This morning I woke up at 5:45 am to go running with another girl on the trip. We weren’t super familiar with Quito so we just ran up and down three blocks three times. It was so surprising how much altitude can affect you. I was breathing heavily after about five minutes. We could only go for so long before we felt like we couldn’t inhale any more oxygen. However, it felt great to finally be able to sweat again. After our run we went and had a fabulous breakfast. You could tell that the hotel caters to American’s because the background music was top 100 from the US. I had delicious fruit and cereal. I made sure to eat plenty because I wasn’t sure what lunch was to bring. We then loaded the bus and drove for about two hours making our way to Riobamba. We stopped at a place called la Hosteria La Cienega. It was this 300-year-old mansion that had been renovated into a hosteria. It was so cute. Everything was vintage and old looking. I wish we got to spend a night there. We had coffee and hot chocolate and listened to an Ecuadorian band. They were a lot of fun.
After visiting the hosteria, we got back on the bus and drove for about another hour to visit a village named Salasaca. This did not seem like a real touristy place. None of the people spoke English and it seemed very indigenous. Our first demonstration was on how they make hand made textiles. We watched a man make a blanket like object by hand with a machine. He told us it would take him about three months to finish it if he worked on it everyday. He used sheep wool to make it. As we drove in I noticed a lady winding wool on a stick and this is what it is used for. It was interesting to see how natural and organic they were. He told us that they dyed the wool by using blood from a bug that lived on a cactus. That is something I have noticed all across Ecuador how natural and conservative they are. They really are concerned for the environment, unlike people in the US. The next demonstration was on traditional dress for men and women. The women wore skirts with shawls, jewelry, and a hat. The men wore ponchos with hats. They let a couple people in our group model the outfit for us. Next, it was lunchtime. I was very nervous as for what we were going to eat however I knew it was going to be vegetarian so I felt better there. They brought out plates full of vegetables that included potatoes, corn, lima beans, and a mix of broccoli and carrots. The vegetables were so fresh and it was obvious it was prepared five minutes before we were ready to eat. Luckily I really enjoy vegetables so I almost cleaned my plate. After lunch, we had a quick demonstration of some traditional dancing. This dancing occurs on New Years day so it was perfect timing. Three men performed a dance for us while one played the music. After they finished they invited us to join them. It wasn’t a hard dance by any means basically heel to toe and you would move in a circle and up and back. It was interesting to see how they celebrate and dance.
After our visit to Salasaca we loaded the bus for our last hour to arrive in Riobamba. We are staying in a cute hosteria for the night, but then leave in the morning for Cuenca. We get to meet our host families tomorrow and start another adventure there, which I am very excited about!
