Ecuadorians enjoyed a five-day holiday from October 30th through November 3rd in order to commemorate Día de los Difuntos, or Day of the Deceased. This holiday is particularly celebrated in Cuenca, where the Willamette program passed the long weekend. Cuenca, founded in 1557, is the capital of the province Azuay, and is located in the south of Ecuador.
We got to the airport on Sunday, October 31st at 7:45am, which was a challenge for many of us, considering that the night before we had celebrated Halloween (dressed as Harry Potter characters) and had been out quite late. The flight was short, about 40 minutes, during which time we saw Cotopaxi out the plane window, a gorgeous view, and I spotted what may have been a small volcano erupting. We arrived in Cuenca mid-morning, boarded our tour bus, and got a short city tour from our guide Wilson. He took us to a viewpoint that illustrated how the city has developed and modernized while maintaining distinct spaces where the 16th century architecture is preserved.
View of Cuenca
After about a three-hour bus ride, we arrived in Saraguro, a town south of Cuenca and about an hour north of Loja (where my host mom Gladis grew up). We ate lunch at our hostel, Achik Wasi, and then headed out on a chiva, an open-air bus. We all sat up on top, which was loads of fun (and wildly unsafe), but didn’t help our gringo status. Accompanied by Wilson and our indigenous guide Asunción, we headed to this amazing viewpoint where Asunción talked to us a little about the indigenous culture and uses of various plants.
Asunción
Following that, went to a local’s house and tried a traditional drink made out of fermented liquid from the agave plant, which was refreshing in a natural, earthy sort-of way. Later that night, Asunción took us to a taller de tejidos where we watched the dueño weave portions of huge and colorful rugs. Starving and dying of exhaustion, we finally made it to a small restaurant to have dinner: choclo, chicken, rice, and horchata. After dinner we listened to some live Andean music for a while and even danced a bit, although it lasted a bit longer than we had anticipated and we were all really ready for bed by the time we got back to our hostel.
Taller de tejidos
The next day we had the opportunity to participate in an indigenous cleansing ceremony, which was a unique experience. As we entered the holy spot, the leaders of the ceremony presented us with a sprig of rosemary and a red flower, tied together by a piece of yarn. We held the plants throughout the entire ceremony while we gave thanks to the directions and were cleansed by a spray of strong earthy-smelling alcohol. By the end of the ceremony, our rosemary sprigs were completely wilted, indicating the bad energy that had escaped us in the previous minutes. I know that there are many reasons to explain why a plant has wilted, but I couldn’t help feeling that there was legitimacy in that particular explanation.
Cleansing ceremony
Around 11am we said goodbye to Asunción and headed out of Saraguro, stopping at an organic farm to eat a delicious lunch, see some farm animals (including newborn kittens and the ugliest turkey I’ve ever seen), and buy some homemade jam. We then boarded the bus for the long ride back into Cuenca, stopping again at a ceramic studio to look around and try out the potter’s wheel. No one had much luck. Monday night we spent wandering around Cuenca, drinking cheap peach wine and observing some of the fiestas.
Tuesday morning we popped in to a Panama Hat factory, where Wilson gave us a tour while we sipped fancy glasses of canelazo, given to us by the dueña. The process to make a Panama hat is surprisingly long and intricate—one economically priced hat takes about 2-3 days to make, while one of the $1500 hats can take up to ten months to complete.
Inside-out Panama hats drying after being bleached, before being set in the molds.
Following our Panama hat adventure, we headed to Cajas National Park for a beautiful and freezing hike. The scenery was lush and gorgeous, and strangely enough reminded me at times of the Oregon landscape.
Later in the afternoon, hungry and cold, we were very happy to arrive at a fancy restaurant famous for their fresh trout and potato, cheese, avocado soup. Everything was delicious, and warmed and satisfied all of us. After lunch we headed back to Cuenca and got a city tour from Wilson, which I unfortunately don’t remember much of, as I was too tired to function. The buildings in the city are incredible, ranging from quaint and charming to grand and impressive. The cathedral, for example, is the largest in Latin America, and has roof tiles imported from Prague.
Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción in the center of the old city
Typical street in the old city
We spent a couple hours relaxing in the hotel playing Bananagrams, and then headed out to explore Cuenca again by night. The city was even more alive than the night before as it was November 2nd, the actual Día de los Difuntos. Around 9:00pm they began lighting off firework towers in the street, which were awesome and incredibly dangerous. The towers were at least thirty feet high, and decked out with pinwheels and other contraptions that shot fireworks out at all angles. It was insanity, but so beautiful. We stayed out until a little after midnight (big partiers, woooo) watching the festivities and listening to this band that was a mixture of Andean panpipe and hard rock… a weird combination that actually blended amazingly well.
Fireworks exploding in the street and shooting into the crowd
Wednesday morning we packed up our bags and headed to a small town outside of Cuenca to see an amazing church. As the story goes, the people of this town were suffering a long drought, and eventually decided that as a last resort, they would have a procession and carry a statue of their virgin saint up the huge hill that looks over the town. As the citizens began their ascent, it began to rain, and continued to rain harder and harder as they approached the top of the hill. The church was erected at the end of the 19th century to honor this miracle.
Our last stop was Ingapirca, Ecuador’s Incan ruins. Although certainly not on the same scale as Machu Picchu, they definitely held their own, and wet my appetite to visit Peru someday soon. The Cañari people, who later were taken over by the Incans, constructed the entire complex, the largest structure being the Temple of the Sun. This building, which formerly had high walls and only one small opening as a door, served as a calendar for the Cañaris/Incans; inside the building were four window-like indentations, and on each of the four equinoxes and solstices throughout the year, the sun would shine exactly on the proper indentation. It really is amazing how accurate ancient calendars are.
Ingapirca
Temple of the Sun
We arrived back in Quito late on November 3rd, and it felt good to get home. Time has flown by this month—-I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving! The directors of our program are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, and everyone in my group is bringing something. I’m making my mom’s famous apples/spiced walnuts/onions/blue cheese mixed greens salad, pumpkin/sage/chive rolls and rosemary/garlic rolls, and apple crisp, yumm. It will be nice to eat some traditional American Thanksgiving food and celebrate this holiday, my favorite, with people who have become close friends.
Quito’s weather is finally starting to behave more like winter in the Pacific Northwest, with fairly constant rain and temperatures in the 50s almost every day. I’m told this won’t last long, but it’s comforting for the time being. My parents arrive in less than three weeks. I have a mountain of essays and exams to get through before then, but it will all pass. I can’t wait for my two families to meet, and to show my parents around this place that has become another home.
Last weekend October 7th-11th, despite my mountain of homework that included preparing for two upcoming tests and writing an essay, I packed my bags and boarded a bus to the Amazon Rainforest. Daniel, Tom, Conor, Nate and I took a red-eye bus at 11:30pm on Thursday night, arriving in Lago Agrio around 6:00am on Friday morning. We were pretty sure we had a reservation at a site inside the Cuyabeno Reserve (more or less here), and according to our unverified instructions, we were supposed to wait until about 8:30am out front of a hotel until someone from the company came to collect us and drive us to Cuyabeno. Instead of panicking, we got some breakfast and then found a place to sit down. Then, since the most of the boys’ hair is getting pretty long as they haven’t cut it for over three months, they decided to use my hairbrush and some hair ties to create what were, indisputably, works of art.
Male models? Clearly.
That kept us all entertained for about an hour until, por suerte, this man approached us and asked if one of us was Nate Wheeler. We jumped up, relieved to finally have been found. We then gave this man our money for the trip, and watched him walk away with over $1000 to “buy food and supplies,” wondering if we would ever see him again. Fortunately, he returned around 9:30am, and we loaded the van that would take us to Cuyabeno. After a 2-hour van ride, we pulled up alongside Río Aguarico, ate lunch, and then donned life jackets and commenced our two-and-a-half hour motor canoe ride to the site. We motored down Río Aguarico for a couple hours, and then turned down the beautiful Río Cuyabeno for the final stretch.
Río Cuyabeno, late afternoon
We spent the rest of the afternoon getting settled into our cabañas, and then went out on a short canoe ride with our guide Jacob (Yah-cob) to watch the sun set and see some wildlife. We disembarked for a few minutes to observe a species of “marching ants.” We approached their tree in silence, and heard nothing. On Jacob’s count, we all screamed as loud as we could, and then listened again: the ants were working together to make a substantial sound, reminiscent of marching, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump. It was absolutely astonishing, and presumably would be used to scare away predators.
We returned to the cabins, which we had found absolutely charming in the daytime, and were greeted by some cockroaches tromping around our rooms. As there was no electricity in the compound, except for in the bathrooms, the sudden appearance of a cockroach emerging from your bag could be quite startling. After dinner, we ventured just outside our cabins to search for insects and animals. We found quite a few more cockroaches, cicadas, plus this incredible insect with these spindly white strings protruding from its rear. We also used sticks to prod at some holes in the ground right under our cabins and watched tarantulas emerge, which was obviously really reassuring. We were also practically attacked by a swarm of fruit bats and, while gazing up at them, one pooped on me. Figures.
Cabañas
It was an incredible night, warm and cloudless, and with no electricity, the view of the stars was absolutely breathtaking. I don’t think I have ever seen such a magical sight. The sky was so full of light, the planets were clearly visible, and the Milky Way was brighter than I have ever seen.
Sunrise over the Río Cuyabeno
Saturday morning, we woke up at 5:30am and headed off in canoe, hot chocolates in hand, to try to see some animals at their busiest. We were very successful, and spotted tons of toucans, ospreys, kingfishers, and capuchin monkeys.
Jumping monkey
We returned for breakfast, and then donned rubber boots and headed out again, this time for our first real hike through la selva. It was so surreal to be walking through what smelled and felt in many ways like any forest in the Pacific Northwest, and then to look around and realize that this was no ordinary forest: the was the Amazon Rainforest, pure and simple. There were so many unfamiliar plants and countless strange insects, two of which we ate. That’s right, I ate insects. A larva and some ants, to be exact. The larva, admittedly, almost made me vomit so I didn’t actually swallow it, but I did eat enough to know it tasted like coconut. The ants, on the other hand, tasted like lemon were actually pretty good; the only downside was that they would bite your tongue as you licked them off their leaf.
Jacob laughing at our gringo-ness. That white thing is the larva, growing inside a nut.
We learned a ton about the medicinal and practical uses of various plants from both Jacob and Silverio, a member of the local Kichwa community. We swung from vines, smelled exotic flowers, touched the bark of monstrous trees, and watched Silverio begin to weave a bag from part of a palm leaf.
Tomás, Conor, Jacob, Daniel, Nate, and me standing in front of the biggest tree I’ve ever seen.
Following a swim in the Río Cuyabeno (!), lunch, and a short siesta, we set out for a huge tower, constructed by members of the Kichwa community, that looks over the entire reserve. The view was absolutely spectacular, and we stayed to watch the sun fade over the forest. We then walked back to the river where our boat was waiting in complete darkness, which actually would have been quite frightening had Jacob and Silverio not been with us. We brainstormed ways to stay alive in the rainforest the whole walk back, but ultimately concluded that without our guides, we would have definitely gotten lost and probably been eaten alive by marching ants, not to mention mosquitoes. Later that night, we headed out to the little dock on the lake right next to our compound to look for alligators. Jacob brought a supply of bananas, and would throw them into the water to draw the alligators closer. We used our flashlights to scan the water, and the beams landed on a shocking number of glowing red eyes, many of which were fairly close in.
Tower overlooking the Cuyabeno Reserve
On Sunday, we woke up at 6:30am and began our final full day in Cuyabeno. We visited a Kichwa community of about ten families, very few of which were actually home; the night before, one of the founders of the community had died, and so most of the members of the community were away at his funeral. Still, we got to see some houses, the small schoolhouse, and buy a few pieces of jewelry and handmade bags, made by the community.
A house in the Kichwa community
We then had the opportunity to go to a local’s house, taste some fruits from their garden (including cocoa fruit, which was delicious), and make tortillas de yucca. We helped to harvest the yucca, and then peeled, grated, and dried it, before cooking it in the form of tortillas. They were relatively tasteless, but that was remedied with the addition of jam.
Cooking the tortilla de yucca
We also made friends with the pet monkey at the house. He was especially fond of Daniel, and perched himself on top of Daniel’s head several times.
Such a sociable little monkey
In the afternoon, we went fishing…for piranhas. To eat. We used stick poles and attached pieces of raw meat to the ends, which proved to be relatively successful. Daniel caught one piranha, but it was too small to warrant killing, so we ended up tossing it back. Later, he caught another fish that had spikes, but it was also too small to eat. I caught something as well, but as I lifted my pole out of the water, it flung itself off the hook. Jacob was truly victorious, though, and caught a huge catfish that we ate as part of that night’s dinner.
Daniel’s pequeña piranha
The view from the water was gorgeous that night, and we enjoyed the meandering canoe ride back to the cabañas, listening to the sounds of monkeys and birds. One bird, hearing Jacob’s imitation of its call, flew over to us and sang to us from a branch above our heads.
Last view of the sunset over the Río Cuyabeno
Monday was our travel day. We woke up at 5:00am to visit the tower one last time, trying to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy morning, so the sunrise wasn’t very dramatic, but the view once again did not disappoint. On the way back, we were lucky enough to see a huge flock of Scarlett Macaws, which were brilliantly colored and so regal. We left the compound mid-morning, and again traveled by canoe and then van back to Lago Agrio, back to the real world. In Lago Agrio, while waiting for our bus back to Quito, we got some lunch and then searched for a machete for Tom, who, having been robbed at gunpoint in Quito a few weeks earlier, wanted to bring it back as a souvenir/self defense weapon. He found a HUGE machete at a little store and bought it for $5. Unbelievable, and slightly frightening. We arrived back in Quito around 12:30am. I couldn’t decide if I should go to bed or try to work on some homework, but ultimately sleep won out. The next week ended up being quite hellish, homework wise, but the past weekend’s adventure was so worth it.
Ecuadorian Ceviche
- Shrimp, slightly cooked
- Whatever other kinds of seafood you like
- Cucumber, peeled and minced
- Tomatoes, boiled and peeled, then mushed up
- Onions, finely chopped and rinsed
- “Hierbitas,” which I think includes cilantro and parsley
- Water from the cooked shrimp
- Ketchup and a little mustard
- Squeeze of orange juice
- Lime (lots of it!)
- Salt and pepper to taste
There are no real quantities for any of the ingredients, just combine them all and taste test as you go along. Serve with bread, popcorn, fried green plantains, or banana chips. ¡Buen provecho!
Ceviche I made with my host mom, accompanied by fried green plantains. Delicious.
This weekend marks the halfway point in this adventure, which is absolutely insane. I feel so fortunate to be living here and to be experiencing so much. And I really am experiencing a lot—yesterday, for example, Ecuador’s government faced an attempted coup d’etat.
Around 11:00am, while sitting in my Andean History class, a student poked his head through the door to inform all of us that the police were rioting and therefore we all had to evacuate the university. Hmm. My class is made up of about 60% international students, so naturally we were all a little freaked. My professor mentioned to us, as everyone scrambled to gather up their things, that the police had planned a peaceful protest for that morning, and mused that things must have gotten out of hand. That they did. I exited the classroom and promptly found a group of students from Willamette sitting in the courtyard waiting for their next class. Together we followed the herd of students towards the exit, only to find that the director of international programs was prohibiting exchange students from leaving the campus. After the craziness died down and most of the Ecuadorian students had headed home, the about 150 remaining international students gathered in the main hall to figure out what was going on.
Apparently, on September 3rd, President Rafael Correa signed legislation that would cut additional bonuses police officers formerly received upon promotion in order to reallocate the money to another sector. Obviously the police force was not happy with this decision, and so after the legislation took effect on Wednesday, they planned a boycott for Thursday morning. With no police protecting the public, things were bound to go crazy. Not only did Ecuadorians take advantage of the countrywide lack of police by looting banks and robbing fellow citizens, but the police protest quickly became violent. With the entire police force and about half of the military personnel boycotting, all carrying guns, this was not a group to mess with.
Around noon, President Correa arrived at the Police Headquarters to confront the protesters. Up until that point, the police had been engaging in normal protest behavior but hadn’t done anything too extreme. However, as soon as a visibly angry President Correa stepped out of his car, things heated up. Standing up in front of the protestors, Correa emphasized that he would not back down and, aggressively loosening his shirt and tie apparently to show the crowd that he was not wearing a bullet-proof vest, he said, “If you want to kill the president, here he is. Kill him if you want to. Kill him if you are brave enough.” His guards quickly pulled him back, and he receded into the crowd. Shortly after, he was attacked by tear gas, and was escorted to the National Police Hospital to be treated. Although the half of the military that remained faithful to the President consistently claimed that the government still had control, they were unable to pacify the police officers.
President Rafael Correa after being attacked by tear gas.
Around 1:30pm, with the president sequestered in the National Police Hospital, the director of international programs at Universidad San Francisco de Quito finally figured it was safe to let the international students go home, but warned us to go straight to our houses and to not leave for any reason. The bus passed into Quito from Cumbayá with no problem, although just a few minutes earlier the main highway into Quito had been blocked by burning tires and entrance into the city prohibited. Several cars were parked along the grassy strip separating north-bound and south-bound traffic, evidence that their owners had decided to abandon their cars and walk into the city. Once back to my host family’s house, we listed to the news on the radio and watched television together, until it became clear that nothing much else was happening. Around 5:00pm, we went down to the neighbor’s apartment to play cards and watch a movie while we waited for new developments.
The police successfully prevented Correa from leaving the hospital for about ten hours. Around 10:00pm, military personnel and a special police unit escorted the president out of the hospital. As the car carrying Correa drove away, the military personnel and police force engaged in a gun fight that left two police officers, one military personnel, and one child patient at the National Police Hospital dead. The news broadcast at least one of these deaths live.
President Correa being escorted out of the National Police Hospital by military personnel a little after 10pm last night.
Following his release from the hospital, President Correa made his way to the Historic District to speak to a group of supporters from the balcony of the Presidential Palace. Correa commented that September 30, 2010 was the one of the saddest days of his life, and certainly the saddest day his government had seen. He admonished the participants in the riots, lamented the known deaths, and thanked his guards and the citizens of Ecuador who had supported him throughout the day. Following his speech, the news wrapped up for the night, although it remained unclear how things would proceed in the morning.
President Correa addressing the citizens from the balcony at the Presidential Palace after being released from the hospital.
Things seem to have calmed down for the most part today, although not all the police have returned to work and, according to my host family, there are still military personnel on the street. Our program directors have pretty much confined all of us to our houses for the weekend, with the exception of some careful daylight excursions into Quito. Latin American politics are wild.
Here are some things to read and look at.
Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11447519
Video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11457076
Photos: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11448098
Went on a walk in Parque Metropolitano with my host parents at 6:30am, smelled the eucalyptus, and drank fresh squeezed orange-banana juice.
Coldplay was playing on the bus this morning, while the sun shone through the windows.
Drank two glasses of delicious iced coffee.
Made garlic and rosemary bread in Panadería and ate it with hummus.
Tomorrow a field trip with my Colonial Art History of Quito class, during which we will admire one of the cathedrals in this beautiful city.
Now time to do the homework I don’t understand. The positive most certainly outweighs the negative.
I cannot believe how lucky I am, for the following reasons:
1. I live here.
2. These people are my family and friends.
3. I hang from cables and soar over the rainforest.
4. I go to school here and learn magical things like Andean history, colonial art history, and how to make jewelry and bread.
5. I watch La Liga Deportiva Universitaria, Quito’s fútbol team and 2010 Campeón de América, win.
Time is a strange thing. Sometimes I feel like it passes slowly here, but when I take a second to look around and remember where I am, I feel like I need to drag my feet to keep it from speeding by. I am in Ecuador, and I must live it all.
