Bits and Pieces, December 19, 2012

Christmas in Cotacachi

Christmas here is a very big deal.  It's very commercialized, just as it is in the States, but the whole thing doesn't start until around the first of December.  I'll have lots more photos and discussion about Christmas here but I wanted to start out with the processions that take place from the 15th through the 24th of December.  This is the miniature one from last night:

I came up behind this one and it was within seconds of being over so I only got a couple of photos but with a wee bit of explanation I think you'll get the spirit of it.  There were sparkly fireworks at the corner where they started and the one where they ended (that would be a total of one block).  Traffic stopped on one side of the street for them but went around on the other side.

This is the entire procession.  I couldn't manage to get in front of them while they were moving forward so this is about all you get.  There was one angel and the women are all gathered around a little statue of the baby Jesus.  I'm not quite sure what they're doing but it seemed to involve wrapping him up.  Stay tuned for more Christmas procession photos.

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Who would like to bring some of my "stuff" down here for me?  As I was writing an email to someone the other day it occurred to me that this is something I could mention to my general readership just in case you have the wherewithal to do this.  This is specifically aimed at folks in the U.S. who are coming down here on vacation but may apply to someone moving here, depending on a few factors.

I'm always in need of having a few things get from there to here and having things shipped can be a seriously nasty pain in the tush (you may recall the computer parts problem).  Right now I'm in need of getting my specialty yarns here--the ones I couldn't part with when I moved here.  I'm making wall hangings that need them and purchasing yarn here is quite expensive and the ones I really need aren't available.  At some point I will need shoes.  Shoes actually can't be shipped--it's against the law here--don't ask--I have absolutely no idea why.  To be honest, I don't even know for sure that it's accurate except that in addition to having heard this from a couple of people, a friend of mine had a pair of shoes confiscated that were in a package that was opened by Customs.  Go figure.

Anyway, if you're coming for a visit and want to have some space in your suitcase to put souvenirs in when you go back home, I'd love to be able to tuck some things in there that need to come here.

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Have you taken a look at the count on the ClusterMap in the upper right hand corner of the blog?  I never cease to be amazed at the number of people who read this blog.  Thank you to all of you who come visit with me.  I can't begin to tell you all how lovely it is to have "friends" all over the world.  Anyone want to guess when the number might hit 10,000?  I'm thinking it will be sometime around the end of January or the beginning of February if I get my act together and write more often.  Be sure to let me know if you plan to come visit so we can make plans to meet while you're here.

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This is a rather short "Bits and Pieces" but I want to get the photos out today.  With luck there will be more very soon.