Sketch - Laundry on the Banks of Río Tomebamba

Sketch - Laundry on the Banks of Río Tomebamba is painted on coarse linen canvas, and measures only 8 x 6 inches. Clothes of an Indian family lie drying on the ground. A path divides the painting in two, just as the river divides the city of Cuenca.

When the Inca Tupac Yupanqui conquered the Cañari Indians he ordered the construction of a city, Tomebamba, that was to rival the splendor of Cuzco in Peru. No-one knows what happened to it, but by 1547 it already lay in ruins. It is now a very fine colonial city called Cuenca, which still harbours remnants of its Incan past; the Incan speciality of roasted guinea-pig is still a favourite there, and Ecuador's most important Incan ruins lie a bus ride away.

Here endeth the history lesson.

Of all the places I went to in Ecuador, Cuenca is perhaps the one I am most eager to re-visit. It is a beautiful city, full of life. It is a place where the ancient past and the modern live in close proximity to each other, and for the most part get along just fine.

An Incidental Anecdote:

During our last night in Cuenca we were awoken by the screams of a woman on the floor above, and the deep voices of men trying to placate her. The young manager of the hotel told us the next morning that she had been a prostitute, who had tried to stab her client when he had refused to pay her. He told us all this as he sat on the stairs calmly picking at his feet with the very knife she had brandished; it seemed to be a scenario he was well acquainted with. The hotel staff seemed to be more disturbed by the fact that we ordered our coffee once again "sin azúcar" (without sugar).

Asking price: SOLD!