Today was an early morning. We had to be at school by 7:45 am to depart for our trip to Ingapirca to visit the Incan ruins. We left for school at 7:15 am and the town was dead. There were hardly any cars or people out and about. Sunday’s must be slow for Cuenca. Today is also the day of the innocent so people may have been preparing for the festivities later on in the day. The trip was about two hours but on our way we stopped in a small town called, Canar. We visited the market and it was definitely a little different than the others. The first part of the market was live animals. There were chickens, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs you name it. The market was over crowded and I felt very uncomfortable while walking through the animal section, as I was nervous about stepping on a dog, being bumped into with a live chicken. Our guide told us these animals are not for pet purposes, but will all be put to use. Take that however you wish. The amount of people in the market was insane. Family after family gathered and I’m sure we accounted for the mess. We then walked through the fruits and veggies. They all looked so delicious I wish I could have bought some. That is one thing I have noticed here is how natural all the food is. It’s all grown and freshly sold. I wish the US had markets like this I would buy food all the time!
We got back on the bus and made our way to Ingapirca, the Incan Ruins. Of course as we pulled up to the ruins it began to rain. However, the tour was very interesting. Our guide mentioned how important soup was to the Incans and that they usually ate it many times a day and now living with our host families I understand the tradition of soup everyday. Another thing I thought was very interesting was that the Incans had three rules and Ecuadorian people still follow them today they are: don’t lie, don’t steal, and don’t be lazy. I love the last rule and I think it is so easy to see that the people really follow it. Especially seeing our host moms do it all. They cook, clean, work, and do everything around the house and more.
On our way back to Cuenca we stopped at this beautiful church on top of the mountain. It was many flights of stairs up, but was worth it once at the top. It was huge! The view from the top was also amazing.
We arrived back to school and headed home. It’s crazy how exhausted I get after a day of mostly riding in a bus. We do so much in a day that it feels good just to go home and sit for a while. I’m not sure what tonight will bring, but Kelsey doesn’t feel well so I’m not sure if our family has any plans for us for innocent day.
