Zip-lining through the Andeas Mountains was at first an intimidating activity for me since I am afraid of heights. After some persuasion, I managed to sign up for it and on the morning of January 4th, 2014, I did my first zip-lining trail! The zip-lining center was about 30 minutes from CEDEI, and it was high up in the mountains. Our course consisted of seven lines and the first few were not too high. The last couple of lines were in between the trees and we had one long one that gave a beautiful view of the mountains as well as a nearby town. During this experience, I felt excited and blessed that I was able to overcome my fear of heights and do an adrenaline-filled activity. Each line gave me larger rush of adrenaline and once it was over, I found myself wanting to do more. Once we got back to CEDEI, a few of us decided to go to the hot springs. We went to a spa called Pierda de Agua, and decided to do the steam baths and hot springs. The hot springs seemed to be man-made, but they were warm and relaxing. After an hour at Pierda de Agua, we made it back to our homes and called it a night.
On Sunday January 5, 2014, we went to see Incan ruins. During our ride there, we made a stop to the Canar market. We first walked through a narrow tunnel of people selling their animals and then made our way to the fruit portion of the market. As soon as we walked into the large building with the fruit section, the smells completely changed. There was a fruit and herbal smell in the air that seduced me into wanting to buy and eat all the fruit. There seemed to be a much greater selection of fruit in this market than at the other one we saw in Cuenca. This market occurs every Sunday and the sellers stay there all day to sell their goods. I successfully found Guava, which is the fruit that I had been looking for since my host family told me about it on New Years. We left the market and continued our journey to the Incan Ruins.
We drove into Ingapirca and once we went inside the ruins, one of the first things that our guide mentioned was the poisonous angel trumpet flower. We then were warned not to accept any papers from people because the poison from this plant is almost instantaneous and can cause a person to black-out. We continued our walk through the ruins and something that interested me was that there were a lot of broken pieces on the ground from ceramic bowls and cups. These were often broken because of their fragile state. It was also said that the king would drink or eat out of a cup or bowl only once and it would be broken right afterwards. No one else was to consume from the same cup or bowl as the king. Another fascinating part of the ruins was the aqueduct system. I was able to see how the Incans cleverly engineered small tunnels to irrigate the entire area. Throughout my years of school, I remember reading about the advances in the Incan people, and to be able to see their water system in person was an exciting event.
We then went on to see the moon temple and inside of it was a grave that was dedicated to a woman. A large stone was put there in her honor. Our guide had told us that the graves were usually dedicated to men. The bones of the graves found in this temple were all in fetal position and there were baskets with food also found next to the graves. The Incans believed that people were born again so they must be put back in a fetal position and once they died, they had a long journey to go through so they buried food along with the bodies. Their heads were facing the East and their backs to the West. Next to these graves, a kitchen was found which, according to our guide, the archeologists had a hard time explaining. We proceeded to go to another section of the ruins, which had a large rock that had multiple holes facing up towards the sky. Our guide told us that these holes were perfectly aligned with the stars and constellations. I cannot imagine how long this must have taken for the Incans to make. We finally made it to the sun temple and were told that the sun rose and set on certain sides of the temple. This was also the only temple in South America that has two rooms, which perplexed the archeologists.
I enjoyed this trip and being able to walk through a historical landmark was thrilling. However, today I did experience a struggle with the Ecuadorian culture. Up until this point on the trip, I had come to terms with the way that most Ecuadorians view animals. The stray dogs and cats concerned me, but I did not let it affect my enjoyment of this trip. When we were taken to the market and had to walk between the narrow passage of people and animals, I saw malnourished, mistreated, and uncared-for puppies in cages and in string leashes being sold by the locals. I saw the poor conditions that they had their chickens and guinea pigs and a horrible feeling come over me. My only thought at that moment was I urgently wanted to leave this section of the market. Once I pushed my way out, I had a great feeling of anger and sadness overwhelmed me and I couldn’t talk or listen to the guide for the rest of my time at the market. Up until this point, I had made it my goal to not let the neglect of proper animal care within this country affect me. But today I reached my breaking point and after having a day to reflect and slowly recover from the feelings of this morning, I am much better. I learned that there is only so much I can take when it comes to the treatment of animals and I hope once I return to the United States, I can join some type of organization that helps animals in foreign countries.
