On The Mountain

Right now I’m sitting on the side of a mountain writing this.  We’re supposed to be able to see a volcano from where I am sitting, but there is too much fog.  We just arrived at the hacienda that we are staying at tonight, and tomorrow we will head to Cuenca.  I wish I could tell you the name of the closest city, but the truth is I have no idea.  More importantly, it’s so peaceful that I can hear a stream running near by.  Lush green covered mountains, greenhouses, and sporadic houses encircle me.  That is all that is insight besides a cow and a few horses that are mowing the field near by. 

            It’s interesting because the masses of greenhouses that I am looking at seem to be just as embedded into the ground as the cornfields that surrounds them.  I found out today that the flower industry is even a bigger deal than I thought for the economy of Ecuador.  On our way here we stopped at a flower plantation where we saw the process in which roses are grown, cut, packaged and shipped to countries like the United States to sell.  It was interesting to see all the different kinds of roses and how they are harvested.  My favorite part of the tour was when I was lagging behind taking photos and one of the women workers appeared from the bushes and asked if I’d like a rose.  Best flower I’ve ever received. J  Oh, and I should probably mention that after the tour we all got a dozen roses, however I’m going to give them to my host family when I arrive at their home tomorrow at around 5:00 p.m. 

            During our travels today we also stopped in a little town where about 80% of the population is indigenous.  I felt a bit like an intruder as we drove through their cobblestone streets with our bus that is labeled “Tourismo” across the front.  However, we arrived to a home of an indigenous family that was waiting to greet us with smiles and kisses.  It’s important to know that it is becoming more common for indigenous people to put their “lives on display” so to speak, to share their disappearing culture and to make a living in this country that is becoming more and more Westernized. 

They played traditional music, fed us lunch from the food they have grown themselves, demonstrated how they string yarn and where the dyes they use come from.  The first dye we were shown is extracted from cacti.  Or should I say the worm that lives inside.  I had to face my fear of worms as the woman squished it in-between her fingers and extended her hand full of worm blood for us to rub on our lips.  Me+worms= a phobia.  However, I managed to face my fear, as you will soon see in my photos.  In spite of this, I have to say that I will not be using worm blood for lipstick in the future.