Mercados y Cascadas: Otavalo

from the bus on the way to Otavalo

The weekend after Carnaval we decided (I guess) that we hadn't had enough traveling lately so we left Saturday morning and headed north two hours to a town called Otavalo. Otavalo is known for its weekend artesanal market, one of the largest in all of Ecuador. You can find paintings, wood carvings, hand-knitted clothing, jewelry, hammocks, wall-hangings, delicious food and an infinite number of other things. There are literally hundreds of individual shops. Our group of ten or so spent Saturday (the biggest market day) exploring the market looking for trinkets and gifts for friends and family. The market is incredibly beautiful and colorful, so I took a lot of pictures (check 'em out). After the little booths started to close down, some of the group left, but a few of decided to stay the night at a hostal and explore more the next day.

Ted & Jennifer

Sunday morning the market wasn't as big, so after breakfast we took a ten-minute bus ride to a nearby national park, home to La Cascada (waterfall) Peguche. The hike to the waterfall was relatively short but beautiful. The waterfall itself is rather grand, it's hardly small, but it's not the most exciting thing in the world. However, you can keep hiking up to the top of the waterfall and all around it. At the top of the main waterfall was a large tunnel carved through the rock where there river went. We climbed through a small cave and were able to wade up the stream a little ways where we could see another waterfall. It wasn't quite as big of a drop but it went through the tunnel, so it was really cool. We hiked all over the area, up over the tunnel (really the tunnel is like a big V with one tiny rock bridge going over it), and on the hills and cliffs around it. It was pretty scary and unsafe, but beautiful and a lot of fun. Pictures coming.

I found a rock with a face in it

Cascada Peguche

from the top of the waterfall - there's no guardrail

the second waterfall inside the cave

Photo album: "Otavalo"

Photo Albums: Now Available to Viewers Like You!!!

I just went through all my previous entries and added in public links to my Facebook photo albums that correspond with each entry. This is mostly for you Mom and Dad, so check 'em out. Here's two albums that really didn't correspond to anything. I should probably explain them.

The first album, "Hostal del Fuente Eternal... Casi," consists of photos from our three-day outing during orientation week - the photos that weren't on Cotopaxi or on the way to El Nariz del Diablo. Basically, all the pictures are of us at different hostals or on the bus. There are a couple of pictures in a row where my friend Teo decided it would be funny to fake fall into a cactus and then he fell into the cactus like hard core. Pretty damn funny.

The second album, "All these old people just started dancing and giving us zhumir...," has to do with our trip to Papallacta, a group of hot springs up in the mountains about an hour and a half from Quito. I honestly didn't find them that exciting because they're just pools full of hot water and you sit in them. I get bored. I suppose it was worth the trip especially cause it was free. Also, afterwards, we went to this restaurant to eat lunch and there was a huge group of what we might in the United States call "senior citizens." All of the sudden, when they finished eating, they went into the next room over and started dancing and drinking to music they put on. It turns out they were some form of Ecuadorian tour group and they had decided to celebrate Carnaval a little bit early. It has some pictures of us dancing with the old people. Enjoy.

Photo albums: "Hostal del Fuente Eternal... Casi" & "All these old people just started dancing and giving us zhumir..."

Reflexiones en los Mercados Ecuatorianos

This has been bothering me. At this point in the semester I've already been to a number of different Ecuadorian markets and I still have yet to figure out how any single vendor in the open markets can make a profit.

The markets in Ecuador are incredible. First of all, they are beautiful in their own kind of way. The floors aren't shiny like in Kroger's and there aren't shelves perfectly lined with nicely-packaged food and price tags. Second of all, it is unbelievable how many different kinds of things they can sell. For example, at my last trip to an Ecuadorian market is saw little tiendas (stores) selling everything from fruits & vegetables, to flours & breads, to fresh or roasted pigs, to bookbags & soccerballs, to brooms & hot water bottles, to, finally, haircuts... like there... in the market. Third of all, I've never seen a cabbage so big in my life - it was about the size of my upper body, without exaggerating.

The only thing even close to comparable United States event is a farmers' market. But that's really not even close.

Anyways, what's been bugging me about these markets is that, unlike in the United States where shops that sell the same things usually find different locations, ALL of the shops that sell any one thing are always in the same place, right next to each other. I saw twenty shops selling just taffy and candies in a row. Then I saw thirty-five shops just selling products related to sugar cane. Then I saw ten haircut places in a row. Then I saw a million fruit stands, a thousand vegetable stands and a hundred stands selling cuts of raw meat... all right in a row. They do the same thing in the artisanal markets where they sell hand-made clothes, instruments, paintings, hammocks, blankets, etc.

This baffles me. Shouldn't they spread apart? How am I supposed to decide upon on of a million of the same shop? Who gets the spot nearest to the entrance? How do they beat the competitors' prices if the competitors are right there?

Well, anyways, the displays of food are incredible and make for some rather interesting if not aesthetically good photos. They follow my ramblings. I have only one bit of respite for those of you who are as frustrated or confused by this as me. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the market with some indigenous Ecuadorians. I'll explain later how that happened, but the point is, I asked one of our friends how they decide where to go if everyone is selling the same thing. His answer didn't really help me solve my problem about profit-making, but I at least know how they decide. He told me that they choose based on how fresh the meat or produce is. They go to the market at least weekly (if not more), so they know which places sell the pigs killed that morning and which ones sell the pigs killed ten minutes ago. They know which places will have the biggest or best fruit and they know where they can pay less. That settled me for the time being, but I'm still working on this. If anyone has any suggestions, email me, or something.

fruit

grains

meat

ducklings: $1, chicks: $0.25

Carnaval: Azogues

The day after Gualaceo, we attempted to bus to a set of Incan ruins called "Ingapirca," about two hours away from Cuenca to seek some respite from our water wars. The group got separated on the way to the bus station on account of some Panama hats (I had purchased my own custom-made straw Panama hat several days earlier) and it ended up being just me and Teo.

When we got to the bus station, we couldn't find a bus to Ingapirca. Apparently, many of the bus lines had been cancelled on account of the holiday. We asked around and were told that we could get to Ingapirca if we went through Azogues. Teo and I were up for an adventure so we got in the weirdest looking bus we'd ever seen (pictured below) and headed off.

weird bus

Upon arrival in Azogues, we learned that the next bus to Ingapirca would leave the next day but if we wanted we could take another bus to some other city and try to get to Ingapirca that way. We opted to stay in Azogues and explore.

Azogues is a small town set, for the most part, on a large foothill in the Andes. Perched on top of the town is the town's cathedral. In the distance, perched on a higher hilltop is a statue of an angel. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to walk up until we reached the cathedral.

Azogues

Along the way, we were accosted by some young girls with buckets of water. We attempted to cross a river to wade across getting wet (backwards?). I managed to escape the buckets and only got my shorts wet up to just under the pockets (I also managed to take a nice chunk out of my toe, which I didn't notice until later). Teo, on the other hand, wasn't quick enough getting into the river and got drenched. Thanks to the beautiful weather, he wasn't too upset about it so we continued up the hill.

While the cathedral itself wasn't anything extravagant in comparison with some of the others we'd seen, as you can see from the picture below, the view from Cathedral was exquisite.

view from outside the cathedral

After we realized that the cathedral was closed for Carnaval, we walked back down the mountain to try to find something to eat. Everything seemed to be closed on account of Carnaval but Ted and I luckily happened past a small market with a few shops left open. One of the shops was a small lunch place. At first, the kid said he only had soups, which was fine with us, but after we started eating he kept bringing us out more and more courses. He brought us rice and corn and empanadas and some beers. It was delicious. Anyways, we ended up sitting there with the kid for about an hour and a half cause we didn't know where else to go. We ended up telling him a lot about ourselves and our travels, and he told us about his family and what how he works at this little restaurant and also paints cars. Then we swapped music tastes, thanked him, and went on our way.

our awesome lunch friend

He suggested to us that we try to take a cab to the next town over, because it was supposedly more beautiful than Azogues. So Ted and I went in search of a taxi. On our way down to the main street, we ran across a group of guys - we will call them "The Dudes" - barbecue-ing and celebrating Carnaval in the street. The Dudes asked us to have a drink with them and asked us what we were doing in Azogues and we got to talking. They were all nuts. They were all drunk, and they were thrilled to have some gringos to introduce to Carnaval in Azogues. We were as thrilled as them, if not more.

The Dudes & Ted

As it turned out, one of the Dudes was named Vicente. This was incredibly exciting for the both of us. See how happy we are?

Vicente & Vicente

Vicente was so excited, in fact, that he invited Ted and me to meet his family a few doors up the street. We joined him to his house and his family was very hospitable, offering us food and allowing us to use the bathrooms. Then, they started playing Ted's and my favorite music in Ecuador: Manu Chao. Then, randomly, Vicente came out with two guitars and asked if we knew how to play. Thrilled, we tuned up the guitars and played back our favorite Manu Chao, "Clandestino," song for the family.

Vicente & family, Ted & one of the Dudes (our favorite)

Vicente's family loved our little performance and brought us back outside to the group to play for the Dudes. The Dudes went crazy when we started playing and started offering us food and drinks and asking us if we knew this and that American song. One of the Dudes (our favorite) joined us on his flute which he was really quite good at. He had no trouble joining us on basically every song. Ted and I did a pretty good job of catering to their music tastes while they literally put food and drinks in our mouths as we played.

our Azogues friends

Ted & I stuck around on the street with the Dudes and Vicente & family for about two hours. By the time we realized it was time to go, we were stuffed full of delicious food and had played almost every song in our repertoire. We said some goofy yet solemn goodbyes to our gracious hosts, took a fantastic photo and went on our way. As soon as we got a decent ways away, Ted and I burst out laughing, incredibly happy about our experience and unable to believe what had just happened. We were so happy that we never made it to Ingapirca. Before we left that morning, we had never even heard of Azogues. We never would have guessed what was in store for us for the day. And somehow, magically, I will probably remember that afternoon for in Azogues for the rest of my life.

Photo album: "Carnaval en Azogues"

Carnaval: Gualaceo

The first two days of water fights in Cuenca were unlike anything we had ever seen. We had been unexpectedly soaked in many different fashions and covered in several different fairly harmless substances... espuma hurts in the eyes. However, most of our fights had been fairly tame - a soaked sleeve or pants leg here or there, some espuma on the back or in the hair. It was much to our surprise (and delight) when we realized that the real holiday started when the adults got involved.

our new hostal: "La Casa Río"

Adults, as it turns out, have better access to water. And weapons with which to dispense water. On day four (Monday) of our trip to Cuenca, we were preparing to leave for a nearby town called Gualaceo. First, we needed to move our bags to a new hostal - a beautiful, river-side hostal called La Casa Río. Inconveniently, our street was blocked off by some six or seven full-grown men armed with large "waterarms," large buckets of water and hoses. There was no escaping them.

If Looney Toons taught us anything, it's, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Thus it was.

We had two major battles with our Cuencan rivals. Our first was rather weak. We only had three guys and five water-guns. The main purpose of our first battle was to provide our girls with coverage while they ran by with our luggage to the new hostal attempting to avoid getting soaked. While successful in that respect, we three boys were rather dripping después (after).

After being entirely soaked, we decided a full-fledged attack was in order. While getting situated in our new hostal, we filled dozens of waterballoons, several Nalgenes and as many waterguns as we could carry and prepared for battle. Everyone got involved. Craziness ensued. Here are some pre-, during- and post-battle photos:

off to war

at battle

triumphant

drive-by

As you can see from the last photo, drive-by shootings or bombings were common.

After shaking hands with our rivals and changing clothes, we were on our way to the bus station to head off to Gualaceo. Before leaving the bus station, we refilled our water guns and equipped ourselves with several can of espuma. The bus we got on was unsurprisingly packed. The majority of us were standing. In the spirit of the holiday, about fifteen minutes into the one-hour bus ride, a young boy sprayed one of our girls quite thoroughly with espuma. Unaware of his company, the young boy was barraged all at once by ten streams of espuma from our group. Immediately, the bus errupted into a full-out war. Inside the bus! Within five minutes, everyone (including mothers with infants on laps) was covered in espuma or water or confetti or flour (or all of the above). The bus looked like it had been snowed in. For the next forty minutes or so, the bus was filled with periodic skirmishes and ceaseless laughter. Upon arrival in Gualaceo, we were again in need of a change of clothes and again in need of espuma.

post-bus photo

Gualaceo is a beautiful town of maybe two thousand people. On Carnaval, however, the riverbanks of the town were lined with hundreds of Ecuadorians from near and far. The pathway along the river was another war zone. By this time we had worked ourselves out a strategy. Any time one of us was sprayed or hit with a water balloon, we collectively chased the assaulter down and covered hir with foam. We were not to be messed with.

A Peruvian artisanal clothing vendor

Besides water fights, we saw some beautiful artisanal goods being sold (see above). The majority of the venders had bussed over forty hours to sell their clothing at the big celebration in Gualaceo. Along with the shopping, we heard live music, tried delicious food, and walked around the beautiful town. Unfortunately, I don't have too many photos from Gualaceo. I didn't take my camera out that much for fear of it getting soaked or covered in flour.

Photo album: "Carnaval en Gualaceo"

Exposición Fotográfica de Iglesias

I didn't include any church or cathedral pictures in my last entry, because I couldn't decide which ones to include. In Cuenca, I took a lot of good church photos. They make for easy subjects. I'm really proud of some of them, so I thought I'd create a little photo exposition. I picked only the best of the best. Hope you like them.

doors to the new cathedral

the new cathedral's domes at night from our hostal's porch

the old catherdal at night through the trees

the church with a view of all of Cuenca

the new cathedral's front façade

Carnaval: Cuenca

Several weeks ago, our group was supposed to visit the Amazonas (as in, the jungle), but bad weather, flooding, landslides and the resulting closed roads kept us from going. Not to be discouraged, a group of us traveled to Cuenca and several surrounding pueblos for five days to celebrate Carnaval, a festive holiday that occurs during the few days before Lent begins. It was easily one of the best (most fun) consecutive five-day periods of my life.

View of Cuenca and a market from our hostal

Cuenca's grandiose city hall: taken from the corner of one of Cuencas gorgeous square parks

To begin, Cuenca, like Quito, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Trust site, which basically means that the city, specifically its colonial architecture, is indescribably beautiful. Along with all the "normal" beautiful buildings, there are dozens of magnificent churches and two breathtaking cathedrals, one new and one old, along with several interesting and impressive museums. To add to the architecture, the city is surrounded by a landscape of picturesque moutains, and four small rivers flow from the mountains into the city allowing for beautiful riverside pathways, parks, and views.

Colorful, cute architecture

El Rio Tomebamba

Take this scenery and add to it every child's most elaborate dream - a multi-day, city-wide, all-inclusive water balloon/water gun/foam spraying/flour throwing war - plus celebratory Zhumir. Allow me to elaborate. The guidebooks warn: "Carnaval is celebrated with boisterous water fights in which no one is spared." Being American doesn't help. Ecuadorians delight in dousing an unexpecting gringo with large quantities of agua (water), espuma (spray foam... think the foam version of sily string), or polvo (flour). They get an even bigger kick out of it when travelers respond with a good fight back: water guns and espuma cans ablazing. We were those travelers:

Teo & Juan (his host brother): I just liked this one

The best part was, as the days progressed, the fight got more and more intense. When we arrived on Friday, we received the occasional squirt in the back from a hidden vender while walking through the artisenal markets. By Friday afternoon, squirting could come from just inside any store front and water balloons often accompanied. By the end of the day, we purchased ourselves several bags of water balloons and some medium-sized water guns (which were being sold everywhere). We spent a the few hours around sunset lobbing water balloons at passersby from the rooftop patio of our hostal.

Saturday seemed to us like all-out war. While touring the city, we were chased for blocks by groups of kids with water guns and balloons and the occasional can of espuma. One kid followed a small group of us for nearly 30 minutes, sometimes going around the block to catch us off-guard from the front. By the end of the day, we had all reloaded our guns countless times, purchased multiple cans of espuma, and had several changes of clothing. See below:

Teo & Philip (Gloria's host brother): soaked, covered in espuma & ready for more

Sunday was a quiet day. Church. I spent the day with Chicho and Miche (my host parents who were visiting relatives in Cuenca for the holiday) and two girls from our program - Gloria and Steph - visiting the nearby Cajas National Park. Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day and we only got to drive through a small portion of the park, but afterwards we returned to the relatives' house for a traditional Cuencano Carnaval lunch. Delicious. In the early evening, we drove part way up a nearby mountain to a beautiful church with a view of the entire city and surrounding valley.

Cuenca at sunset from the mountainside church

Gloria, Miche, Steph, Chicho & Seguismundo with Cuenca behind

As the weekend came to a close, we were preparing to change hostals for the remaining two days of Carnaval. We spent the next two days celebrating the holiday by visiting the nearby towns of Gualaceo and Azogues. Each town deserves its own story. Read along now.

Photo albums: "Carnaval en Cuenca - Parte Uno" & "Carnaval en Cuenca - Parte Dos"