This has been such a busy weekend! Yesterday morning we went zip lining just outside of Cuenca. There were seven different lines that we did, three being over a very large valley in the mountains. It was by far one of the most amazing things I have ever done. After zip lining we had lunch in downtown Cuenca before heading to Piedra de Agua,the baños, or hotsprings, outside of Cuenca. To be honest, we were really disappointed in the baths because it was basically just a few hot tubs and a steam room and wasn't anything all that fantastic. While we weren't too impressed, at least we got to relax for a bit in the afternoon. One of the things I notice whenever we drive around and that continues to surprise me is the large amount of people, including young children, that ride around in the back of pickup trucks. It just makes me so nervous because it is not safe and something you don't see often in the United States. I also still have not gotten used to the amount of stray dogs that roam the cities. I'm just so used to being in a society where pets are part of the family whereas here dogs are just another animal. Its definitely a different mindset and a different way of life here.
Early this morning we departed for the Ingapirca Incan ruins. On the way we stopped at the Cañar Market. I was assuming the market would be similar to Otavalo's where many goods were being sold, but this market was mainly for the purchase of fresh food. We mostly saw Cañar women in the market many of which wore the traditional Cañar outfit of skirts and blouses with a waterproof while felt hat. The women are known for preserving the traditional dress of their culture whereas men often dress more modernly. We walked around and saw many vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables as well different cuts of meat. Our tour guide told us that there are 3,000 varieties of potatoes in South America, 52 of which are found in Ecuador. I wonder how many of these could be found at this market! We also saw a vendor that was selling herbs for medicinal purposes like lemon grass and chamomile. The whole market smelled so good I just wanted to buy all the fruit that was in it! A section of the market also had live animals for sale where people can purchase them with cash or they can trade animals. The animals being sold were mainly done so for food. For instance we mostly saw chickens and guinea pigs along with some rabbits. It's interesting to think that most of these animals were introduced by Europeans because guinea pig, deer, and bears were the main sources of food that used to be hunted before Europeans arrived in South America. Puppies were also being sold but those were mainly to serve as watch dogs. While it was sad seeing all these small fuzzy animals that will probably be eaten soon, it was very interesting to see how people in this community get their food. I overheard two women arguing over the price of a guinea pig, the one wanted $5 for it and the other woman thought this was far too much money. It was so fascinating to watch how people interact in those types of scenarios. I also loved the wide variety of fresh produce available. This is something we don't have available to us in the United States. I would love to be able to go to a market of this proportion every Sunday to purchase such fresh produce.
After going to the market we made our way north to the Ingapirca Incan ruins. It was raining a bit on and off during the day, but this is to be expected as rainy season is starting now. These ruins are the most important archeological site in Ecuador. We took a tour around the ruins where our tour guide told us about the remains of each of the buildings. Our tour began with an explanation of how these ruins are in the shape of a jaguar, one of the most important animals to the Incan people. All of the complexes constructed by the Incas were in the shape of animals that were important to their culture. We then proceeded to walk around the ruins where we saw the Temple of the Moon. This was the only temple in South America to have a kitchen attached to it. This leads archeologists to believe this may have been a house that was later made into a temple. In the center of a temple was a large stone signifying a grave of a woman. This also was unusual because marked graves typically belong to men so it was believed that this woman was a priestess or in some position of power. Several skeletons were found in this grave in the fetal position with their faces pointing east to the rising sun and their backs to the west where the sun sets along with several ceramic pieces containing food. People were buried in the fetal position due to the belief that they would be reborn but it was a long journey so they need food with them. After the Temple of the Moon we made our way to the Temple of the Sun. On the way we saw a stone in the shape of a "U" that served as a corner stone in a building at one point in time. We also saw large stones with holes drilled into them where water would fill in and represented the planetary alignment and positions in the universe. The Incas had an elaborate aqueduct system that they learned from the Nasca people. 37 kilometers of aqueducts run through and surround Ingapirca The Temple of the Sun was also an unusual temple because it contained two rooms when Incan temples typically only contained one. The temple is also unusual because it is built in a ellipse shape as compared to a circular or oval shape that temples were often built in. After taking a million pictures we had lunches that our host families packed for us and looked at all the items the vendors were selling near the archeological site.
On our way home from the Incan ruins, we stopped at a church called The Lady of the Morning Dew. It was a gorgeous church built into the side of a mountain and made out of limestone. It was a long hike up many stairs in the rain, but the church was beautiful on the inside so it was totally worth it. Our tour guide told us that we are supposed to make a wish upon visiting the church which we all did shortly before running back to the bus to avoid the rain! Tomorrow we are learning more about media in Ecuador and visiting a TV studio so that should be super interesting to see what is similar and different from the way our media portrays things.
