Exploring Ecuador - Day 5(b) - Latacunga to Black Sheep Inn

Dear Family and Friends,

Our drive from Latacunga to the Black Sheep Inn was filled with so many things I had to make a separate post.  Here I am posing with a local artist, but more about that later.  

We were climbing even higher in the Andes.  The scenery was getting even more beautiful.

This is a typical woman of the region.  She is wearing the typical clothing.  She is also appreciating the beauty of her homeland, just as we were doing.

I don't know why, but I always thought you could not ride a llama.  I was truly surprised when we saw this kid riding a llama.  In this area, very high in the Andes, they are used as pack animals.  We saw llamas everywhere and very few horses.  I think the llamas are more adapted for the altitude.

Besides the bus, this is another common form of transportation.

We shared the highway with sheep.  These guys seemed to be following a dog.

As we passed them, I was able to get a photo that is up close.

We passed through an area of Ecuador known as the Tigua region.  It is known for artists of folk art.  We saw this man on the side of the road and I yelled STOP.

This young man spoke perfect English.  He explained that we was dressed in a traditional celebratory costume.  He told me that he was and artist and invited us to come inside his studio.

These masks are very famous Ecuador folk art,

along with primitive style brightly colored paintings.  He explained to me what his message was in the painting below. This particular painting really spoke to me.

The letters F.M.I. are the abbreviation, in Spanish, for the International Monetary Fund.  The protests we had all over Ecuador about this time last year was about Ecuador securing a loan through this organization. In order to receive the loan, the IMF interferes with how the Ecuador government manages their country.  In the process hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs, transportation costs are no longer subsidized and many other things that impact the poorest of Ecuador's citizens.  It is not just Ecuador, the IMF has ruined lives in many South American countries.

The next village we came to, Zumbahua, had a bunch of makeshift curbside restaurants.  Traffic was pulling off the road and parking.  We stopped because it looked interesting.  It turned out to be adventure eating for us.

The first booth we went to had two ladies cooking food over a charcoal grill.

A close examination of what they were cooking let us know that this was not going to be our lunch.  This is what I can tell is on the grill:  lots of chicken feet, chicken gizzards and things I am not aware of.  The small birds in front are a mystery.  Looking at the size of them compared to the size of the chicken feet says they are extremely small.

We moved on, deciding that there is a limit to our adventure eating.  This lady and many, many more ladies were frying pork in huge caldrons.  They were they all were cooking the same menu.  Fried pork, grilled bananas, boiled potatoes, fava beans and grilled corn topped with a slice of fresh cheese.

We finally picked some ladies to buy our lunch from.  I asked if there was some place for us to eat our meal.  

We were escorted to this dining room.

This is a picture of my plate.  

We were the only people in this dining area.  For an adventure eating meal, it was pretty good.  The pork could have been more tender, but it was chewable and tasty.  Each meal was about $2.00

After we finished lunch, we rode a little way more down the highway until we came to a canyon.  We parked and paid the $1.00 to see it.  

We hiked down a little to have a look.  It is not a ""grand canyon" that is for sure and for my Georgia friends, it is not even a "providence canyon."  But when you are riding along the highway and come to a roadside attraction, you just have to stop.

We continued our journey on to Black Sheep Inn. 

Next post I will tell you all about this eco lodge haven.

Love,

Nancy and Chuck

Exploring Ecuador - Day 5(a) - City center of Latacunga

Dear Family and Friends,

This post has to be divided into two parts.  Just too much to share all at once.  

Our hotel in Latacunga was again located in the city center.  After breakfast Sunday morning we headed out for a stroll in the quiet city center.

Chuck standing with the pigeons in a nearby plaza.

We walked a couple of more blocks to the central plaza.  On the way, this building caught my attention...sorry I do not know what it is.  It pays to have a guide sometimes instead of do it yourself.  But doing it yourself is better than not doing it at all.

This is the lovely main square. 

In the center of the square is this marvelous statue in honor of Dr. Vicente Leon.  He was born in Latacunga and ended up being the president of the Superior Court of Justice of Cuzco, in Peru.  He bequeathed his fortune to educate the youth of his home, Latacunga.

One governmental building facing the square.

I love archways.

This building faces the square on the other side.  It is the municipal palace and it made out of pumice stone.  I like the neo-classical design.

On the third side facing the main square is Saint Francis's Church, the first church built in the city.

Since it was Sunday morning, the church was open and we were able to look inside.  There were only two or three people there when we went in.  A very lovely church.

On the way back to our hotel, we saw the church that was bustling with people.

The Church of Saint Augustin.  I love the shoe shine stand located just outside the main entrance.  Don't want to have dirty shoes in church.

I also noticed this large backdrop on the other side of the entrance.  It looked like they were setting up for taking photos.

Then I noticed a lady selling masks.  I looked closely and realized these were special masks for first communion.

I asked if we could go inside.  The lady at the door nodded her head saying yes.

This church had many more people.  Of course most of the people were parents, family and friends of the recipients of their first communion.

Here are some of the children leaving the church.

And one special last picture.  Sometimes you are at the right place at the right moment.  

We needed to get back to our hotel which was named after San Agustin, just like the church.  We had to drive to our next hostel, the Black Sheep Inn, an eco lodge high in the remote part of the Andes.  

The next part of this post will be about traveling there. Lots of good photos and a great adventure. It may not be out in the next couple of days because we are going so remotely that there likely will not be internet.  

Love,

Nancy and Chuck

Exploring Ecuador - Day 4 - Riobamba to Latacunga

Dear Family and Friends,

The following morning, we left Riobamba for Latacunga.  To be honest, I could not recall of hearing of the town. 

As we left Riobamba, we could see the bottom portion of Chimborazo volcano in the distance.

Today, I will concentrate on some of the activity we saw during our drive.  For example below are a woman and a man waiting alongside the highway, most likely for a bus.

This man is a traditional type highway vendor.  As you travel through small towns, sometimes there is a red light and these vendors take advantage of waiting traffic to hawk their wares.  This man seems to have a variety of items for sale.  Besides the chips and nuts, he appears to be selling cigarette lighter chargers, masks, and other items I can not make out in the photo.

One of many, many produce venders along the way.

A dairy.

Sometimes, there are multiple vendors selling the same items.  This man is selling cane juice.  In order to help his stall to stand out, he has stacked some sugar cane tepee style.

This man is selling potatoes.  It looks like maybe a 100 lbs or more per bag.

When the new highway was built within the last 10 years, the town of Salcedo was bypassed.  This town is known for its ice cream.  Instead of losing business, the brought the ice cream to the new bypass.  We saw at least a 100 stands similar to this selling the same ice cream.

As we passed this truck, I took a picture.  He is carrying food for guinea pigs.  Guinea pigs are called cuy down here.  Many people raise them.  Cuy is traditional food here and has been since before the Spanish arrived in the mid 1500s.

After we arrived in Latacunga, we decided to wait until tomorrow to see the town.  We ordered room service and had a nice meal of steak, fries and salad.

In our next post I will share some pictures of Latacunga.

Thanks for traveling along with us.

Love,

Nancy & Chuck