I’ve had a great time in Cuenca in spite of the cool conditions. Once again, because it’s easy to say, the people here are wonderful, the food is great, and the price is right…and so what if you have to wear a jacket or sweatshirt inside the hotel room or to bed every now and then.
I’m just going to post a few pictures with minimum comments. The Ingapirca Ruins were fascinating and as mentioned before the stones were cut and placed manually, without mortar and modern tools, literally dragged from miles away...the only possible help coming from aliens somewhere out in the cosmos.
I also got to see a shrunken head collection at the archaeological museum here…a practice no longer applied by the Shuar Tribe in the Amazon jungle region. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed to be taken. Outside of Quito is an open air market where "shrunken heads" are available to purchase...the kind you see on ebay. I'll "head off" that direction Saturday to a town called Otavalo and see what the little "cabezas" look like.
The market places offered the best shots. A vendor was selling fresh goat milk that was “delivered” while you waited. The last time I saw udders like those was in Las Vegas at a porn convention.
Other noteworthy travel thoughts: You can drink the water here straight from the tap, or in restaurants when it’s served to you. The food in the open air markets was tasty and cheap…same for the restaurants…I really did have a four course lunch with juice, soup, medallions of chicken with rice and vegetables, and then a desert all for $2.20.
They grow amazing fruit here…one in particular called “chirimoya”. It looks like a giant green avocado (“aguacate”), with lumps all over the outside of it, but inside is a soft white fleshy fruit with a few black seeds the size of small kidney beans, and it is the best tasting fruit I have ever tried.
That’s it for now…I’ll try to write something about Quito in the next few days.
Saludos
