Gualaceo & Cuenca

Our current location is in the Azuay province, along the Panamerican highway. Cuenca, where we are staying, is the capital of the province and the largest city. This province is also home to the country's largest hydroelectric plant, so they are definitely dealing with the effects of La Niña.  We began our day with a trip to the small town of Gualaceo, about an hour outside of Cuenca, to visit Ecuagenera, an orchid farm in the Andes mountains.  They specialize in the production and the conservation of orchid species and hybrids, and although my sister and I had visited an orchid farm in Thailand, years ago, this one had a far wider range of species.  Sadly, though they have many stunning orchids for sale, you cannot purchase any to take home with you because customs will not allow you to take them across the border.  You can purchase from them online and they can ship them to you, but you would pay a pretty penny to do so.

Because of their mountainous location and the cool weather, they grow everything in greenhouses.  On our drive down into this valley you could view several greenhouses, some of them seemingly clinging to the side of the hill.  Ecuador is home to about 5,000 species of orchids, and this farm produces about 1,500 species.

Onward we went to La Casa de la Makana for a weaving demonstration by the family of José Jiménez.  A "makana" is a shawl, and they are known in this area for ikat designs, woven in the traditional manner.  They use a variety of threads (cotton, wool, silk, and bamboo) and various dyes from natural sources (walnut, cochinilla {known as cochineal in English}, indigo, etc.).  The designs can take between 3 days and 6 months to create!  They still use the traditional back-strap loom and the woman who gave us the tour and demonstration actually had an engineering degree, but she loved her family's traditional weaving more so this is what she does now.  Their small showroom had a wide array of items (coats, scarves, purses, hats, gloves, belts) and some shawls made nearly 150 years ago by his great-grandmother.  Because of the level of difficulty to the pattern and the lack of demand for those types of pieces, they don't make those anymore.  As delightful as I found the patterns, I just wasn't confident I would wear any of the items, and didn't truly need any of them, so I refrained from making any purchases.

After the shopping we were back on the bus for a return to Cuenca for a tour of the city.  The name cuenca is Spanish for "basin made by a confluence of rivers", so this Cuenca (there's also one in Spain) has four rivers: the Tomebamba, Yanuncay, Tarqui, and Machangara.

Plaza de San Francisco

 

We visited many of the same locations last night, such as the flower market and the Plaza de San Francisco.  We were able to visit the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Cuenca, known simply as the New Cathedral.  It's the one with the beautiful blue domes and its design was inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.  The interior was lovely with a lot of local pink marble, although apparently the local pink marble isn't very high quality.  In addition, during the length of the building process (construction started in the 1880s and culminated in 1975), many changes were made to the blueprints and now the church is not quite structurally sound.  The church combines several architectural styles, including Gothic, Renaissance, and Romanesque.

We were soon given free time to explore a bit more on our own or to enjoy lunch somewhere.  I ended up in a small café in the charming courtyard of the Seminario San Luis for lunch with 6 of my other tour mates.

Our lunch view

The Arupo Tree and a woman in local costume

 

We soon headed back to our meeting point to head to Museo La Magia del Sombrero, the "Panama Hat Museum".  The origin of these hats and the process of making them was very intriguing, and at one time (before the Panama Canal was constructed) the production of Panama hats was 6% of Ecuadors GDP!  The museum is housed inside the Homero Ortega company "with the aim of making known the history of the Panama hat, a handmade product made in Ecuador."  The hats are made from a plant native to Ecuador, similar to a palm, with unique qualities that make it excellent for weaving hats.  Even today, the weaving of the hats is done manually.

So the question on many of your minds is likely, "Why is it called the 'Panama Hat' if its origins are in Ecuador"?  Well, their website does a good job of attempting to explain the misnomer, but the simplest answer is: The Panama Canal.  Basically, the construction of the Panama Canal caused a huge demand for the toquilla straw hat (it is very breathable and yet protects you from the sun), with the publicity of the canal the hat became international and people began to call it “Panama Hat”.  Another interesting fact is that the weaving of these toquilla straw hats was "declared 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' by UNESCO in 2012" as it represents an important part of the culture and traditions of the country.  Their showroom had a wide array of styles available for purchase, ranging in price from $30-$2,000, depending on the quality of the hat (the thickness of straw used in its construction and the skill of the weaver).  

Back at the hotel we had free time for the remainder of the evening. At first my plan was to visit the Inca Museum, but it closed at 5pm and it was already after 4pm.  My next plan was to either catch a taxi back to the Old Town and climb the church tower (I'd run out of time at lunch) and wander around a bit more, or enjoy the hotel's swimming pool.  As I was sitting in my room, uploading photos while my phone charged, I noticed the rain clouds were looking more threatening.  Antonio had told us about the big futbol match tonight between Ecuador and Paraguay and that the hotel restaurant would have it on TV.  Since David had purchased a jersey earlier in the day, in anticipation of the game, I knew he and Alice would be there so I would at least have someone to sit with if I went down to watch.  They were indeed there, as were Antonio and Roque.  I sat with David and Alice and it was an enjoyable way to spend a few rainy hours.  The game, unfortunately, ended in a 0-0 tie, which was not good for Ecuador's standings in the World Cup Qualifier for South America (they were in 3rd at the start of the game).

Onward to Cuenca

As mentioned in my post yesterday, the 9th of October is a national holiday ("dia festivo" in Español).  But, since the day falls in the middle of the week, they will move the celebrations to the weekend so everyone gets a 3-day holiday.  All that to say, if Antonio had not told us it was a holiday, we would never have noticed (and yes, part of that is because we're tourists so the places we visit most likely wouldn't be closed anyway).

We began our day with a tour of a large, local market called Mercado Sauces IX.  I didn't notice any other tourists, and the variety of items for sale was extensive.  Anything from fresh plants and flowers to fruits, veggies, raw meats (pork, fish, chicken, beef, etc.), cleaning products, and even toilet paper.  I was able to help Gita and her sister Urmilla purchase a few things with my limited Spanish, and then we were off to the bus for our next stop.,

A main event on today's itinerary was our tour of a cacao farm.  The farm we visited was part of Unocace, a non-profit agricultural cooperative.  Unocace is made up of about 1900 families that raise organic cacao.  The farm we visited had only 5 acres and 4 full-time employees, but seasonal employees are needed during harvest since all of the cultivation is done by hand, no machines at all!

The flowers of the cacao plant (which grow the seed pod) are incredibly fragile, so they plant banana trees around the farm to provide the cacao plant protection from too much wind, rain, or sun.  Even with those measures, only maybe 6% of the flowers will survive and create a seed pod.  Thankfully the tree blossoms almost year-round, but they have two main seasons when they can harvest.  If you're into chocolate, or biology, or both, here's a good spot to learn a bit more: www.thechocolatejournalist.com.
Despite the tropical climate, I was surprised to learn their biggest pest is squirrels!  They like to eat the seeds out of the pod, but since the squirrels are a protected species they can only trap and relocate them.  Only about 20% of the cacao in the world is premium cacao AND organic, so this farm is in a niche market.  Ecuador, overall, is the world's third largest producer of cacao beans (Ivory Coast and Ghana hold the top two spots, although the plants are not native to Africa).  This cooperative exports to exclusively to Switzerland, France, Canada, and the U.S.

Our plans for the rest of the day were changed by an attempted robbery of an armoured car along the highway we were on as we headed for Cuenca.  Unfortunately, one person died during the robbery and there are not a lot of alternate routes through the Andes.  Although our detour doubled our time on the bus, the day was beautiful and the drive through the mountains was lovely.  You could spot the local, indigenous people (in their customary fedoras and colorful clothing) out in the fields and mountain sides.  On the Cuenca side of the Andes there were lots of milk cows, and the towns of El Tambo and Cañar are known for milk production.

We made it to Oro Verde (our hotel) around 6:30pm, and Antonio offered to take anyone who was interested on a walk through the Old Town of Cuenca.  Deb and I (the young ones on the tour), took him up on the offer to see the buildings all lit up.  Now, if you've followed any of the news surrounding Ecuador these days you might be wondering about the power outages.  Well, the power outages are due to the current drought the country is experiencing.  About 10-15 years ago Ecuador decided to go "green" so they borrowed money from China (yes, everyone's doing it) to build hydroelectric dams.  At the time, no one really expected such an extended drought, but it had been over 50 days without rain in the regions where the dams are located, so to deal with the energy crisis they have scheduled outages.  The large businesses, and especially the large businesses catering to tourists, all have generators so they can continue to operate rather seamlessly.  

The flags in this alley are due to the holiday (Guayaquil flag)

This beautiful pink tree is an Arupo tree,
famous for its unique blossoming,
which occurs only once a year.

There were some areas that were dark (no streetlights), and we could hear generators running in some spots, but Antonio noted that there were a lot less people than his last time here at night (pre-blackouts).  There some beautiful views, as many of the buildings had their lights on, and although it was quite brisk out, the views and walking were better than an evening in my hotel room.

Adventure to South America

I booked this tour, with Gate 1, to Ecuador because it was a good deal (they waived the single supplement fee) and because I have yet to visit South America.  I was very close to South America on my visit to Panama in 2012, but wanted to be able to officially cross my 6th continent off the list (Oceania/Australia, Europe, South America, North America, Africa, and Asia).

Despite the relatively close proximity (after Australia and New Zealand so many places seem "close"), my travels to Ecuador too awhile.  I had to go to Philly before I could go to Miami, but blessedly I had no delays or cancellations, and no lost luggage.  I'd scheduled the hotel shuttle to pick me up and when I got to the arrivals area at Guayaquil airport there was a man with my name on a sign - always a welcome sight when arriving in a country for the first time.  I met another couple, David & Alice, who joined me on the shuttle and were also in my tour group.  They were mid-70's, I would guess, and were from Albuquerque, NM. 

With most people arriving late in the evening this tour began with an orientation meeting on the 2nd day of travel.  After breakfast we all headed to one of the conference rooms to meet everyone, and our guide for the week, Antonio.  We all went around the room and introduced ourselves and said where we were from (only 1 Brit and no Aussies this time). The group is quite small, only 20 people, which Antonio believes is due the misguided travel warnings for Ecuador.  Yes, there is crime (who doesn't have crime?), but it's contained to specific areas and is all drug-related.  The scheduled power outages are not related to the crime, but are due to the drought.  The country switched to hydro-electric about 10 years ago and this year they've been having an extreme lack of rain.  Most businesses and all the big hotels in the touristy areas run diesel generators to keep everything functioning.  The official name of the city is Santiago de Guayaquil (pronounced "why-ahh-keel") and it is the capital of the Guayas province.  Surprisingly, it is the largest city in Ecuador and is also their main seaport.

Our first stop for the day was the brightly colored Las Peñas neighborhood where we climbed the 444 steps to the top of Santa Ana hill for gorgeous views of the city below.  The steps actually have little bricks with the step number in them, so you don't actually have to count them.  At the top there was a lighthouse and a small chapel.  The additional 68 steps to the top of El Faro was worth it for the delicious breeze on a humid morning, and for the additional views out into the Guayas River and the city beyond.

From there we headed towards the La Rotonda monument, located on their Malecón 2000 riverfront promenade.  This monument is located on the Avenida 9 de Octubre (today is October 8th and tomorrow is a holiday), named for the date of their independence from Spain in 1820 (Guayaquil was the first city to gain its independence).  The statue depicts José de San Martín (from Argentina) and Simón Bolívar (from Venezuela) meeting to make plans to liberate the people from Spain.

 

It was at this monument that the following exchange occurred with one of my fellow travelers:
Subash: So where in Pennsylvania are you from?

Me: I'm from an hour north of Pittsburgh, I don't actually live in the city.  It's a small town, no one has usually heard of it.

Subash: I'm from Ohio, so I might have heard of it, what is it called.

Me: It's called Butler.

Subash (giving me a strange look): Everyone has heard of Butler, PA!

Me (palm to forehead): Oh my goodness...the assassination attempt...I'd forgotten.

ALL of these years I've been traveling the world it was instinct to respond that "no one has heard of it".  We both had a good laugh, but that being said, I'll still probably stick with "north of Pittsburgh".  

Next we headed to Parque Bolívar (or Seminario Park) which is more commonly known as "Iguana Park".  It was very odd to see so many large green iguanas in such a small place! Since the city feeds them, and they're protected, I suppose they have no reason to leave.  Our visit to the beautiful Guayaquil Metropolitan Cathedral, at the end of the park, was sidelined because they were having mass and we couldn't go inside to look around and I could only get one photo through the glass in the entryway.

From there we headed back to the Malecón for the variety of options for lunch along the riverfront.  I enjoyed some fresh lemonade and a brocheta at La Vaca Purpura (the word "brocheta" is Spanish for "kebab").  By the time we were back on the bus I was beat.  We had free time for a few hours and I ended up falling asleep for 2 of those hours.  After showering for dinner I took a walk to the huge mall next door to our hotel for a browse (basically the same as any other mall you'd find) and then headed back for our official Welcome Dinner.