We went on a group tour today to the Canari market and to Ingapirca, the best preserved Inca ruins in Ecuador. Fifteen passengers were on the van, including 2 Ecuadorians (an accountant from Quito and her mother, who were very nice), two young people from France, an American woman who was studying Spanish at a local school, and a bunch of old Americans (not us!) who were kind of snooty. As you can tell, we interacted with the younger people and the nonAmericans.
The Canari people have been in Ecuador for over 5000 years, they are the indigenous people of the region. They have a particular form of dress, as seen in the picture of the little Canari girl at the market. I have other pictures, but they need cropping, somthing I can´t yet do. This market we went to had all manner of fruits and vegetables and was even larger than the one we visited yesterday.
This is just one stall of fruits. Multiply this by 200, include vegetables, raw meat and fish, and you will have the market. I bought a bag of about 10 fruit, one of the yellow green ones... I´ll have a picture of it and a review of the flavor tomorrow as I haven´t eaten one yet.
From the market, we went to Ingapirca. The Incas came to Ecuador from Peru as conquerors. However, their dominion over Ecuador lasted onñy about 200 years because the Spanish came in the 1500s and conquered the Incas. The Spanish built their churches over the sites of Inca buildings, so very few Inca ruins are left in Peru. That´s why Ingapirca is so important.
OK, so I´m blocking your view of some of the ruins. Our tour guide told us all kinds of history about the Inca Trail and the Inca religion compared to the Canari. The views from the area are spectacular. This next picture was taken by the Ecuadorian lady for us.
Yes, that´s a new shirt I´m wearing... we haven´t done laudry in 10 days and we ran out of shirts, so we just bought some, at $3 each... why not...
Before I finish the blog... one more picture... The ruins are populated.... by llamas! About 10 of them on the grounds. They aren´t afraid of people and none of them spit on us. We did have to be careful where we walked, but at least their droppings resemble big piles of goat droppings, i.e. not messy or stinky.
Well, I must say its nice to have photos again. The landscape shot of the Inca ruins is great. The mountain views in the backround are really nice also. Let me be the first to thank you, for not bothering to take time to wash your dirty laundry, finding a way instead to post photos (priceless). Well its to bad about our face to face each night, but at least its not total and complete withdraws I must go through,... We Have Pictures!!!
ReplyDeleteWell keep having fun, like that needed to be said,looking forward to the next post.
See Ya, Your Cuz.
Pat, I love your shirt in this post! Ecuador is doing great things for you- you look so youthful and refreshed. Very beautiful. :-) As is the incredible scenery.... no wonder you look refreshed! What gorgeous views. And I would give anything to have a market lifestyle like that, here. Access to fresh, local, and affordable produce on a daily basis? Yes, please!
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you guys are coming back at the end of this trip? I think I'd be tempted to stay. :-) But I miss you after these daily "visits" and hope you do choose to cone home, against all odds, and that we get to see you soon!