On Sunday Susana and her family took me to Gualaceo about a 30 minute drive from Cuenca where we seen traditional handicrafts, pottery, woven baskets and especially interesting, ikat textiles, which are made using a pre-Columbian technique of weaving tie dyed threads. The dyes are all made from natural products, volcano rock, herbs and nuts. The cotton shawls with intricate macrame fringe were especially beautiful.
There is a huge produce market with row after row of fruit and vegetable stands the area is called 'jardin del Azuay' the garden of Azuay which is the province the area is in. We bought some sugar cane and chewed on it for the good sweet juice, the tough fibers clean the teeth, after the juice is gone you spit out the cane.
It was raining most of the day so not a good one for photo's of the area. Susana's papa wanted to treat me to a drink and a pastry that are typical to the city and knew the shop where the very best in town are made. The drink, called rosero, is made from ground corn and fruit and is thick and delicious. I could not taste the corn meal, the drink just tasted fruity and sweet. The pastry is called quesadilla made from wheat and cheese, eggs and sugar. It too was delicious, hard to describe how it looked so I took a picture. Nothing at all like Mexican quesadillas. The family is just so friendly, truly wanting to share their culture with me, I feel so privileged to have met them and be able to spend time with them.
Yesterday I went to the 'Museo Pumapungo' which is Cuenca's most important museum. I spent a couple hours wondering a large floor filled with colourful three-dimensional displays of the traditional costumes and habitats of Ecuador's many indigenous cultures. No camera's allowed, too bad, as the displays were suberb. The grand finale, five shrunken heads from the Shuar culture of the southern Oriente.
I then went for a pedicure and manicure, such a treat, the shop is clean and modern, Fabiola, the esthetician, is an artist she painted a lovely flower on each big toe nail, my feet look and feel pretty special. It took an hour to do both, cost was $8.00 including a $2.00 tip. The lady who owns the shop, another Susana, speaks English and gave me tips on learning Spanish and what to see around town while Fabiola was massageing my feet. One of her daughters is a dentist whom I have made an appointment with to have my teeth cleaned and the other is a fourth year medical student, Karen. Karen has a couple weeks off from school just now and offered to show me around, she speaks excellent English though I will speak Spanish with her as much as I can. The people I have met here are so friendly and open. I will be visiting Fabiola weekly.
Carnival has started early with bomba auga's, water bombs, being pelted at everyone everywhere. After getting hit with the third one yesterday I dropped a bomb of my own, I got a few funny looks and giggles so I am thinking everyone knows that English word.
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