Sunday, March 23, 2008

Ecuador Trip - Day 10: Quito

Our last day in Quito was Good Friday. In Quito, there is a big procession that takes place on Good Friday, and Jeff and I were determined to check it out before heading to the airport.

We got to Plaza San Franscisco around 9am, and waited two hours for the procession to start. The square gradually filled with people as we waited. In the meantime, Jeff and I bought hats - he got a Red one with Che Guevara on it.The Good Friday procession features "Cucuruchos", people wearing purple costumes with pointy hats. (They kind of look like KKK costumes, except purple, but their not related at all.)We saw tons of those people go by, along with a number of bands playing fairly somber religious music. Then, at noon, three floats were carried out - one with Mary, and two with Jesus, and then it was over. All the people pushed in behind the floats to follow the parade. It was definitely an interesting experience.Once the parade was over, we decided it was time to grab some last food before heading to the airport. Jeff tried Fanesca, a soup that is especially made on Good Friday. Then we went back to Fruteria Monserrate for some fresh tropical fruit and icecream - the flavors of icecream I ordered were: Mora, Guanabana, and Frutilla... not idea what any of those fruits look like, but they tasted great.Then it was off to the airport and back to the U.S.!

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