Traveling from Buena Vista to Portoviejo, I just couldn't help looking out the bus window and marveling, "This is December!" Somehow, when you're here, it's kind of hard to picture what things are like "there." What I do know, however, is that this is NOT your typical December scenery where I'm from!
I started taking pictures of houses along the way that were "dressed up" for Christmas. Decorations aren't as prevalent down here, and thus, most trimmings are difficult to see in the pictures. I decided to post the pictures anyway just to give a cross section of residences in this particular part of the country.
Business district in Lodano
Fruit stand
Woodworking shop
One of the many vendors selling "Año Viejos" - little dolls that folks make and then burn up as part of their New Year's celebration.
Here's one explanation for Año Viejos that I found on the internet.
In Ecuador, Año Viejo is a fiery tradition that symbolically burns up the failures, regrets and anger of the old year in order to usher in the hopes and resolutions of the new one. On the last day of the year, people construct effigies that might represent an irritating person, a disliked political figure, or even disappointment about past mistakes or unachieved goals. A handwritten note is pinned to the dummy explaining why it must be burned and what changes and improvements are desired for the coming year. Then, to a chorus of cheers and clapping, the effigy is thrown into the street and burned to ashes. Although the origins of this custom are murky, many believe it dates back to a particularly virulent yellow fever epidemic that required the mass burning of corpses.
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