Chapter 14: Saraguro

  7:00AM. Hiking pants. Hiking shoes. Hiking Shirt. Scarf. Water-proof jacket. 3 hours on the bus. Let's go climb something! 5 miles into the beginning of the trip, rest stop for gas and snacks. Loaf of chocolate bread, yogurt, chocolate amor wafers; back to the transportation vehicle. The staccato beats of the morning travel routine all around me, but smooth tranquil rhythms of Sufjan Steven's album "Feel the Illinoise" on my headphones. Stop for vista. Tour guide says on one side you can see the Andes Mountain range, the other side its possible to see the Pacific Ocean in the far distance on clear days. I'm calling bologna on that one, there was not a cloud in sight and no matter how far on the horizon I searched, I saw no horizon. So bologna. Bolgona I say! The Sufjan Stevens record ended. Album switch. This time to Seawolf's "White Water, White Bloom". Songs about Orion the hunter, lost love and glowing grass in the moonlight mixed with winding Andean mountain roads.

   We arrived in Saraguro, dropped a few of our things in the hotel then reloaded ourselves onto a different bus. This bus was especially different because it had wooden benches in open air aside from a tin roof to shelter the benches from rain. The benches were not very comfortable in the least and the road was bumpy. We stopped talk about an Indian dwelling. For the second leg of the open air bus ride we were allowed to climb onto the roof of the bus to sit up top for the duration of our travels. Surprisingly the roof made for a much smoother ride. The only obstacle was watching out for hanging branches that could hit faces or swipe cameras out from wayward hands. We disembarked from the tin roof and began a hike to end all hikes. Only our guide truly knew where we were going, the path was narrow, the scenery was beautiful and the clouds were scant in the sky. The whole hike reminded me of hiking through the Grand Canyon, complete with vertigo and the adrenaline. Since I know it was on the top of everyone's mind: yes I peed off the side of the mountain, you're welcome.

   Lunch was two hamburgers with papas fritas and mustard, either I was starving or I have rarely had hamburgers of similar caliber, so so good. After a break and lunch we set back the other way. The pressure had dropped during our break and those sneaky ecuadorian clouds had set in. We kept hearing thunder louder and louder as we hiked, it seemed to be approaching us, yet I did not see any lightning. We layered up with raincoats and scarfs and started hotelwards. It was a successful hike all around.

   We had a chance to rest for awhile, I took one of my best naps of this entire trip. I had some sort of dream revelation, but sadly I cannot recall what the revelation pertained to. By 7pm it was pitch-black outside and freezing. Before dinner we stopped at an indigenous textile workshop. They used large wooden looms to create intricate patterns and many shapes. They demonstrated the technique for us, showing how the pieces slide together to create a new line in the growing cloth, the worker's feet manouevering through the pedals to coordinate the next type of yarn to be used.

   Dinner was at a small family restaurant where we sat on long benches and at grey beans, rice, squeaky cheese, and chicken soup. After dinner we were treated to an Andean music demonstration. The players included a flautist, a percussionist, violin and guitar. They played and we danced about in a circle. Three songs later they asked us if we had anyone who could play music in our group. We elected Ross. Autumn, Isaac and I joined him in fumbling our way through a few songs. We started with Oxford Comma but couldn't remember one of the verses so we switched to first "Jolene" by Ray Lamontagne and then "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying" by Belle and Sebastian. The Ecuadorains said although they couldn't understand the words, the music was beautiful and we put a lot of energy and feeling into the songs.

  The rest of the evening was spent sitting by our hotel's outdoor fire sipping Pilsener's. Pilsener is not a superb beer, but sometimes all you need is a crappy bottle of beer, a warm fire and good conversation.

                                                           ---

The next day the sun struck with a vengeance, it was hotter than hot. Any humidity in the air was instantly evaporated into the clouds miles above our heads. We took another hike, shorter this time, only 15 minutes or so to a small clearing where two women had set our blankets on the ground for a ritual. We spent the next hour or so participating in said ritual. It was interesting, to say the least. 

Ray Lamontagne
Jolene


Belle and Sebastian
Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying

Chapter 13: Cuenca day festivities

   Here in Ecuador each city has a day celebrating its anniversary. For Cuenca, that day is April 12th. The entire week surrounding Cuenca day there are festivities throughout the city with the biggest, loudest things happening on the twelth. I didn't really get to experience much of the festivities except for Thursday the twelth, partly because we had a mountain of homework throughout the week, and partly because we were busy with other activities-they sure know how to keep us busy here.

  My host mom had been telling me all about the events that were happening each day, trying to psych me up. I think wednesday night I came home at 7pm, as soon as I crossed the threshold of the house Lupe berated me saying, "Why aren't you in Parque Calderon right now?!" I explained that I had way too much homework to celebrate. She sighed, but we both took solace in the fact that I'd be able to see everything happening the next evening.

   On my to my afternoon class Thursday there were already stages being set up in any open space in the city. After our class, our entire group went in search of food. I stopped our gringo procession when I saw a café sign advertising waffles! We went in to the café, it was a cozy french place right off of the main plaza. I ordered a nutella waffle with a chocolate-banana milk shake, because why not? The milkshake was delectable and frothy ( Spanish word for foam/froth is "espuma" for the curious), but the waffle was not as exciting as I hoped it would be. Yes it was smothered in a thick layer of hazelnut-goodness, and there were little strawberry shavings, but the waffle itself was reminiscient of a freezer waffle while I was expecting something on par with a Belgium waffle or one that my real mom makes ( she makes the best waffles you guys). In the end the toppings completley made up for the lackluster texture of the waffle.

   When we left the café it was starting to get dark, but still it wasn't quite time to start the festitivities so we wandered the streets for a bit. When we returned to the plaza a sizeable crowd had already started to form. Right away we found two bands, one from the military and one from the Cuenca police force. Oh man, those bands could play! They had horns, bass guitars, acoustic guitars, percussion and they put some soul into that music. I have never seen military bands cut loose so creatively, I mean in the US the police and military usually play solemn affairs or John Phillip Sousa. This was salsa, this was alive. You could dance to it. I think I was dancing to it.

   We ended up finding two of the girls from the Spring Semester group in the plaza. They said that no one else from their group had wanted to come out and play. They also informed us that at each of the corner tents of the plaza they were giving away small servings of Canelazo which is very similar to a hot tottie or a hot apple cider. We acted on this news quickly, wow it was warm and tasty!

  While waiting on the corner for some of Isaac's friends to meet us I decided to buy a scarf. Mary and Emilie helped me pick a cool purple and green one. I had a picture of myself in it, but I no longer have that picture in my possession. Why is that you ask? Well I ended up splitting off with Zoe and Teresa (the girls from Spring Semester) we went to get more Canelazo and see some of the street acts. We saw fire jugglers which made me think of my friends Hannah and Katie back home who can fire hula hoop. At one point we tried to forge our way through a thick crowd by the time we reach the other side I realized that I no longer had my camera in my jacket pocket. I called Zoe and Teresa and told them what happened. I followed the primary rule of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and didn't panic. It turned out that Teresa had also lost her cell phone. We retraced our steps to no avail, our electronics were gone with the crowd. We got some more Canelazo to recharge our spirits then went to see a mime act which Zoe voluteer me for. It was tremendously fun, three other men and I did a little choreographed kung-fu-clown routine complete with a pelvic thrust. I definitely received the biggest round of applause of the four of us, either for putting on such a good show or for my wonderful red hair.

  We rounded out the night by watching some dancing to a traditional Andean band complete with a charango player. Then we bought a few Pilsener's and sat on the steps of the Cathedral and relaxed and talked and sipped our cheap beers. It was a damn near perfect night. What about losing our things you ask? Well, yes that happened, but they didn't take my health, wallet, ipod nor journal. Sure I miss the pictures I did get a chance to rip onto my computer. And the camera, I miss the camera a bit, we went through a lot together, that camera and I, but in the end it was just a camera. There were still good spirits surrounding us and adventure to be had. Don't get me wrong, we were definitely a bit more cautious after that, but nothing else happened that night and we had a great time.

Chapter 12: How I got my hiking shoes

  I think this story is decently relevant to my travels, if you disagree, that´s alright. About a year and a half ago during my winter break we realized my hiking shoes were on their last legs. My mother and I drove off to the mall in search of new shoes. We ended up going to either Macy´s or Dillard´s to search for a suitable replacement pair. The first thing I noticed as we approached the shoe department was that the man working looked exactly like Santa Claus. Like Miracle on 34th Street lookalike. We started browsing while Santa-salesman helped someone else. As I looked at the different shoes on display, I heard him talking to the customer, not only did he look exactly like Santa, he also sounded exactly what I imagine Santa to sound like. No he didn´t go ¨Ho, ho, ho!¨ but he had a certain joviality to his voice. I started cracking up at the ridiculous situation. I tried to contain my laughter, but I could not, so I told my mom we needed to take a walk, she raised an eyebrow and asked, ¨Are you serious?¨ I answered yes, we walked away and rode the escalator up a floor.

   I giggled almost continuously for the next 15-20 minutes, trying my best to get myself under control. After the laughing fit subsisted gradually I said I was ready to return to the shoe department. Luckily upon returning, Santa-salesman had gone on his break. Instead I had a fairly plain, boring, but knowledgeable salesman to help me. In no time at all I found a pair of very comfortable, water-proof hiking shoes. Our non-santa-salesman said the last person to buy this pair had been a man planning an expedition to Machu Picchu. This gave me doubts, you see the most I was planning on using them for at that moment was to keep my feet dry in the winter through the snow and wet. Did I really need a pair of shoes that were equipped to handle such rugged adventures? Well, yes as you never know what might happen, and in fact now I have myself taken them to Ingapirca, so I think the score is settled.

Interlude 4: Los Gringos vs Las Panederias

There is something about cheap delicious bread that is just irresistible. There are so many varieties of bread: white bread, rye, wheat, fruit bread, cheese bread, sour dough; the list goes on. If you just audibly went "meh" instead of "mmm", you sir or madam, are a liar. Here in Cuenca we have found a deeper love and understanding of bread. Do we eat bread or pastries 3-6 times a day? Yes, and I am in no way ashamed of that fact. There is a panaderia on almost every corner and bread is fresh throughout the day for about 20 cents. In the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Scott affirms his love of bread saying "Bread is probably my favourite food, I'd eat it every day if I could!"

  His grilfriend Ramona replies, "You'd get fat."

                                   "What?"

                       "Bread makes you fat"

That may be so, but I'm pretty sure we walk enough that it all evens out in the end.

Chapter 11: The View from Turi

  I ventured out on a Saturday afternoon after sleeping in and having felt a bit under the weather the past two days. My plan was to just explore the path that ran alongside the river by our house and see what happened from there. The sun was beating down on me with only scant clouds in sight and my nose full of sniffles. The sun and the sniffles brought me back to a similar day, a day with a twin sun to this one: Lobsterfest '09. When I was part of the radio station, Lobsterfest was the outdoor concert we had every year at the end of spring quarter. The day of Lobsterfest I couldn't breathe very well due to a stuffy nose and also couldn't talk very well due to losing my voice a few days before. My brother had come down for the weekend to hang out and listen to music, all of my favorite people from the radio station were there. The sun was mercilessly beating down, but the bands were great. Russenorsk, Kaslo, She Bears, they were all there as well as a ton more. Jay Reatard headlined; he was kind of a jerk to the set up crew and sound technicians, but he put up on a good show nevertheless.

Lobsterfest '09, the band is either Kaslo or She Bears

  Back in the present tense I was walking alone, only accompanied by the music in my headphones and the supplies I had brought along. In a short while I ran into my host mom and my sobrinos who were also out for a stroll. We all laughed at meeting there on the path. Lupe asked me where I was going, I admitted I did not know. Her eyes lit up and she told me that if I was feeling energetic then I could walk to Turi, the hillside vantage point on the outskirts of town. I thought that sounded like a fine adventure. Lupe told me to follow the river to the third bridge, there I was to cross. Then I was to wind my way through the new part of town until I found a staircase that would take me up to Turi. It was a quest!

Incan ruins, kind of like Starbucks, but more historically important

  I walked until I found the third bridge, on my side of the river there was a small site of Incan Ruins, yes perhaps they are everywhere here, like Starbucks in the US, except more historically important. I crossed the bridge then crossed the following roundabout. Just as prescribed I wound my way through the city streets, keeping Turi in sight as I went. Each step closer meant the sun beating down more and more, though I put sunscreen on before I left, I neglected to bring a water bottle. As I climbed one of the ascending streets I lucked into finding a store that had   large water bottles for only 50 cents. Proud of my find and now less in danger of becoming dehydrated, I continued on.

One of the cows, less dangerous than at Ingapirca

Sheep on a hill

   I ended up crossing yet another river that I did not know existed in Cuenca, finding a flock of cows and sheep as I went. A little further down the way I had to cross a four lane high way, it really wasn't too bad. I still wasn't sure exactly where the staircase was located, so I ended up asking a few different people. It was a good way to practice my Spanish and they were all fairly friendly. The grandma with her grand-daughter I asked, said that Turi was very close and in fact they were going the way way as well. Wow those stairs were steep, and they seemed to just go on forever. Once I made it to the top, it made the whole trek worth it. Wow, just wow, the view was magnificent. You could see all of Cuenca, the mountains in the distance and Cajas the national park nestled between the mountains. I was still extremely hot from the sun and the hike so I walked around a bit in Turi in search of ice cream. Luck beyond luck I found a vendor selling cones, two flavors per cone for 50 cents. I got a Guayaba and Chocolate cone, it hit the spot.

the endless staircase

The view from Turi # 1

The View from Turi # 2

The View from Turi #3, I magically got myself in this one, imagine that!

   The way back was a bit quicker since I didn't have to wind my way quite as much. When I was almost home I found some guys playing volleyball in the park so I stopped to watch for a bit. I think it was then that I decided I want to play volley ball some Saturday or Sunday afternoon before I leave. When I got home I wolfed my lunch down, Lupe asked me if I enjoyed the food. I replied it wasn't bad. She laughed and told me that there is an Ecuadorian saying that goes " Cuando hay mucho hambre, no hay mal pan" or roughly translated, "When you're really hungry, nothing tastes bad". I laughed and agreed that was a good saying.

PS I snagged an awesome pic of the clouds on the way home

Chapter 10: Return to the Potter's and Moliendo Café

  The second time we went to the potter's we were given a piece of pottery to smooth with a stone. For some people it was the one that they had created the week before, for others such as myself it was a generic piece, which I was completely happy with since mine hadn't been much of anything at all. The process was incredibly similar to sanding wood except the clay wasn't as cooperative. No matter the cooperativity of the clay, it was a super calming repetitive action. Have you ever done a repetitive, mindless action for a long period of time? You are able to let your mind wander aimlessly, forming an almost zen bond with your activity. Once my small pot was suitably smooth I was able to use a pen to etch my initials in the bottom and a design around the outside. I engraved an octopus on one side and a T-Rex on the other.

  When we finished, wow, we were so hungry! Ross, Emilie and I went to a Colombian restaurant called Moliendo Cafe that Emilie knew about. Everything on the menu looked amazing, but I didn't want to ruin my dinner so I got an Arepa with pulled beef and peas and carrots. An Arepa is a type of corn tortilla, a bit thicker than the tortillas that we use for tacos in the states. Oh man, was it good. Sadly I didn't take any pictures, I really should have. Ross had a large platter with a fried egg, baked beans, bacon, a sausage, rice, and an avocado. Apparently that's a fairly common meal in Colombia which I was surprised about for two reasons: a) it seemed incredibly similar to what cattle drivers would eat in the Southwest of the United States and b) my dad's best friend is from Colombia yet on the whole I hadn't heard him talk about a meal like this being common in Colombia. We also had Milo with dinner which is like Yoohoo! milk, but better.