Friday and Sunday Adventures

First, today's (Sunday) adventure:  Expats reported that having a burrito at California Burrito in the Mall Del Rio food court was worthwhile, so I decided I'd go there for lunch.  The whole city of Cuenca seems to be currently under construction -- which is a good thing because the sidewalks and streets are being improved, but that also means the bus routes are more complicated to understand.  I had a couple of options, checked the first one (not good); then, found the bus going the correct direction, boarded and paid my whopping 25 cents for the 20 minute ride to the Mall.  I arrived at the Mall ~12 noon and found no lines in the food court (most Ecuadorians eat later) and ordered my (customized) burrito.  All the choices are displayed and for $5.95, a customer can have two kinds of meat + all the trimmings (everything you can think of) + a small drink.  Not too bad.  I loved the illustrations on the brochure:  "paz, amor, burritos".  
     After eating, I walked around the Mall, shopped at Coral (a large department store (includes groceries) and ~3pm, I started home.  The thunder clouds were gathering so I thought perhaps I could make it home before the afternoon rain.  Shortly after getting on the bus, the rain began and about the time I disembarked, it poured rain and hailed!  It was not cold, but as I understand it, when the upper atmosphere is cold, hail is produced and falls -- and indeed it did along with a deluge of rain.  End result (even with an umbrella):  I was soaking wet from the knees down by the time I got home. It's been raining off and on since then . . . glad to be home and cozy in my apartment.  
     Friday's visit to the hacienda:  Ten expats + a young German girl (who is studying international tourism) + 2 tour guides left Cuenca at 8:30am and traveled to a hacienda 30 minutes southeast of the city.  As I have traveled south of Cuenca, I have learned that this area of beautiful rolling hills is dairy country.  This area provides milk for all of Ecuador.  The hacienda we visited is a working hacienda that welcomes tourists so we can learn about the activities on haciendas.  Arrival:

Introduction by tour guide (who is part of the family who owns the hacienda) of indigenous woman and her little helper who showed us how Ecuadorian fresh cheese is made.  This cheese is not aged (and--to me--doesn't have much taste); we ate this cheese for lunch.  

Next, she showed us the process of shearing sheep with scissors.  When she went to bring the sheep to us--the sheep was really reluctant--I think the sheep thought he was going to be for lunch!

Update and Saraguro (Part 2)

Yesterday, St. Patty's Day, I celebrated with traditional Irish food (which was just so-so) in a lavish restaurant where expats and Ecuadorians enjoyed lots of camaraderie and good conversation.  My friend and I started walking while the sun was shining at ~ 4:00 (Happy Hour started at 5:00), but we got caught in a rain storm before we arrived at the restaurant.  It's about 4:00 on Sunday afternoon and it's raining again; Cuenca tends to have rain sometime every day during rainy season and it's hard to determine when the cloud burst will be.  We always carry an umbrella!
     Saraguro (part 2):  On the Sunday morning when we were in Saraguro, we hiked to an ancient Incan site for a traditional shamanic ceremony. The shaman was a young man; I had expected an "old, wise one", but he explained that when the Spanish introduced Catholicism, most Ecuadorians converted and the shamanic traditions were forgotten.  He had studied (on his own) and was able to recreate the traditional ceremony and asked the women (mother and daughter) to assist. 

The ceremony brought back memories for me when I participated in Native American ceremonies in New Mexico. The things that were similar were the prayers to the 4 directions, burning of sage, cedar, etc for cleansing, the use of feathers, and the shaman playing the flute and drum. The Ecuadorian ceremony incorporates the use of many flowers, and two kinds of drinks--one herbal tea, the other a slightly alcoholic drink (both we sipped).  The female assistant also puts some of the alcoholic drink in her mouth and then sprays the back of participates to cleanse the body.  I am grateful they were willing to share the ceremony with us.

 
After we left the ceremony, we took the bus back into the village of Saraguro to experience the indigenous activities on Sunday.  In all villages/towns/cities that I have visited, there is always a central plaza and a Catholic church where people gather to worship, visit with family and friends and sell their wares.  The tour guides told us the older people are very reluctant to have their pictures taken and ask us to only take pictures at a distance of them and always ask others if taking their picture was o.k. I took the women's picture from the bus and asked the little girl; she said "yes" and then became very serious. 

Notice the women's skirts:  they are a set of 2 (always black), top one is made of material with very small pleats, the underskirt is embroidered on the bottom with various colors.  In the past, blouses and shawls were always black--the younger women are beginning to wear colored blouses.  The shawls are worn diagonally with a special pin that holds it in place.  I talked about the special white and black hats previously, but many of the people can't afford those, thus, the simple black hats.

The above picture shows the beaded necklaces created and worn by the women (also a closer picture of the traditional pin that holds the shawl).

These pictures taken in the square and outside the church.  Men wear the knee-length shorts with poncho and hat.  And we saw young indigenous girls and boys in western attire also (oh, those rebellious youth!)  This is such a fascinating society and I learned so much and I respect that they are trying to keep their unique traditions.  
 
While we were visiting the plaza, a wonderful parade of riders and prancing horses passed by.  I was able to get only one good picture, but there were many and very impressive.  I've recently read that Ecuador riders/horses participate in horse shows around the world. 
     I'll leave you today with a picture of one of the most beautiful rainbows I have ever seen and another view of the mountains.  One of the traditional stories about the rainbow is that in the spot where the rainbow ends, the young women will become pregnant.  'Guess there will be many babies in this village in 9 months!

     Friday I will visit my first hacienda which is about 30 minutes from Cuenca.  There are many activities planned for everyone, especially families;  I plan to take it easy!  
     Till next time . . . Chao

Fascinating 2-Day Tour to Saraguro Village (part 1) + others (part 2)

Quick update on this weekend:  I had a couple from Riobamba, a city north of Cuenca, who visited me this weekend.  We had a great weekend with a couple of fun experiences:  we went to an exhibit of ~ 50 Obama posters.  Many different artists had created these posters and 98% of them we had never seen.  It was an outstanding exhibit co-sponsored by a gallery and the American Embassy.  The second event was "A Tribute to the Beatles".  We didn't know what was on the agenda, but it was a film that used the Beatles music and depicted some of the activities in the U.S. when the Beatles became popular.  There were 7 of us who attended, 6 of us liked it, the other one hated it because she felt it was not accurate.  I expected the audience to be mostly expats, but there were only a few of us and many young Ecuadorians.  I always exclaim, "I can see these events in Ecuador!"  Amazing.
     Now the first installment re the southern villages:  On Sat., Mar. 3rd @ 7:30 am, eleven expats left Cuenca for a tour where we visited indigenous villages/an ancient Incan site south of Cuenca.  We had an excellent guide who told us a lot of the history of these villages.  We traveled in a nice van to Saraguro and after ~ 3.5 hrs of travel, we checked into the hostel.  We had a full schedule with many unique experiences:  we visited the weavers, hat factory and went to a shaman ceremony.

Arrival at the hostel (it's chilly!); indigenous guide, Juanita, in traditional dress; dining room at hostel

First, the village where the weavers reside:

Hostess in the village (one couple stayed in this village with this woman), serenaded by flute players, master weaver and wife

Weavers in action:

The shop with a multitude of looms, the master weaver (age 71), and the younger man weaving table cloths (I bought one).  Notice that the hands are busy making the design-the pattern is memorized, not stamped, and the feet also have a variety of pedals that must be pressed with speed and accuracy--impressive coordination!