ECUADOR - My June/July 2003 Trip Journal -- by Donna R. Carter
Page Seven
~^~ Otavalo ~^~ Wednesday ~^~ July 2, 2003
Wow, long day today. Beautiful weather.
After last night, we all decided to meet a bit later this morning instead of trying to get out at the crack of dawn. I was glad that Matthew Hess and his family got here early so he could take me to the bank to withdraw some money, since we were heading to the market in Otavalo.
We didn't really get on our way until around 9:00, but the scenery on the way was phenomenal and I shot a whole roll of film. Cayambe (the mountain in the picture on the left) was gorgeous, although it was covered when we were closest to it. Isn't that just ironic? Oh well, everything else was beautiful anyway, and I got plenty of shots of it along the way.
After several picture stops here and there, we finally got to Otavalo and arrived at the main market square. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the square! How ridiculously remiss of me. We went to have lunch first, and stopped in this little "hole-in-the-wall" sandwich shop. ENORMOUS sandwiches on buns as big as the entire plate, stuffed with shredded chicken, avocado and tomato and onion. I didn't eat the bread, but I was full just from the filling!
Then half of the group of us took off for Peguche (a beautiful waterfall) and the rest of us remained to shop the square. I loved being able to bargain again. Always start at half the asking price and then go back and forth until you arrive at a compromise. Worked pretty well. I ended up getting quite a bit of stuff, and I was a bit afraid I was going over budget, but ... I didn't! Yay!
It was about three hours later that those of us who were shopping the square got back in the car and drove out to meet the others at Peguche. I managed to get some pictures of the waterfall, although everyone was ready to leave - they were nice enough to let me go down a ways to get a pretty good shot.
We came back to Quito on a different route, and stopped at a gas station to refuel. There was a restaurant there and it served cuy. I don't know if I should explain this, but I will anyway:
First, you have to know that cuy is a specialty here. A delicacy. I have had it only once and I didn't remember because I was only 11 at the time. However, I had made up my mind that, despite my squeemishness about it, I was determined to go native, so I had to have some cuy - authentically prepared - regardless of how it looked. Of course, everyone says that it tastes like chicken.
A few of the others on the trip were all grossed out, but I went to the restaurant and ordered it. You have to realize, they don't consider these animals as pets like they do in America. And Americans eat rabbits even though they also have them as pets.
Cuy are guinea pigs. They fry them whole (including the head - they break the bottom jaw in half to spread it out to fry it) or the just put the whole thing on a rotissierie and broil it. They are served set over potatoes with avocadoes and tomato wedges, with a buttery peanut sauce over it all. I asked for it "to go" and they cooked it, put it in a plastic bag and put everything else in bags and the peanut sauce in a container.
So bad. The teeth of the thing poked out of the bag. I almost lost my nerve with this fuzzy little snout and two long teeth sticking out of this plastic bag all the way home, but I managed. And I took a picture of myself taking a bite to prove it. The skin is a bit rubbery, so I didn't eat much... the meat is a bit like the consistency of chicken, but the flavor is, well ... maybe it wasn't that well prepared... not anything spectacular. So... I've now "been there done that"........
Current Temperature: 57 ° F Wind Speed: N/R 7 mph
Feels Like: 57° F Visibility: N/R mi
Current Conditions: Showers Barometer: 30.21 in. F
Humidity: 77% Sunrise: 6:14 am
Sunset: 6:21 pm
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On a very sad note, as I was writing out the previous entry, I was informed via chat with my dad that my great aunt, whose health very recently worsened, died this morning in the nursing home, under hospice care, as she had signed a "do not resuscitate" form a few years ago.
The funeral would be held on the following Monday. I would not be there. Jeff would take Melissa.
I knew that I shouldn't cut short my trip to go to her funeral. Aunt Ruth would tell me it would be silly to not just continue on and not worry about it, because, as she would put it, it's not like SHE cares if I'm there or not. (and she wouldn't mean that nastily - she would mean it practically - she's dead - it simply wouldn't matter to her.)
My great Aunt Ruth, my dad's aunt, was a crochety woman with a heart of pure gold. She had a colorful past, including being a show girl and chorus line dancer. She could be formidable and frightening if you didn't know her, but there was never any doubt that even if she was negative and complaining, she loved each of us without any reservations.
She was the aunt who never forgot a birthday even though we were living overseas. She was the aunt who, when my life was in a total disaster, wrote me a letter and scolded me soundly for letting myself get into such a mess, and then enclosed a $50 check to help me out. She never believed a compliment, but you knew it pleased her to hear them.
She would never dream of drinking out of a mug - only teacups and saucers were appropriate for hot beverages, and she served people only with the finest china and crystal. Her home was decorated with overstuffed velvet covered chairs and persian rugs and heavy draperies, but she would still have extended family over and we all knew she had a large walk-in closet with a string-pull light and a trunk full of old comic books which we would love to sit and read for hours on end, all cozy in the closet among the coats.
She absolutely loved chocolate, and was affectionately known in the nursing home as "the chocolate lady." Her favorite color was yellow, and she loved getting yellow flower arrangements to brighten up her room.
I love you, Aunt Ruth ... and I hate that I am missing your funeral, but I will go say "goodbye" when I get back... For now: Thank you, and bless you for your influence on my life, and thank you for the fond memories you have given me over the years.