Denim World Championship - SuFu Division

[Max Power]

Not exactly m block, but a trip to a nearby lake we did today. We also visited a viking settling, in fact it was the largest city once. Today there are only a few recreated houses.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Max Power

[Maynard Friedman]

If you grew your hair and wore a horned helmet you could pass as a Viking Max. What do those runes on the stone say?

[chicote]

Hi everyone! I went for my usual walk through town today and thought I'd take some photos for the neighborhood challenge.

Starting out the door of the hostel I've been in for nearly a month now...

As time goes on, I find myself getting more and more restless in this part of town, and my walks have meandered a bit longer and farther every day. Today, I decided to revisit the botanical garden a couple kilometers down the road. On the way there, I passed by my favorite brewery:

The Ecuadorean microbrewing scene is really only getting started, and in other parts of the country I've only come across two towns that have sold any beers other than the government-sanctioned Pilsener, Brahma, or Club. This brewery has supposedly led the microbrewing charge in Cuenca and now has five varieties of beer they make in house. At $3.50 for a 750ml mug, I can't really complain! Unfortunately, it's too dark inside to get any good shots of the beer itself.

Moving on down the creatively named Calle Larga (aka Long Street), one of the main connecting roads in this part of town.

Without a doubt, my favorite aspect of the city proper is the huge proponence of street art. Having seen some terribly ugly scrawls during my time living in Seattle, living in Cuenca (and throughout Ecuador in general, really) has reaffirmed my faith in graffiti as an art form.

I wish I had brought my camera on my previous walks.. these, though amazing in their own right, are rather small and uninteresting compared to some of the murals in the southern part of the city.

Anyway, after a lot of walking, we come to this:

Kind of weird, right? This huge, out-of-place building is the Central Bank of Ecuador. The same building, inexplicably, houses the Cuenca Symphonic Orchestra and a small technical/architectural university. It also shares the block with the botanical garden and a very well-preserved Inca ruin:

Into the garden on the left:

Here is the cactus garden, one of my favorite parts of this walk.

In the above picture, there are three species of cacti, all with very different and useful purposes. The top-right cacti, whose name escapes me right now, can be drained and used as a very effective insect repellant.

Just below it is a relative of nopal, one of the most nutritious plants in the Andean Sierra. The tennis-racket shaped leaves are traditionally fried and eaten with meats, vegetables and sauces throughout Latin America. Another related plant, called tuna, is eaten regularly to cleanse the body of toxins.

The straight, tall cacti in the middle are San Pedro, or Wachuma, a very hardy cactus known for its psychoactive properties (containing mescaline and several other alkali). It has been used by shamans throughout the Andean region as a medicine and for ceremonial purposes for centuries. Peyote, another mescaline-containing cactus native to the southwestern US, Mexico, and Guatemala, has been used by Mayans and other indigenous groups for similar purposes.

Cacti really are beautiful!

(Also, try and find the bird!)

Through this gap in the cacti garden you can see the cultivated space I headed to next.

(cont.)

Edited June 8, 2015 by chicote

[chicote]

Below are a variety of yucca, also known as cassava, tapioca, or manioc. Though not very well known in North America or Europe, cassava has long been a staple food and is today the world's third largest source of carbohydrates, behind rice and corn. Being naturally one of the hardiest cultivated plants in the world, it is grown in a variety of climates, from the coast to the Andes to the Amazon as well as throughout sub-Saharan Africa and many parts of Asia.

Next door is a common species of amaranth, which is only just coming into its own as a popular nutritious food. Many plants in the amaranth family, cultivated properly and ground into flour, can contain considerably more protein per kilo than a high-quality steak. The bread it's made into is dense and earthy, and delicious with fruit jam. Not sure how popular amaranth has become outside of South America yet.

Here I'm at the base of the Incan ruin the botanical garden was built around. The terraced structures have prevented the erosion of the hill for hundreds of years, in an area as rainy and windy as this, a truly remarkable feat.

Moving on to the bird conservatory:

Trafficking of Amazonian fauna has become a huge problem in the last few decades. The birds here have all been rescued from such operations, and while I don't necessarily feel good that they are confined to these little places, I appreciate the work the Ecuadorian government has done to protect such amazing species.

Above is a not-so-good photo of a white-throated toucan, probably the loudest bird in the sanctuary. You can see its tongue sticking out of its mouth, which can remarkably stretch out to be longer than its beak.

Below are a couple of scarlet macaws, revered by many indigenous groups in the Amazonian basin. The group I am going to be working with, the Achuar, use feathers from the scarlet macaw in headdresses that, once made, are traditionally kept for the duration of one's life, and buried with them after death.

And here is a sort-of dorky looking black-chested buzzard eagle. I know it doesn't look like it, but this bird has one of the most fearsome presences I've ever encountered. They live mostly out in the coastal desert, are extremely fast and deadly accurate and as a result can basically eat anything they want. For whatever reason, however, they seem to mostly go after things that have already died!

After the park, I went down by the river towards the market, which was closed like most things are on Sundays. Cuenca is full of cathedrals, which I hesitate to take pictures of as they signify, in my opinion, one of the worst cultural genocides in human history. The colonial city, built upon and between a number of destroyed Incan ruins, was constructed with the intention of becoming the Catholic Mecca (of sorts) of Latin America. Though the conquistadors were unable to fully realize this dream, there still exist today I think 12 cathedrals throughout the city, far and away the most of any part of the country and maybe the continent. Ecuador's population, which is 98% Catholic, never became quite as devout as I think was intended, and today many of the cathedrals are closed to the public.

Anyway, I reached the river after a few minutes. It usually isn't as high as this, but there have been some very heavy rains over the past few days.

I asked for someone to take my picture on the bridge and ended up with this:

Though it may look like I wear my Sugar Canes a lot, I only really have had them on coincidentally on the days I go to take pictures!

Up the street from the river on the way home:

And a shot of my Tenders drying, right where I left them!

So concludes this post... finally, as I'm sure many of you are thinking! It's been really great to check up on everybody's updates thus far. On Friday I'm going to be heading into the Amazon to formally begin my research, so this may be one of my last updates for a while. Looking forward to seeing more from everybody soon!

Edited June 8, 2015 by chicote

[MileHighEvertonian]

^great post, chicote. good luck with your research.

[Max Power]

If you grew your hair and wore a horned helmet you could pass as a Viking Max. What do those runes on the stone say?

Indeed I had really long hair some years ago. Glad that this phase is over. The runes on that so-called big Siggtrygg-stone say "Asfrid had this stone made for Sigtrygg, her and King Knuba's son".

 

@chicote: great post!

Edited June 8, 2015 by Max Power

[straightxedge]

Another part of the making.

After cutting all pieces, it was time for sewing.

 

First Mr. Ruttloff attach the lining to the yoke.

 

 

Then the yoke is sewn to the leg, with a Union Special double chainstitch mashine.

 

 

 

Flatten the seams and attach the right to the left rear leg with the same mashine.

 

 

The result.

 

 

 

[Maynard Friedman]

Chicote - great posts, which make me reminisce about my time in Ecuador 25 years ago! Outside of Quito, my main recollections are the market in Otavalo; Inca ruins in Ingapirca; the beautiful topiary in the cemetery in Tulcan and a quaint, crazy little coastal town called Bahia de la Caraquez, which was being eroded by the Pacific (I note it has now seen quite a bit of development in the last quarter of a century). I had a great time there with lots of good memories and some strange tales! I look forward to your future instalments.

[oomslokop]

thank you chicote. what are you researching in the amazon?

[Bill_e_jean]

great updates, everyone! is there any fixed date until the challenge pics should be uploaded? because of my new job as dad i do not find much time at the moment. 

[bradl]

Chicote, wow what an update. Looks absolutely amazing there learned quite a bit. I really so like how South America embraces the graffiti and treats it as a form of art. During my trip to Brazil I was absolutely floored at the amount high quality murals and pieces there were.

I am also going to take a look for some amamranth, sounds like a nice alternative to bread.

Straightedge, so by the end of two years we will finally get to see the final product?

[chicote]

Congrats on the new job, Bill-E! From what I've heard, there are some pretty busy hours on the night shift.. but hey it pays well in the end!

And hey, thanks everyone! It's a pain in the ass to type these posts out on my phone so nice to see they're appreciated.

Maynard, sounds like an awesome trip! I got stuck in Bahia for four hours on my way to Cuenca from a bit further up the coast... it really has developed fast, you can see its towers clearly from 100 kilometers up the beach! It'd be great to hear some of your adventures in the future.

Ooms, my research primarily has to do with the forced cultural integration of indigenous peoples resulting from economic interest in the Amazon (gold and oil drilling, deforestation, trafficking and overhunting of forest species and creation of trade posts and waste sites on indigenous land), but recently I've also become really interested in the roles of shamans and storytellers in furthering traditions, and of the process of becoming one or the other in indigenous groups that have already begun to westernize. Generally, these sorts of roles are passed from grandparents to grandchildren, but as cultures are rapidly changing this relationship has also been forced to adapt. I'm hoping to spend a couple of years with the Achuar, though likely not on this trip, to start to answer some of these questions... we'll see!

Also, great photos straightxedge! It's awesome to get the opportunity to watch the denim production process so closely.

 

e.- Brad, I'd be more than happy to bring some amaranth flour back with me to Vancouver! I probably will anyway for myself

Edited June 8, 2015 by chicote

[Bill_e_jean]

thanks, chicote! yes, it's extremely busy at the moment. hopefully i will find some time during this week for a short trip to munich. i urgently want to get my contest pair hemmed. so fingers crossed!

[oomslokop]

very interesting research, chicote. check your pm when you have time.

[bradl]

Chicote that would be excellent.

[karanimal]

just got back from a weekend in Cairns, QLD, Australia

 

A weekend of beaches, snorkelling and diving (2 sharks & 4 sea turtles), a helicopter ride out at the great barrier reef, and a bunch of gorgeous waterfalls within the rainforest

 

Here's a few highlight pics

P6060083 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6060090 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6060147 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6060151 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6070537 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6070577 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6070641 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080052 by matt karai, on Flickr

Edited June 9, 2015 by karanimal

[karanimal]

Continued...

 

P6080082 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080107 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080151 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080223 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080246 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080268 by matt karai, on Flickr

[karanimal]

Continued

 

P6080342 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080372 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080373 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080391 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

P6080442 by matt karai, on Flickr

 

p by matt karai, on Flickr

 

 

Might have to resize some of these, first time using flickr. If anyone is having issues with the photo size let me know and i'll resize them if need be  

Edited June 9, 2015 by karanimal

[Max Power]

Wonderful pictures! The picture size is perfect for me. Have you figured out a way to upload mutliple flickr links? I haven't so far.

[Lukenstein]

Nice to see someone else from my part of the world!

[karanimal]

Apologies for spamming the thread but I had a down day so i tried to get out before the sunset to grab a few update pictures at just over 2 months of wear on both my flat head 3009 and momotaro 0205sp (2 washes and 1 wash)

 

Unedited other than lightroom converting them from raw 

 

 

The sun was setting too fast for me and any where i tried to lay the jeans down flat the shadows over the denim were just not cooperating. Next month will be planned out better and the jacket will be hung for photos 

[louisbosco]

Nice to see someone else from my part of the world!

 

it's nice to see that but still no one from wa

[mandel9000]

I was about to take a lot of pictures for an update on the TCB Oranges, but then the camera ran out of battery and I had to run to work, so this is what I got. I have lost count of wears, but they have had two soaks and one machine wash. 

 

Edited June 9, 2015 by mandel9000

[Max Power]

Pretty good fadings going on already. This will be a tough competition. And I love that fadings differ from the heavy denims.

[Iron Horse]

Good thing this competition is 2 years long; I've already had to put my denim on the shelf for the time being, seeing just how hot and humid it is here. 

[Bill_e_jean]

Same thing here because my seven weeks old daughter pukes very often and I don´t want to wash my jeans every two days.

So I have worn my pair only about five times until the contest starts. Not much evolution seen on them at the moment. 

[pudaspriest]

So it has probably been about 2 months of wear on these now, they are coming along nicely I think!

 

Couple of quick update pics —

 

 

 

[itschrisb]

Hey its been quite some time since I've been on here! I got distracted with some other things and then went away for 10 days hiking and camping. I took a ton of pictures so don't mind my lengthy update! Im at about 7 weeks of wear on my jeans. At the 8 week mark I'm going to give them a cold wash and hang dry. My shirt is at about 5 weeks of wear I'm going to cold wash them with the jeans. The shirt has never been washed/soaked.

 

 

 

My favorite shot, Canadian Tux while in Canada!

 

Thats all i have for now I'm going to take a lot more pictures before and after the wash a long with detail shots for the challenge. Hope everyone is enjoying their jeans as much as i am!

 

Thanks

Edited June 10, 2015 by itschrisb

[Max Power]

Damn, I finally need to go to Canada. Everyone's updates & Jeans look awesome.

[Cucoo]

Same thing here because my seven weeks old daughter pukes very often and I don´t want to wash my jeans every two days.

So I have worn my pair only about five times until the contest starts. Not much evolution seen on them at the moment. 

 

The jeans would just reflect your life as a new dad, and isn't the denimhead way all about having jeans reflect the wearer's life

 

I've been in your exact situation 6 months ago though, when my daughter puked all over a brand new pair of jeans The puking will get less frequent and then it's smooth sailing - at least until you'll start her on solid food and then it's food thrown on them, but at least then the food won't be covered in stomach fluids