Saraguro, Day One
Two weekends ago was our trip to Cuenca since Monday and Tuesday were national holidays to celebrate the independence of Cuenca and we had them off from school. We flew into Cuenca around eight in the morning, then went on a three hour bus ride to the town of Saraguro. It is an indigenous community of people known by the same name. There are a few theories as to the etymology of Saraguro, but what is certain is that "sara" means corn which was and still is extremely important to the local diet (I ate more mote than I ever thought I would).
After we settled into our hotel, we went on a tour on a chiva which is a bus with "seating" on the roof. Guess where I sat (if you guessed on top, then you're right).
We had to watch out for branches.
Partway through the chiva ride we had to option of mountain biking down the path. My fingers were so sore after keeping a death grip on the brakes (the mountains are very steep), but it was fun, except for the time I almost fell over after the gravel slipped under me. As I regained my balance I noticed that I was heading straight for the cliffside, after swerving again, I avoided sailing off into the void.
Our guide from the Saraguro community was Asunción, he explained to us about mishki a "sweet" liquid taken from the agave plant.
Then we participated in a social ritual of drinking wajango (or was it pulkre? There were different names for the same drink, but in different states of fermentation). The jug that it is drunk out of is representative of the masculine/feminine dualism, which is very important to the beliefs of the Saraguro. The jug is called conquienviniste, or with whom you did come. It was a nice ceremony, but the consensus was that the drink tasted like hot dogs, I haven't eaten hot dogs in a while, I just thought it tasted...odd.
Our last stop was at this amazing gorge, you can also see Asuncion's hat, which is made of wool and stamped with symbols, such as one to represent the southern cross.
Our chiva driver and his wife, they were nice.
His name is Junior. He is the sheep-master.
A house made of hay for the animals to eat.
It was Halloween, I had forgotten about that.
After the chiva ride and a visit to learn more about how the Saraguro used to live we returned to our hotel which had a hobbit hole.
Before dinner we went to a weaving factory.
Master weaver.
Then we went to dinner which consisted of mote, a soup made of potatoes and quinoa, mote, chicken, and mote. I was happy. I like mote.
After dinner, musicians arrived and dancing was had.
The dancing is always done in a circle to recall that time is continuous and has no end, and it was harder than it looked. Trust me, I tried. On the bus ride home Megan and I told scary stories since it was Halloween and we all went to bed, completely exhausted.