A little here, a little there ... then back ...

Danny had a hankering to return to Vilcabamba. He found a really cool B&B/hostal on the side of the mountain just outside of town - just far enough that walking into town was not always an option. Again, as a followup to Danny's blog ...

This B&B/hostal, Montesueños, was the brain child of one of the US's first astronauts from the late 60's - the Mars' program. Never heard of it? I hadn't either but that is what his bio states. I even googled it: this is but one of the entries that turned up:  http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/Road_to_Mars.html His name? Dr. Brian O'Leary. You can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_O'Learyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_O'Leary A very eclectic place, one that requests quiet and relaxation of it's guest. The B&B itself is reminiscent of Gaudi's various works in Barcelona.

His life-long partner, wife, is an artist of different mediums and has utilized what is found in nature as well as scavenging to decorate. In the photo upper left, the open door on the main floor is the door to our room. 

From the overlooking patio, we had a perfect view of Mondango, the sleeping Inca.

We were far enough up the mountainside that we had an awesome 270' view of the valley spreading out before us. Behind us was the mountain.

 

We limited ourselves to four more days here as we probably would have continued to stay and spend the rest of our time in one place.

Packing our bags, looking fondly backward, our taxi took us down for the last time. We caught a bus for our next adventure. 

As we rode the bus north towards Cuenca, our stopping point for the night, we passed through one of the more traditional towns. It was a place worth visiting but without hotels near the bus stop we felt that we would not take the chance of having to ride standing up all the way to Cuenca once we got off the bus. The bus was full and people were standing, a very usual occurrence. 

 the old and the new - these are school students "hanging around" after school.

 The men wear "highwater" pants and the women  long skirts, both wear the felted hats. The sandals are interesting as well, as they are of the same making as centuries past, only with newer fibers. The clothes are mostly black, with legend saying it is because they are in mourning from the Conquistidors' arrival and the loss of their identity and culture. Modern anthropologists poo-poo this however.

And so we arrived back in Cuenca, 

our stopping point for the night and with a last minute decision to stop for a couple more days. We wanted to see a museum that we missed while here before.

Another tour bus ride: 

 we are becoming quite the "selfless" with our new smartphones

hidden treasures yet to be seen:


And more roasted pig:

A car trip to Cajas National Park for Danny. He tried to go by bus but couldn't find one that went at the time that he wanted. As he wanted a day trip, not an overnight trip, he needed to be able to get back and therein was the problem. The PanAmerican highway goes right through Cajas and larger trucks and vehicles travel mainly at night through it. It appears that buses are somewhat limited as well, at least the ones that woulds top and pick someone up in the park. So taxi it was ... 

 a wild beautiful place renown for it's hiking

We made it to the museum


and then on to the hat museum and shop. Here we found our hats to take home with us. In fact, they mailed them home for us.

 sewing Danny's hat band on to his new hat

Finally came the time to once again hit the road. One of the things that we had wanted to see was the large archeological park just NNW of Cuenca. Reservations were made and off we went ...

Around Cuenca...

From Cuenca we made a couple of day trips to the Sunday markets. First was Gualacea: A short 1 1/2hr bus ride to the northeast takes you through a winding, ribbon of tarmac, at the base of towering mountains, past many small villages and one humongous water park. Arriving on a Sunday to visit the market, I was surprised to find a town teeming with activity. The market, found on the side of the mountain, was not as I thought it would be, instead it was all fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, chickens, and an eating area with the prerequisite whole roasted pig: No crafts to be had. And this was supposed to have weavings.


Instead we found a beautiful park with a walk along the river, at the base of mountains on either side. The river walk was used as a by many for relaxing with many statues,   walking, playing, picnicking, and selling. The river however, was used for ambiance, clothes washing and the odd doggy bath.  Walking along we came up on an old building  that stymied us until we got to the other side  a bathroom, and old bunker? No an old but still used bandstand.  A covered bridge and a swinging walking bridge offered access to either side. 

In town, sitting on a park bench looking at the front of the church, I was amazed to see a statue, not of a saint or the usual religious people but of a priest on horseback, wielding a sword in a fighting manner.  It took awhile and a few people being questioned but we eventually found out that it was a statue of the priest who led the battle to get the Conquistadors to leave. And how about a hurst just sitting and waiting to be used? 
Gualacea was interesting and well worth the fun bus ride and the walk around town.

 A trip to the museum on the following Saturday took us to see Cuenca from the time before the Incas to today.  The museum is build on the site of a massive archeological site and has been excavated and at times, rebuilt or refurbished. It explores the many peoples who have inhabited the area and looks at the differences in the many indigenous peoples of Ecuador. The Incas even had gardens of microclimates representing the various climates of their lands.  I even found some quilting motif inspirations.  It is not just in museums that you see antiquities here in Cuenca. Along the roads and sidewalks you can come across signs of the early settlement, such as this step going into an older building: 

We had quite a bit of rain during our weeks in Cuenca and the rivers running through town show it. This is shown by a walk along the riverbank looking at various murals. 

Then to SigSig:

SigSig was another little town farther south from Gualacea, in the mountains. As we left town on our way, we happened onto a local pork for sale.  Yes, they roast them on a spit and then simply tear the meat out with their hands,and sell it by the pound, if not in a dish. Gives us flashback memories to the festival that we went to in Romania where they butchered and then cooked a hog in an open fire. This town had the bus station at the bottom of the hill and we had to walk all the way uphill just to get into the center of the town The town, like Gualacea is founded in a river valley and goes up the sides of the mountains on either side of the river. The market is up the mountainside, giving a view of the town. Again being Sunday, market day, everywhere we went was busy.  The one thing that we were interested in was the Panama hat factory, but alas it was closed. Guess who provided the town with the factory?  Yes, the Canadian government. And of course, they give thanks and put Panama hats on the Virgin and Baby Jesus over the doorway.  All of these little towns give the impression that they are booming. The houses are being rebuilt and modernized and many new ultramodern ones are being built. Where the $$ are coming from is anyone's guess but even the young people seem to have a lot discretionary funds.

As we run around the countryside, sometimes you just want a little something of home. Starbucks this isn't but it was as good as what I used to get in Colombia at Juan Valdez coffee shop. 

Cuenca, EC ...2

We have now been in Ecuador going on 7 weeks and having a lot of fun while we see, experience and leave behind so many new memories. Our stay in Cuenca lasted a whole one month before we had the urge to see more of the countryside. During that time, I continued with my class work and Danny actually taught at the University of Cuenca for two weeks as a substitute English Professor.

Our reason for coming to Cuenca and getting an apartment - my volunteering in a women's clinic was all for naught. Our arrival coincided with a new decree/law put out by the President in which medical volunteers are no longer welcome. They are taking jobs from unemployed doctors and nurses, or so he says. What he wants however, is for all the ngo's to donate all the $$ that would be spent on the volunteer process to the government so that he can use it to hire into the positions that had previously been filled by volunteers. I even met a woman on the bus who I started to talk to while waiting for the bus who is a retired doctor. She had also been volunteering as a doctor 3 days a week, 4-5 hours a day, in a clinic and was let go also. So now she is looking for volunteer work outside of the country. So now I am looking for something else.

Cuenca, city of eternal spring, is a wonderful town, nestled in a valley at 8300 feet in altitude. Nestled, as it is, the winds don't come down into town like one would think the do unless the are blowing down or up the valley. It is like a bowl with the foul air from the vehicles and diesel buses and trucks, sitting in the bottom of the bowl. There is nothing to take these pollutants away from within the city streets. It is especially bad along the main thoroughfares and within the Old center of town - the UNESCO Heritage part. This however, does not detract from the beauty of the place. There are 3 rivers flowing through Cuenca, and one of them is said to be as clear and pure as when it comes down from the mountains.  I have not tasted any of them to see and do not intend to. It is a culturally diverse community: expats, Latinos and indigenous all rolled into one.  The architecture is fabulous and the cultural events occur almost daily and a lot of them are free.    The old and the new,  the typical found in the streets,  and the wonderfully weird.  

 One wall of the main bank building in the main plaza has been set aside for the various photographers to display their work. Another area, as stairway between the river level and the upper streets has been set aside for graffiti. There are two cathedrals, and old and a new in the main plaza, opposite to each other. The old is now used for concerts and events while the new is the bigger and the more opulent, and used for services.

We have our favourite restaurants and the cuisine here is a as varied as the nationalities represented. The best however, if you ask Danny, are the daily menu places where you get a full meal consisting of juice, soup, main course, and desert from $1.80 to 3.50 per person. And they do like their ice cream here. The museums abound, there is even one for the Panama Hat. One of the museums has displays of fabrics and dress from the Latin American countries. That is one we want to try and get to before we leave Cuenca for this trip.

Now we will be on the move again ...