Day 8. January 8, 2020. Cuenca, Ecuador.
We start our eventful day today with a trip to the Charute mangroves, where I got to wear my bug net and take a nice boat ride through the water. On the way there, we pass through a town called San Borazon, or “small Miami”. This is one of the more upscale towns on the outskirts of Guayaquil. There is a river that we must cross, which is formed by water from the Andes. We will be going up into the Andes mountains later today! At the mangrove reserve, we saw a ton of spoonbills and even the Stockton mascot, an osprey. My favorite part was seeing the two-toed sloth at the entrance to the reserve. Walking to the boat on the water surrounded by mangrove trees, there is lush green vegetation everywhere, and swarms of mosquitos try and get me, but I’m totally covered and have sprayed practically 100% DEET on myself. Diego bought us a bunch of juicy mangos from a stand on the side of the road, and I eat mine while walking to the boat, which is surely not a good idea, but I cannot resist. There are people who sell fruits all along the roadside, even some selling shrimp and crabs as we get nearer to the mangroves. There are teak trees everywhere, which are originally from Indonesia but came to Ecuador in the 60s. They are used mostly for outdoor furniture, and a lot of it is exported to Germany where they like to use it for cars. The roadways are lined with cacao plants and sugar cane, African palms, mango trees, rice and banana fields, and all different types of plantains. The cacao, which is very important here, is originally from the Amazon rainforest, although conquistadors that first found it in Mexico, assumed that it was from there. There a few different types of cacao in Ecuador, and the yellow cacao plants are national and taste much different, they are known as Arriba chocolate. Ecuador is the perfect place for growing just about anything. Right on the equator, and with such a variety of topographic landscape, this small country has fruit and produce growing at every turn. This is why something called come y bebe is sold widely here, it is a fruit salad that you “eat and drink” because it mixes together lots of fruits to eat, but you also get to drink the juices of them as well. After the lovely boat ride, we take a small hike into the tropical dry forest that surrounds the mangroves. We got to see a few howler monkeys in a tree, which was such a sight! I also enjoyed when Diego introduced the group to a special tree known as “the garlic tree” because it smells exactly like garlic, which I thought was really intriguing. The fishermen used to use it to repel mosquitos in the mangroves.
Right outside the mangroves is a large shrimp farming operation, and we get to have an interesting conversation with one of the farmers, especially after having more insight after last night’s presentation. Although a lot of deforestation must take place for an active shrimp farm operation to be set up, I must say that the surrounding view of the Andes, all open, is quite beautiful. In the large 4-hectare farm, made up of 1.5-3m ponds, there are timed feeding devices in the water for the shrimp, which are solar powered. They farm at least 5,000lbs of shrimp per hectare of their farm, which makes for 20,000lbs of shrimp per yearly harvest; and they can sell medium sized shrimp for $2/lb at this point in time. Larger shrimp could go for $3. To account for disease, different chemicals and/or biological substances are administered into the pools, and they add more larvae in every 3 months or so. Due to water levels that could get very high in the areas of the mangroves, and because of the snake problem, most houses are raised around here. The shrimp farm is interesting, but my favorite aspect of all of this is seeing the Andes mountains in the distance, and I notice few purple trees that stand out among the greenery. I ask Diego about this, to find out that they are called Cedrela trees. There are also black matapalo trees all around, which grow from the tops of other trees in the forest and eventually take them over. Nature is insane! This major competitor in the tropical forests of this area are a type of Ficus, known more commonly as the “strangler fig”. We embark on the rest of our long drive to the Andes; we are going on a hike at Cajas National Park today. Everyone is sure to take their altitude pills today, as we have headed from sea level in Guayaquil, to around 13,000 ft. above sea level at Cajas!
We make it to Cajas and it is stunning all around. We get off the van before we reach the hiking point to soak in some views and get ourselves acclimated for a minute. I am finding it hard to breathe, but the altitude pills are helping. Even the smallest amount of activity feels strenuous, but I’m sure I am going to get used to it. This may just be the most beautiful park that I have been to in my life thus far. It is nice and cool out, now that we are so high up, and everything about it just feels so nice! We have a tour guide specifically for the park, and his name is Flavio. He is an awesome tour guide and is extremely knowledgeable on all the endemic and medicinal flora of the Andes. This is important for me, as this is what I will be writing my research paper on. Cajas is 28,544 hectares and is home to an abundance of native and endemic species. Alpacas and llamas are native here, and the group even got to see some! It was exciting, even though they were so far away. Flavio found and introduced us to some of the 9 endemic plant species, as well as a few other native ones. Some of my favorites included the chuquiragua plant, valerian (which is where valium comes from), the Andean tulip (an endemic), the deer’s head (which is also endemic and medicinal and resembles a small deer’s head), and Castilleja phisifolia, which is used to regulate the menstrual period through the use of a tea. We saw a large boulder that had been hit by an asteroid, and it had me thinking about aliens for the rest of the time. We will be having a conversation with the geologist who has been studying this later in the trip. The hike was full of pretty sights and lots of pictures, the natural ponds where glistening and Flavio told us the story of the three lakes of the Inca path, which were taken over by some sort of aquatic plant, most likely planted by the Incas. All of Cajas actually used to be a transportation sight between Guayaquil and Cuenca and was important to the Inca people specifically. Although most of the park is perfectly natural and untouched, in the 1990s the government had tried to do a reforestation project on Cajas lands, where they ended up introducing species of pine that were not native to the area. Today, they attempt to reforest the area with native trees instead. Speaking of native trees, towards the end of the hike we approach the Polylepis forest, endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes, which looks like something out of a fantasy movie. One of the rarest types of Polylepis, this genus can be seen only in northern Ecuador (Catchpole, 2015). The bark of the Polylepis tree is constantly shedding, to prevent moss growth on the trees, which grow a measly 1-2cm per year. I felt like I was in a fairytale as I made my way through the winding bark of the trees. Eventually, the hike was over, and I would take with me my pictures and my memories of this beautiful place, hopefully to be seen again in the future.
We are making our way to Cuenca now, so we can check into our next hotel, the Victoria Hotel. It is the most beautiful spot we have been lodged at thus far. The large room, equipped with three beds and an upstairs look-out, plus a balcony overlooking Cuenca, is to die for. We get changed quickly, although it has been a long day already; we are going to visit with an old friend of Tait’s, someone he went to the University of Florida with, who currently resides in Cuenca as an expat. Cuenca is known as “gringo city” because many Americans come here to live as expats. It is a good place to retire because it is extremely cheap to live here, plus it is beautiful. A win/win for expats. Paul Amos is a very friendly man and invited us into his apartment for a barbeque on the back deck. The apartment is gorgeous, and more than enough for one man, plus it has a patio overlooking the park, equipped with fire pit, Ping-Pong table, and grill. Of course, we all spend the night eating and asking Paul tons of questions about his life is Cuenca. He disclosed a lot of valuable information, and certainly made some of us consider the possibility of living out here in Ecuador one day. He pays only $800 a month for the nice, luxurious apartment he lives in in the center of town in Cuenca, all utilities included. This is jaw-dropping to a group from Jersey. He gets free medical care, and all his daily living needs are very cheap. The only things that aren’t cheap in Ecuador, are electronics and cars, and some clothing. Things that must be imported are relatively the most expensive, but day-to-day living is completely affordable. He has an Ecuadorian license and a permanent professional Visa, so he is pretty well off for now, and has been living in Cuenca for 4 years already. Paul says that one of his favorite things about living in Ecuador is all the fun and cultural activities that take place for expats and residents of Cuenca. He is an athlete and loves all the views, good hikes, parks, places to ride his bike, and races to participate in. To satisfy his mind, he teaches online English to Chinese kids for $20/hr. This guy is living the life if you ask me. One other interesting thing that I learned from Paul is that citizens of Ecuador are required to vote in their elections. If they do not vote, they receive a fine of $42-100 dollars, and if you do not vote for a full years you lose all citizen’s rights, meaning you would not be legally able to drive or use the banks, as well as other important things. Ecuador is very serious about this, and Paul even talked a bit about the protests that took place in October due to propane gas prices and some other factors.
Paul was an exceptional host. He fed us all really good and answered every question we had with complete honestly. It was nice to meet him, and we are all exhausted now from our long day on the road, packed with activities. We head back to the hotel, to rest and prepare for our 5-hour journey to the Amazon rainforest tomorrow.
Reference
Catchpole, K. (2015, October 15). These Fairytale Trees Only Grow at Incredible Altitudes. Retrieved from https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/these-fairytale-trees-only-grow-at-incredible- altitudes
Day 11. January 11, 2020. Saraguro, Ecuador.
Although I am sad to say goodbye to the beautifully mystical rainforest, I am excited to meet the indigenous people and explore the countryside in Saraguro. Kichwa, which is the language that the indigenous people, the Incas, speak here, is one of the official languages of Ecuador besides Spanish. The word ‘sara’ means corn in Kichwa, and ‘guro’ is the word for goat. The benefits of tourism for the people, and the sharing of culture, means a lot to both us and them. The indigenous people have welcomed tourism into not only their lands, but also their homes, as they make good money this way. Ruth, our local tour guide, still speaks the traditional language and practices the same traditions as her ancestors, down to the clothing she wears and the long hair she keeps.
We are staying at Hostal Achik Wasi and we get to see a man today that makes very special and famous hats out of wool for a living. Not the Panama hats, that factory we will be going to tomorrow. These special hats are handmade and from wool, which must be boiled in very hot water to get out all the fats, and then the wool is separated, and scissors are used to cut it up into small pieces. We get to see the whole process, which is done bit by bit, and is quite tedious. First all the wool is dealt with, and then they will begin to process it, then the hats can start coming together. People are so talented in this world, and everyone’s got a craft. It is nice to see. Francisco has been making these special hats for over 20 years, and does so directly out of his home, which he welcomed us into warmly. The hats go for $80 apiece, and it is well worth the price for a pound of wool per hat and the hours of devotion put into making and designing it. The original wool hats are designed white with black spots on the inside of the rim, similar to the look of a traditional cow. The black wax that is used for the spots, comes from wasps’ nests in the Amazon that are cooked in fire, which I thought was pretty awesome. I bought a small wool hat on a keychain from Francisco, to remember this special day, and as a small token of my appreciation. I love it!
My favorite part of this day was getting an open ride all the way up the mountains to overlook the valley below and be greeted by a traditional cuy lunch from the indigenous people. Although I don’t eat meat, and the thought of eating guinea pig in particular was unappealing at the very least, I understood what sort of delicacy this was to these people, and how honored we should be to be presented with the meal. Of course, there was more to eat, and I tried but a little piece, it was an honor because typically this sort of meal is presented only at weddings and on special occasions. Although we didn’t get to see any condors at the valley, this is a restoration place for them, and one of the best. Condors represent the spirit of the indigenous people, so their restoration and rehabilitation mean a lot. Condors can eat up to 50 pounds in one sitting, making it impossible to fly after. Nests at the valleys edge make it easily accessible for them to simply jump from the valleys to get the start they need to fly again after a large meal. This is one of my favorite facts from the day. Although the ride up and back down the mountain had me fearing for my life a bit, the views from the top were wonderful, and looking over the picturesque valley and drinking the special agave drink with a Kichwa cheers at the end of lunch was all very special and so worth it.
Back at the Hostal, we have a presentation from the lead tourism coordinator for the indigenous communities, called Saraurko. He gives a lot of insight into how tourism greatly benefits the communities that wish to participate. The program was developed in four years, and four steps were taken to get them where they are today. First, they had to make some sort of organization within the communities. People must want to work in tourism, have the potential, and ideally practice traditional culture. They need to provide some service, and many people of the local communities have gotten on board with this and do it out of their own homes many times. Then, communities must be taught and guided through how they will provide their service. What can they do? Well, there are plenty of options ranging from displaying their own craft, turning their home into a restaurant, or even a bed and breakfast. After a family decides what they would like to provide, many investments go must go into it. For example, if they are looking to start a hotel, it is pretty imperative that they have free Wi-Fi, a restaurant, some open areas, communal bathrooms, and etc. Lastly, promotion and commercialization of their services are produced. Today, they are actively looking for lots of universities and student groups, like ours, to fill the tourism industry up. These families can make their living from the tourism industry and keep their traditional culture in place while doing it.
All in all, we had a whole day filled with warm welcoming’s from the people of Saraguro, including Mama Rosa’s home where women make textiles from wool, by hand. They shared the process with us, which is similar to the wool hat process, because the main part of it all has to do with boiling and processing the wool to be used. It takes about 3 hours for them to make one large item, like a poncho. They are very skilled. It was interesting to learn that all the colors that are used for the textiles, come from a variety of different plants from all over the country. I bought a few wool beanies for Chris and I, and I know he’s going to love it. They are extremely warm and well made. This was followed by a traditional dinner and a dance fiesta with a group who plays traditional music. We danced to wake Pachamama (Mother Earth) and had so much fun. It was an experience I will surely never forget!
Day 12. January 12, 2020. Cuenca, Ecuador.
Yesterday was a really great day for some new experiences with the native people, but today we are heading back to Cuenca. We start off with a tour of the Panama hat factory, and it is interesting to see, and more like a museum than a traditional factory. On the wall hangs pictures of famous people wearing Panama hats, but my favorite by far is the one of Heisenberg from Breaking Bad. I never knew that the signature hat from one of my all-time favorite shows was a Panama hat! Some interesting facts that I learned about these special hats start with the fact that despite the name, these hats are actually from Ecuador originally, but got the familiar name because popularity began with the Panama Canal. Teddy Roosevelt, who was in charge of construction on the Panama Canal, was given a gift by the President of Ecuador at that time, which was a Panama hat—made in Ecuador out of palm tree fibers, making for a very light and soft sun hat with lots of protection. Teddy liked the hat so much, that he asked to buy many more from Ecuador for all the American men working to construct the canal. Hence, the name Panama hat comes from the Panama Canal. All these hats are handmade, similar to the wool hats we have seen, but these hats can go from anywhere between $30-2,500 depending on the fineness of the fibers used. The process starts on the coast of Ecuador, to be sent to a factory like this one in Cuenca to finish the processing, where it is most popular. In Cuenca today, there are at least 10,000 weavers of the Panama hat, and this factory in particular produces 3,000 hats per day. I didn’t end up buying a hat at the factory, even though they are super cool, I just know I’ll never wear it, realistically. I did buy some Pacari chocolate at the checkout, however. I am obsessed and can’t wait to go to their store in Quito.
After the Panama hat factory, we go to a cute little arts and ceramics shop that lays at the edge of the city of Cuenca, right near the overlook. I absolutely adore everything being sold here, and I may regret not buying anything, but it just isn’t practical for me right now. Maybe next time?
We get to look out over all of St. Anna of Cuenca city and it is so gorgeous in the valley, although I know that there are many negatives that come with inner valley living. For one, landslides are common for places built upon the sides of mountains, and temperature inversion can also become a problem. Later today, we will get some time to walk around the city and hear from a friend of Diego’s named Paul, who makes his living working with expats. We will get to see “cuy avenue” where cuy and pig are roasted on the sides of the street. This is the main hub for delicious street food, besides cuy, but in this city it is not as much of a delicacy like it is with the indigenous peoples. In Cuenca, there are no poor areas. It is a small city and a very nice place to live. It is a very safe city as well and builds up in a certain fashion for that reason. Many of the structures here are the originals made from Inca stones. The city has a lot of history and makes it very pleasurable to walk around and observe. We grab some pizza during our walk, and I got to try some interesting ice-cream flavors that I had never seen before.
We are ending the day back in the Victoria Hotel in Cuenca. In the evening, Paul, who used to be a tour guide alongside Diego, but is now working with expats moving to Ecuador by providing a service in which his company transports people’s belongings between countries, gives us a short and insightful presentation. In Cuenca, there are many expats and many English-speaking people. Additionally, there are many professional workers such as medical specialists, and like Paul Amos told us, it is a very affordable city and healthcare is free. This makes is so that people are constantly looking to move into the city in Ecuador, and therefore, Paul gets a lot of business transporting people’s belongings. Paul tells us that ‘gringos’ looking to retire in Ecuador, only have to pay $56 for social security benefits! In America, “workers’ pay 6.2 percent of their earnings up to a cap, which is $127,200 a year in 2017” (National Academy of Social Insurance, n.d). Of course, you need much less money to survive in Cuenca, and therefore it presents itself as a very favorable place for retirement. Many of the expats living there currently, are over 65 years old and retired, although young people go there to live and set up shop as well. The only negatives that come with the increase of expats to cities like Cuenca are an increase in prices overall, although this changes overtime as they learn not to overpay.
Tomorrow, we head to the cloud forest. After the cloud forest in Mindo, we will be going to Quito, the capitol city of Ecuador, and these are the last two places on our trip’s itinerary.
Reference
National Academy of Social Insurance. (n.d.). Who Pays for Social Security? Retrieved from https://www.nasi.org/learn/socialsecurity/who-pays
We start our eventful day today with a trip to the Charute mangroves, where I got to wear my bug net and take a nice boat ride through the water. On the way there, we pass through a town called San Borazon, or “small Miami”. This is one of the more upscale towns on the outskirts of Guayaquil. There is a river that we must cross, which is formed by water from the Andes. We will be going up into the Andes mountains later today! At the mangrove reserve, we saw a ton of spoonbills and even the Stockton mascot, an osprey. My favorite part was seeing the two-toed sloth at the entrance to the reserve. Walking to the boat on the water surrounded by mangrove trees, there is lush green vegetation everywhere, and swarms of mosquitos try and get me, but I’m totally covered and have sprayed practically 100% DEET on myself. Diego bought us a bunch of juicy mangos from a stand on the side of the road, and I eat mine while walking to the boat, which is surely not a good idea, but I cannot resist. There are people who sell fruits all along the roadside, even some selling shrimp and crabs as we get nearer to the mangroves. There are teak trees everywhere, which are originally from Indonesia but came to Ecuador in the 60s. They are used mostly for outdoor furniture, and a lot of it is exported to Germany where they like to use it for cars. The roadways are lined with cacao plants and sugar cane, African palms, mango trees, rice and banana fields, and all different types of plantains. The cacao, which is very important here, is originally from the Amazon rainforest, although conquistadors that first found it in Mexico, assumed that it was from there. There a few different types of cacao in Ecuador, and the yellow cacao plants are national and taste much different, they are known as Arriba chocolate. Ecuador is the perfect place for growing just about anything. Right on the equator, and with such a variety of topographic landscape, this small country has fruit and produce growing at every turn. This is why something called come y bebe is sold widely here, it is a fruit salad that you “eat and drink” because it mixes together lots of fruits to eat, but you also get to drink the juices of them as well. After the lovely boat ride, we take a small hike into the tropical dry forest that surrounds the mangroves. We got to see a few howler monkeys in a tree, which was such a sight! I also enjoyed when Diego introduced the group to a special tree known as “the garlic tree” because it smells exactly like garlic, which I thought was really intriguing. The fishermen used to use it to repel mosquitos in the mangroves.
Right outside the mangroves is a large shrimp farming operation, and we get to have an interesting conversation with one of the farmers, especially after having more insight after last night’s presentation. Although a lot of deforestation must take place for an active shrimp farm operation to be set up, I must say that the surrounding view of the Andes, all open, is quite beautiful. In the large 4-hectare farm, made up of 1.5-3m ponds, there are timed feeding devices in the water for the shrimp, which are solar powered. They farm at least 5,000lbs of shrimp per hectare of their farm, which makes for 20,000lbs of shrimp per yearly harvest; and they can sell medium sized shrimp for $2/lb at this point in time. Larger shrimp could go for $3. To account for disease, different chemicals and/or biological substances are administered into the pools, and they add more larvae in every 3 months or so. Due to water levels that could get very high in the areas of the mangroves, and because of the snake problem, most houses are raised around here. The shrimp farm is interesting, but my favorite aspect of all of this is seeing the Andes mountains in the distance, and I notice few purple trees that stand out among the greenery. I ask Diego about this, to find out that they are called Cedrela trees. There are also black matapalo trees all around, which grow from the tops of other trees in the forest and eventually take them over. Nature is insane! This major competitor in the tropical forests of this area are a type of Ficus, known more commonly as the “strangler fig”. We embark on the rest of our long drive to the Andes; we are going on a hike at Cajas National Park today. Everyone is sure to take their altitude pills today, as we have headed from sea level in Guayaquil, to around 13,000 ft. above sea level at Cajas!
We make it to Cajas and it is stunning all around. We get off the van before we reach the hiking point to soak in some views and get ourselves acclimated for a minute. I am finding it hard to breathe, but the altitude pills are helping. Even the smallest amount of activity feels strenuous, but I’m sure I am going to get used to it. This may just be the most beautiful park that I have been to in my life thus far. It is nice and cool out, now that we are so high up, and everything about it just feels so nice! We have a tour guide specifically for the park, and his name is Flavio. He is an awesome tour guide and is extremely knowledgeable on all the endemic and medicinal flora of the Andes. This is important for me, as this is what I will be writing my research paper on. Cajas is 28,544 hectares and is home to an abundance of native and endemic species. Alpacas and llamas are native here, and the group even got to see some! It was exciting, even though they were so far away. Flavio found and introduced us to some of the 9 endemic plant species, as well as a few other native ones. Some of my favorites included the chuquiragua plant, valerian (which is where valium comes from), the Andean tulip (an endemic), the deer’s head (which is also endemic and medicinal and resembles a small deer’s head), and Castilleja phisifolia, which is used to regulate the menstrual period through the use of a tea. We saw a large boulder that had been hit by an asteroid, and it had me thinking about aliens for the rest of the time. We will be having a conversation with the geologist who has been studying this later in the trip. The hike was full of pretty sights and lots of pictures, the natural ponds where glistening and Flavio told us the story of the three lakes of the Inca path, which were taken over by some sort of aquatic plant, most likely planted by the Incas. All of Cajas actually used to be a transportation sight between Guayaquil and Cuenca and was important to the Inca people specifically. Although most of the park is perfectly natural and untouched, in the 1990s the government had tried to do a reforestation project on Cajas lands, where they ended up introducing species of pine that were not native to the area. Today, they attempt to reforest the area with native trees instead. Speaking of native trees, towards the end of the hike we approach the Polylepis forest, endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes, which looks like something out of a fantasy movie. One of the rarest types of Polylepis, this genus can be seen only in northern Ecuador (Catchpole, 2015). The bark of the Polylepis tree is constantly shedding, to prevent moss growth on the trees, which grow a measly 1-2cm per year. I felt like I was in a fairytale as I made my way through the winding bark of the trees. Eventually, the hike was over, and I would take with me my pictures and my memories of this beautiful place, hopefully to be seen again in the future.
We are making our way to Cuenca now, so we can check into our next hotel, the Victoria Hotel. It is the most beautiful spot we have been lodged at thus far. The large room, equipped with three beds and an upstairs look-out, plus a balcony overlooking Cuenca, is to die for. We get changed quickly, although it has been a long day already; we are going to visit with an old friend of Tait’s, someone he went to the University of Florida with, who currently resides in Cuenca as an expat. Cuenca is known as “gringo city” because many Americans come here to live as expats. It is a good place to retire because it is extremely cheap to live here, plus it is beautiful. A win/win for expats. Paul Amos is a very friendly man and invited us into his apartment for a barbeque on the back deck. The apartment is gorgeous, and more than enough for one man, plus it has a patio overlooking the park, equipped with fire pit, Ping-Pong table, and grill. Of course, we all spend the night eating and asking Paul tons of questions about his life is Cuenca. He disclosed a lot of valuable information, and certainly made some of us consider the possibility of living out here in Ecuador one day. He pays only $800 a month for the nice, luxurious apartment he lives in in the center of town in Cuenca, all utilities included. This is jaw-dropping to a group from Jersey. He gets free medical care, and all his daily living needs are very cheap. The only things that aren’t cheap in Ecuador, are electronics and cars, and some clothing. Things that must be imported are relatively the most expensive, but day-to-day living is completely affordable. He has an Ecuadorian license and a permanent professional Visa, so he is pretty well off for now, and has been living in Cuenca for 4 years already. Paul says that one of his favorite things about living in Ecuador is all the fun and cultural activities that take place for expats and residents of Cuenca. He is an athlete and loves all the views, good hikes, parks, places to ride his bike, and races to participate in. To satisfy his mind, he teaches online English to Chinese kids for $20/hr. This guy is living the life if you ask me. One other interesting thing that I learned from Paul is that citizens of Ecuador are required to vote in their elections. If they do not vote, they receive a fine of $42-100 dollars, and if you do not vote for a full years you lose all citizen’s rights, meaning you would not be legally able to drive or use the banks, as well as other important things. Ecuador is very serious about this, and Paul even talked a bit about the protests that took place in October due to propane gas prices and some other factors.
Paul was an exceptional host. He fed us all really good and answered every question we had with complete honestly. It was nice to meet him, and we are all exhausted now from our long day on the road, packed with activities. We head back to the hotel, to rest and prepare for our 5-hour journey to the Amazon rainforest tomorrow.
Reference
Catchpole, K. (2015, October 15). These Fairytale Trees Only Grow at Incredible Altitudes. Retrieved from https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/these-fairytale-trees-only-grow-at-incredible- altitudes
Day 11. January 11, 2020. Saraguro, Ecuador.
Although I am sad to say goodbye to the beautifully mystical rainforest, I am excited to meet the indigenous people and explore the countryside in Saraguro. Kichwa, which is the language that the indigenous people, the Incas, speak here, is one of the official languages of Ecuador besides Spanish. The word ‘sara’ means corn in Kichwa, and ‘guro’ is the word for goat. The benefits of tourism for the people, and the sharing of culture, means a lot to both us and them. The indigenous people have welcomed tourism into not only their lands, but also their homes, as they make good money this way. Ruth, our local tour guide, still speaks the traditional language and practices the same traditions as her ancestors, down to the clothing she wears and the long hair she keeps.
We are staying at Hostal Achik Wasi and we get to see a man today that makes very special and famous hats out of wool for a living. Not the Panama hats, that factory we will be going to tomorrow. These special hats are handmade and from wool, which must be boiled in very hot water to get out all the fats, and then the wool is separated, and scissors are used to cut it up into small pieces. We get to see the whole process, which is done bit by bit, and is quite tedious. First all the wool is dealt with, and then they will begin to process it, then the hats can start coming together. People are so talented in this world, and everyone’s got a craft. It is nice to see. Francisco has been making these special hats for over 20 years, and does so directly out of his home, which he welcomed us into warmly. The hats go for $80 apiece, and it is well worth the price for a pound of wool per hat and the hours of devotion put into making and designing it. The original wool hats are designed white with black spots on the inside of the rim, similar to the look of a traditional cow. The black wax that is used for the spots, comes from wasps’ nests in the Amazon that are cooked in fire, which I thought was pretty awesome. I bought a small wool hat on a keychain from Francisco, to remember this special day, and as a small token of my appreciation. I love it!
My favorite part of this day was getting an open ride all the way up the mountains to overlook the valley below and be greeted by a traditional cuy lunch from the indigenous people. Although I don’t eat meat, and the thought of eating guinea pig in particular was unappealing at the very least, I understood what sort of delicacy this was to these people, and how honored we should be to be presented with the meal. Of course, there was more to eat, and I tried but a little piece, it was an honor because typically this sort of meal is presented only at weddings and on special occasions. Although we didn’t get to see any condors at the valley, this is a restoration place for them, and one of the best. Condors represent the spirit of the indigenous people, so their restoration and rehabilitation mean a lot. Condors can eat up to 50 pounds in one sitting, making it impossible to fly after. Nests at the valleys edge make it easily accessible for them to simply jump from the valleys to get the start they need to fly again after a large meal. This is one of my favorite facts from the day. Although the ride up and back down the mountain had me fearing for my life a bit, the views from the top were wonderful, and looking over the picturesque valley and drinking the special agave drink with a Kichwa cheers at the end of lunch was all very special and so worth it.
Back at the Hostal, we have a presentation from the lead tourism coordinator for the indigenous communities, called Saraurko. He gives a lot of insight into how tourism greatly benefits the communities that wish to participate. The program was developed in four years, and four steps were taken to get them where they are today. First, they had to make some sort of organization within the communities. People must want to work in tourism, have the potential, and ideally practice traditional culture. They need to provide some service, and many people of the local communities have gotten on board with this and do it out of their own homes many times. Then, communities must be taught and guided through how they will provide their service. What can they do? Well, there are plenty of options ranging from displaying their own craft, turning their home into a restaurant, or even a bed and breakfast. After a family decides what they would like to provide, many investments go must go into it. For example, if they are looking to start a hotel, it is pretty imperative that they have free Wi-Fi, a restaurant, some open areas, communal bathrooms, and etc. Lastly, promotion and commercialization of their services are produced. Today, they are actively looking for lots of universities and student groups, like ours, to fill the tourism industry up. These families can make their living from the tourism industry and keep their traditional culture in place while doing it.
All in all, we had a whole day filled with warm welcoming’s from the people of Saraguro, including Mama Rosa’s home where women make textiles from wool, by hand. They shared the process with us, which is similar to the wool hat process, because the main part of it all has to do with boiling and processing the wool to be used. It takes about 3 hours for them to make one large item, like a poncho. They are very skilled. It was interesting to learn that all the colors that are used for the textiles, come from a variety of different plants from all over the country. I bought a few wool beanies for Chris and I, and I know he’s going to love it. They are extremely warm and well made. This was followed by a traditional dinner and a dance fiesta with a group who plays traditional music. We danced to wake Pachamama (Mother Earth) and had so much fun. It was an experience I will surely never forget!
Day 12. January 12, 2020. Cuenca, Ecuador.
Yesterday was a really great day for some new experiences with the native people, but today we are heading back to Cuenca. We start off with a tour of the Panama hat factory, and it is interesting to see, and more like a museum than a traditional factory. On the wall hangs pictures of famous people wearing Panama hats, but my favorite by far is the one of Heisenberg from Breaking Bad. I never knew that the signature hat from one of my all-time favorite shows was a Panama hat! Some interesting facts that I learned about these special hats start with the fact that despite the name, these hats are actually from Ecuador originally, but got the familiar name because popularity began with the Panama Canal. Teddy Roosevelt, who was in charge of construction on the Panama Canal, was given a gift by the President of Ecuador at that time, which was a Panama hat—made in Ecuador out of palm tree fibers, making for a very light and soft sun hat with lots of protection. Teddy liked the hat so much, that he asked to buy many more from Ecuador for all the American men working to construct the canal. Hence, the name Panama hat comes from the Panama Canal. All these hats are handmade, similar to the wool hats we have seen, but these hats can go from anywhere between $30-2,500 depending on the fineness of the fibers used. The process starts on the coast of Ecuador, to be sent to a factory like this one in Cuenca to finish the processing, where it is most popular. In Cuenca today, there are at least 10,000 weavers of the Panama hat, and this factory in particular produces 3,000 hats per day. I didn’t end up buying a hat at the factory, even though they are super cool, I just know I’ll never wear it, realistically. I did buy some Pacari chocolate at the checkout, however. I am obsessed and can’t wait to go to their store in Quito.
After the Panama hat factory, we go to a cute little arts and ceramics shop that lays at the edge of the city of Cuenca, right near the overlook. I absolutely adore everything being sold here, and I may regret not buying anything, but it just isn’t practical for me right now. Maybe next time?
We get to look out over all of St. Anna of Cuenca city and it is so gorgeous in the valley, although I know that there are many negatives that come with inner valley living. For one, landslides are common for places built upon the sides of mountains, and temperature inversion can also become a problem. Later today, we will get some time to walk around the city and hear from a friend of Diego’s named Paul, who makes his living working with expats. We will get to see “cuy avenue” where cuy and pig are roasted on the sides of the street. This is the main hub for delicious street food, besides cuy, but in this city it is not as much of a delicacy like it is with the indigenous peoples. In Cuenca, there are no poor areas. It is a small city and a very nice place to live. It is a very safe city as well and builds up in a certain fashion for that reason. Many of the structures here are the originals made from Inca stones. The city has a lot of history and makes it very pleasurable to walk around and observe. We grab some pizza during our walk, and I got to try some interesting ice-cream flavors that I had never seen before.
We are ending the day back in the Victoria Hotel in Cuenca. In the evening, Paul, who used to be a tour guide alongside Diego, but is now working with expats moving to Ecuador by providing a service in which his company transports people’s belongings between countries, gives us a short and insightful presentation. In Cuenca, there are many expats and many English-speaking people. Additionally, there are many professional workers such as medical specialists, and like Paul Amos told us, it is a very affordable city and healthcare is free. This makes is so that people are constantly looking to move into the city in Ecuador, and therefore, Paul gets a lot of business transporting people’s belongings. Paul tells us that ‘gringos’ looking to retire in Ecuador, only have to pay $56 for social security benefits! In America, “workers’ pay 6.2 percent of their earnings up to a cap, which is $127,200 a year in 2017” (National Academy of Social Insurance, n.d). Of course, you need much less money to survive in Cuenca, and therefore it presents itself as a very favorable place for retirement. Many of the expats living there currently, are over 65 years old and retired, although young people go there to live and set up shop as well. The only negatives that come with the increase of expats to cities like Cuenca are an increase in prices overall, although this changes overtime as they learn not to overpay.
Tomorrow, we head to the cloud forest. After the cloud forest in Mindo, we will be going to Quito, the capitol city of Ecuador, and these are the last two places on our trip’s itinerary.
Reference
National Academy of Social Insurance. (n.d.). Who Pays for Social Security? Retrieved from https://www.nasi.org/learn/socialsecurity/who-pays