty's cousins and their mates in Naranjal last weekend, Emily, Ty and I decided to head back there for the carnival celebrations and had a brilliant weekend! :-)

Saturday's parade of dancers and floats marked the beginning of the beer drinking, 'carioca' foam spraying, water drenching and salsa dancing.

Emily and I were looking to the floats for tips for our JUCONI-cmap carnival cart idea that we're working on with our Art Club kids and were glad to see recurring themes in the carts that we've already included: palm trees, parrots, recycled materials, masks, flowers etc.

'Carioca' foam spray is a key part of carnival celebrations across the whole of Ecuador.  Last year we played with this with Jonny and Becky in the mountains in Ambato, and the added element this year on the coast was getting soaked with water and coated in dust paint.  We rekon on Sunday we must have been soaked in water, foam and paint whilst drinking shots of Pilsner light in rounds for about 9 hours straight at Maria José's, Tyrone's cousin Adrian's girlfriend's house!  

Naranjal is know here as "la Tierra Encantada", "The Enchanted Land" and Tyrone's extended family that live here, sisters, aunties, children and grandchildren all along one street, say that once you have bathed in the hot springs of Naranjal you will always come back.  We're not sure if it was the springs or the good company, but something definitely worked because Emily and I were back within the week to come for carnival, after having spent our first weekend visiting the hot springs and drinking and dancing the nights away with Ty's cousins.

 Bathing in the hot and cold baths that they say bring you back to Naranjal (above) and Emily teaching Ty's cousin Julio Cesar's oldest boy Geovanni, how to use her camera by the Inca Trail on the way back to the house (below).

Cacao drying out infront of the house opposite.  This region cultivates a lot of cacao and many folk, including Ty's Tío Julio, sell it for export. 

Beautiful sunset across Naranjal from Ty's cousins' house.

Thanks to Ty and his cousin Adrian and friends and Tía Magdalena and Tío Julio for such an overwhelming amount of hospitality.

:-)

p.s. a few shots from the Ingapirca ruins from our stop-off on a brief visit to Cuenca on Monday , brought to an abrupt end by some dodgy stomach reaction that had us dashing back to Guayaquil on Tuesday. 

Hot 'canelazo' shots made from cane liquor before a loop walk after being guided round the main site.  Fruit punch (but not alcoholic) 'chicha' after it - is this maybe the point that the stomach's got dodgy?!)