La Rinconada, Dwarf Legend and time with the Host Family :)

                Our first full day in Pijal was pretty physically strenuous. We took the bus back up to La Rinconada, their eco-tourism site. We weren’t doing a Minga up here this time, but instead getting to explore the scenery and hike to a waterfall. Last time, I didn’t get to go on the hike, I stayed behind with on other girl and helped the women cook lunch. The homes were in pretty good shape, a representation of the time and effort the Pijal community put into their project. It is impossible not to appreciate the overall beauty of the area though, its truly phenomenal.

                They gave us rain boots to wear during the hike. None of us quite understood why, until we discovered that basically, we were trekking across rivers, ankle deep mud and hobbit holes carved into brush. We also heard a legend about a dwarf that lived in the area. If you were walking along and saw the dwarf, you should look at his feet. If the curly part (not sure what this means…translation issues) where in the front, he was a friendly dwarf. If they curly part was in the back then he was evil. In order to get rid of the evil dwarf, you could pee in your hand and throw it at him.

I’m serious. People were questioning the feasibility of this, but I think it makes perfect sense. I think peeing in your hand and throwing it at ANYONE, dwarf or not, would get rid of them.

The very thin bit of ground between the bus and the edge of the mountain.

 La Rinconada

The hike; this is a spiritual spot for healing.

Natural Spring!

                The hike was, in the end, worth it. The waterfall they brought us to was just as stunning as Don Antonio promised and an excellent reward for the obstacle course we took to get there. The walk back was a little less intimidating since we were now going downhill. The bus go momentarily stuck on the way back…which happened last time as well. Talk about déjà vu. The second half of the day was going to be spent with our host families working on a photography project. Our host families were all told about it to avoid any miscommunication.

Jess and I at the Waterfall

Jess and Don Antonio

                Lucia seemed pretty excited about it, which was expressed in her immediate retrieval of traditional clothing for us to wear. While we were taking photos and hearing about her favorite places in her home and in Pijal, she wanted us to be dressed like her. Minus the shoes, it was all very comfortable and it was great to see her that excited to share with us. She showed us where she grinds grain, where the pigs are, the corn fields, her sewing station and her favorite spot in Pijal. A place, before they had running water, where the women would go to retrieve water for cooking, cleaning and washing clothes. It was an absolutely beautiful place, much like all of Pijal. It is safe to say, Pijal is the most beautiful place I have ever spent time in. Our host brother, Esteban the family dog Max came. Max and I are becoming best friends, but at this point, Max was busy frolicking with Esteban; literally a perfect example of dogs acting as a human’s best friend. It was a phenomenal opportunity to spent that time with our family and get to chat more. I was very much under the impression that the week would be fabulous. There are going to be a bunch of pictures from this afternoon!

Lucia!

Trying to grind some grain....

Part of her garden.

Taxo fruit!

Esteban and Max :)

Lucia's favorite place

Asha, myself and Kaitlyn

El Mitad del Mundo and Pijal!

                Early(ish) in the morning we got ready and packed up to leave for Pijal, the village we would be spending the next six nights in. We spent a night or two there last time we were in Ecuador, and it was pretty nerve wrecking the first time. People seemed pretty nervous this time as well. I think the most stressful part, for at least some of them, is the language barriers. I was in the same boat last time we came, and I hope they realize that you can communicate through so much more than just words.

                I am excited to go back, I think partially because I’m more comfortable with speaking a language badly. My Spanish, is pretty rough. I discovered I have forgotten most of my verb conjugations and can only talk in the present tense. And that’s if I remember the right endings for those verbs. But after spending time in Morocco and India and speaking ZERO words, I’m more okay with butchering my way through a sentence or two. They usually (usually being the key word) understand what I’m trying to say. It’s exciting to go back and revisit people I’ve spent time with before.

        Fake Equator :)

Casual nap between the sidewalk and a shrub?

Real equator!

This my friends, is the pet from your childhood. The Guinea pig. 

     

                We arrived at Pijal shortly after and were greeted by a very excited bunch of people. One of the most exciting parts was when my host mom from last time, Isabel, remembered me. It was nice to know that she remembered me even though we only lived with her for two nights. There were a couple of other people, including Don Antonio, the head of the organization, who recalled Jess and I from last time. They seemed particularly happy that we returned. My host mom this time was a woman named Lucia. She hosts the Inti Rymi festival and hosted the three boys last trip. This time, it was myself, Asha and Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn spoke no Spanish. Asha had learned verbally from living in Boston and having Spanish speaking friends. She could make sentences but had limited vocab, I had vocab and an inability to make sentences. We made a great team. We had a pretty good conversation over dinner and it seems like it is going to be a good homestay. She let us help clean up as well, which was nice, because it can be uncomfortable when you feel like you can’t help out. It, at least for me, was a great start to the trip. 

Blame it On the Altitude

        So this is a little out of order due to some technical problems I had with the last post of this. On the 6th, we went to Mt. Pichincha and took the teleferico, or a cable car, up to the top. Mt. Pichincha is a volcano in the middle of Quito that tops out at about 13,000ft. That's over twice as high as Denver, so needless to say, there is a lot of wheezing to take place while walking around. There are literally, clouds, rolling by your feet. They view is impeccable and the city is actually a blur. It's, again, one of the most beautiful places I've been, despite the terrifying teleferico ride up the top (I'm not the biggest fan of heights.) So basically, I sat in the middle looking up the volcano so I wouldn't notice how far we had moved until we got to the top.

I think this was a much needed touristy break and after this we managed to make it back down the teleferico before it started DOWN POURING. It wasn't just rain, it was torrential. The streets were flooded and it was all done within an hour. We were able to go back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation. I think a lot of people where still pretty tired from all the travel. After dinner, we headed back to Casa de La Danza for some more future exhibit planning.