Long Holiday Weekend in Cuenca, Ecuador

Diane: As in most of Latin America, most everybody is Catholic here in Cuenca, due to the massive conversion by the Spanish Conquistadors. To me, it seems a very showy Catholicism. Churches form the centerpiece of many towns, generally far more ornate and well-maintained than any other buildings. If you peak inside many churches on any day of the week, the aroma of fresh cut flowers will likely waft your way. In Cuenca, two of the most significant churches - the Old Cathedral and the New Cathedral - are on opposite sides of the Parque Calderon, which is the heart of the historic district.

We visited the Old Cathedral by accident during one of our Spanish lessons. We were touring La Casa De Las Palomas with Raul, our Spanish instructor. One of the men working there showed an interest in us and proceeded to explain some of the architectural features of the historic building. He was an expert in architectural restoration and wanted to show us the work he was doing in the Old Cathedral. The Old Cathedral has been under restoration for a couple of years now and has been closed to the public during this time. We jumped at the opportunity.

In Cuenca, they were masters in the architecture of deception. For instance, in one area of the church, there were some real pillars adjacent to some pillars that were merely painted on the wall. At first, I didn't even notice that they were merely paintings.

We learned something about the difficult decisions encountered during restoration. One wall had been painted over with 17 different murals. The hard question - which one should be restored? The building was constructed in 1557, so these murals were from many different time periods. Should they restore the most recent? Should they consider the very first mural the most authentic and stick with that one? Should they restore the church to one time period to maintain consistency? Should they restore a small part of several of the murals, thus capturing more history? Many possibilities; no one correct answer.

Since I am a mere traveler and not an expert in architectural restoration, the question that struck me was "Why did they bother with so many murals?" If one mural cracked or faded, why not just whitewash it or add a splash of color?

Another interesting aspect of this church is that its foundation was built with stones cut during the Inca period. Even the casual observer can see the difference in the fine mason work of the Incas compared to the stonework of prior and subsequent periods. Cuenca is located just west of the site of the old Incan town of Tomebamba. The Spanish churches use stones looted from Tomebamba as part of their foundations. The restorers have intentionally left some of these stones uncovered to show the different foundations used.

There is a religious counterpart to the physical construction of Spanish architecture over Incan stonework. For example, many holidays have their roots in indigenous celebrations that are hundreds of years old. Festivals of patron saints often originated as indigenous feast days. When the Spanish arrived, these celebrations were melded with religious celebrations.

In Cuenca, the Christian holiday, All Soul's Day, precedes the indigenous holiday, Day of the Dead, which precedes the civic Cuencan Independence Day - on November 1, 2, and 3. This year they all come right after a weekend making for a prolonged celebration. The New Cathedral opens it's crypts to the public on one day of the year, November 2, which is, coincidentally, the Day of the Dead.

Celebrations include beauty pageants, parades, music, dancing, artisan fairs, indigenous burial rituals, Catholic masses, "traditional" foods, historical dramatizations, and lots of drinking. I am told that in many ways, Latin American religious practice reflects a showy Catholic facade over centuries-old indigenous beliefs and customs.

During today's celebrations, I passed some street musicians on stilts dressed in colorful jester costumes.

Salinas, Ecuador: Factories Tour

Diane: Although the markets in Cuenca are a great source of food to fill the kitchen, our ace-shopper, Tom, has shied away from making any purchases there. Our refrigerator is full of boxed milk, boxed juice, yogurt, cheese, and imported salsa. Our cabinets are full of U.S. cereals, pre-packaged corn chips, boxed tea-bags, and imported chocolate. At any point in time, our kitchen provides ample evidence that cheese and chocolate are two of life's staples that this family cannot do without.

There is a very small Ecuadorian town called Salinas that, on the surface, mirrors these same sentiments. Salinas is home to both a cheese factory and a chocolate factory. So, it was entirely within character for Tom to choose Salinas as our next stop en route back to Cuenca. We left the PanAmerican highway and headed a bit west to see how cheese and chocolate are made.

In the toursit office, we were confronted with a hand-drawn map on the wall that displayed a directory of cooperative businesses, rather than a directory of factories. This was a hint that we had arrived someplace that was reinventing itself.






Thirty years ago, Salinas was just another rural village situated in a wild mountain landscape. Although it still maintains these characteristics, today there are 30 cooperatives operating here. First we visited an herb processing plant. They dry herbs. They make herbal oils. They also produce shampoos, balms, essential oils, and most anything to do with herbs. One of the workers explained each step in each process and the various equipment used. Perhaps due to the availability of props in a factory setting, we didn't have much difficulty understanding these explanations in Spanish. Another worker explained the medicinal uses of some of the products they sell. We had immediate interest in the curabena balm touted for its acne fighting abilities and bought two.

Next, we headed down the street to visit the cheese factory. On the way, we came upon the first step in the process.






A donkey carrying two large blue kegs of milk stood patiently in the street. We had seen women carting these heavy blue kegs on and off the bus up the mountain from Guaranda. These blue kegs are used to transport fresh milk to the factory. At the factory, the first step is pasteurization. Once pasteurized, the milk flows through pipes into a large vat, where various heating, mixing, and culturing steps take place.

Molds are used to form the final shape of the cheese rounds and, in some cases, squares. The resulting fresh cheese is what I had been eating in many typical Ecuadorian dishes. The factory produces 4 different types of aged cheese, only one of which was familiar to me - Gruyere.






The rounds and squares are stored in rows in racks that are visually appealing.

Our guide explained that the owners of the cheese factory meet once a year to make management decisions. These meetings are quite an affair, because there are about 2000 owners. Now at this point, we had seen maybe 3 or 4 workers in the entire place. How could there be 2000 owners? It turns out that the milk producers (the cow owners, not the cows) are the owners and control the operation of the plant. The factory workers are employees. In an agrarian society, this makes perfect sense, but it was out-of-the-box thinking for me.

Next, our guide brought us to a similar enterprise in its pilot stages, where they produce goat cheese. We visited with the goats, who really do eat everything. They developed an immediate fondness for my pants and TM's shoelaces.

These goats are not native to the area and find it a bit too cold. The first batch of baby goats did not make it through their first winter outdoors. The owners have some new assimilation strategies planned for this second batch of youngsters.

While in Salinas, we also visited a factory where they make soccer balls. I thought this would require a building with heavy-duty machinery to produce something so rugged. As it turns out, the factory was contained in a small room, where 5 people worked.

Two people sat wrapping "rubberized" string around a balloon.






The wrapped balloons were then dipped in small bucket of "liquid rubber" and allowed to dry.






One small machine was used to punch out the "adhesive backed leather" into pentagons to create the familiar shapes and colors found on soccer balls.

Finally, heat was applied to adhere the exterior leather. These soccer balls looked just like any other soccer ball, but I could not attest to their quality; I did not have a chance to kick one around a bit.

Eventually, we visited the chocolate factory. This factory was not a collective. Our guide called it a project to create jobs for the local people. I have been on a few food-related factory tours in the U.S. At the end, you always get to taste a little, whether it's chocolate or beer or bagels. And then you have the opportunity to buy as much as you want. Although I didn't expect to taste a soccer ball, I definitely had my hopes pinned on a little chocolate. No such luck. In fact, none of the factories offered us any tastes. Had there been a suggestion box at the tourist office, I would have made a marketing suggestion concerning providing tastes to the tourists. As it is, my first suggestion would be for a suggestion box.

The yarn factory was quite interesting. Although our guide had indicated that all the craft-related factories produced hand-made goods, yarn was produced using very large machines. No hand carding and spinning here. The machines tended to be intricate and looked to me like they were custom designed.

First, the wool was washed and dried using many large machines in some dark and dank rooms.






Once dried, the wool was died, if necessary. Any sorting was done by hand. The clean, sorted, and dyed wool was then fed through several elaborate machines to make yarn.

Outside, Salinas residents made abundant use of the natural resources available. The "sal" in Salinas means salt in Spanish. How did this land-locked town with no ocean nearby produce salt? Our guide pointed to some exposed red rock that collects water, which forms salt as it dries. On one of the hilltops, I could see a tree farm that had been partially mined.

We also visited a ceramics factory, a tagua-nut button factory, a beadwork factory, a mushroom factory (as in dried mushrooms, mushroom noodles, mushroom soup). In deference to the vegetarians amongst us, we skipped the sausage factory. Finally, our guide brought us to the store on the main square. Calliope and I were intent upon buying a wool sweater, but there was only one size - very wide. Without having an opportunity to taste anything, we bought 4 rounds of Andino cheese, 3 bags of mushroom noodles, and 5 large bars of chocolate. Update: all three were fairly non-descript flavor-wise.

Day 8 Galapagos Wrap-up

Diane: The Galapagos began as barren volcanic islands. Because the islands were never connected to the mainland, the ancestors of all species now present must have crossed about 600 miles of open seas. When the original plant and animal colonizers arrived, they would have found no large predators to fear and a harsh environment in which to survive and reproduce. Those that were successful adapted genetically over millions of generations. And thus, the archipelago ended up with many fearless, endemic species.

For me, this was a unique and memorable present from the universe. Had it been ecologically helpful and generally respectful, I could have taken advantage of this fearlessness by playing catch with sea lions, swinging marine iguanas around by their tails, and digging up last season’s sea turtle eggs. I had no such desires, but that’s how calm many of these animals were in our presence.

The theory of evolution explains, in large part, why blue-footed boobies developed here and why I could stand right next to one as it built a nest or fed its young. However the oldest islands are a mere 4 million years old, which according to biologists is not old enough to support the quantity and variety of evolutionary adaptations found here. Recently, a series of 9 million year old, sinking island remnants were found to the south and east of the Galapagos. Now the experts are happy.

We think we know so much. But usually in the end, our analysis is sloppy, our evidence incomplete, and our final conclusions full of unwitting, but inherent, biases. Yet proposing, proving, and disproving theories is such an engaging challenge. Who’s going to stop theorizing, even if most theories end up in the dustbin?

What a wonderful experience. Thank you so much Mom and Dad! Not only am I sad about leaving today, but I feel that I missed out on some theories, sights, and adventures. There are underwater island remnants I did not see. There are islands we did not visit and endemic species I missed entirely. Additionally, the formation of new islands is an ongoing process; over 50 volcanic eruptions have been recorded since 1535. And to top it all off, we were luxuriously pampered on our cruise ship. Hasta luego to all the crew and guides. I can’t wait to come back!

Maybe next time, I’ll write about the elegant dining on board, the incredibly courteous and friendly cruise staff, our family’s good manners and polite dinner conversation (not), the hot soothing post-snorkel showers, the first song lyrics that Calliope and I wrote in Spanish, and more on Maria’s candid opinions about Latin American culture. And as soon as I get pictures from my Mom, I’ll put in more pictures of all of us.

Day 7 Galapagos (afternoon): Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island

Diane: I didn’t want to miss the Charles Darwin Research Station, where much of the conservation work of the islands started. Visitors are allowed to walk amidst the slow-moving tortoises, who are now relatively comfortable around people and their cameras. We were able to get some wonderful close-ups..


































In addition to the walk-in areas for the adult tortoises, there is a baby tortoise house with incubators. Once they are big enough, these little guys are transported back to their native islands. We were also quite fortunate to get a good look at Lonesome George, the only known survivor of his subspecies - the Isla Pinta tortoise.

How big are these guys anyway?

We, slow-moving people, also made for some good photo subjects.

This excursion was the only one in which the whole family went in the same group. Our cruise mate, Linda, took a picture of all of us, but only after falling and scraping up her hand pretty badly on the ubiquitous lava rocks.

Day 7 Galapagos (morning): Floreana Island

Diane: Floreana’s history is the stuff of legends. Or is it the fluff of legends? A married couple, the Ritters, settled here in 1929 with the goal of exploring the healing powers of the mind. They had all their teeth removed before arriving so that they would not have to deal with tooth decay. A couple of years later, a Baroness moved onto the island with her 3 lovers. She came wearing horse riding apparel and carrying a revolver. There was no peace on the island after that, and eventually some of their bodies washed ashore and some of the inhabitants mysteriously disappeared. Dr. Ritter, a vegetarian, somehow died from poisoned chicken.

We heard a significantly more detailed version of the story from our guide, Julian, as we were waiting to land. His version included the fact that the Baroness liked to swim in the nude. He felt that this probably contributed to the strife that ran rampant on the island. My question is - if you were living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with only 5 other people, would you bother to wear one of those uncomfortable-looking bathing suits of the era? There were diaries kept and books written. Even with a descendent of these original colonizers still living in the Galapagos, it’s anybody’s guess what the true story was.

The recounting of this tale was so long that I was able to capture lots and lots of video footage of two sea lion pups playing with a rope that Tatiana dangled from the panga.

From the water, the thick-trunked cacti of Floreana looked more like trees than cactus. Their growth reminded me of the metamorphosis of a butterfly. They start out looking like regular cactus, with several trunks. Then the trunks merge together. Once they become one trunk, they darken and shed their spikes, leaving a relatively smooth tree-like trunk.

After a walk up to the Baroness Hillock, we headed off by panga to the Post-Office-barrel beach. Here, tradition meets legend. In 1793, a British whaling captain set up a post office barrel by the bay. Whaling ships from around the world left their letters in the barrel and picked up those they thought they could deliver during their journey. Visitors now use the updated barrel for the same purpose. Take a letter with you, if you think you can personally deliver it within a reasonable timeframe - no stamp needed. My Mom found a letter addressed to Wayland, Massachusetts, which Tom or I might have wanted to deliver had we not been living in Ecuador.

I decided to skip the Post Office barrel in order to have more snorkeling time. Calliope decided to join me. Unfortunately, she hadn’t brought her snorkeling gear and, little by little, she took mine. First the shortie. With just one layer of wetsuit, I explored all the submerged rocks along the shore. Lots of colorful fish, some turtles, penguins zipping around - glorious. When I got too cold, I swam to shore to collect my shortie, since Calliope wasn’t even swimming. Much to my chagrin, Calliope took one of my fins. Then the other fin. And eventually the mask and snorkel. I guess part of being a parent is a willingness to give your kids the shirt off your back (or the wetsuit as the case may be). I wasn’t all that willing. Does that make me a bad parent? :-)

After lunch, TM, Calliope, and I went straight for our second salsa lesson. Several fun-loving cruise mates joined in, so first we had a review session with them and then a more varied session just for us.

Day 6 Galapagos (afternoon): Rabida Island

Diane: The approach to Rabida unveiled a red island against a deep blue sea. Check out the palo santo tree growing out of red lava rock.






Calliope and I hammed it up a bit for the photographer.

We were up on a small ridge for a great rocky shoreline view. We could see a small opuntia cactus forest wrapped in and amongst the palo santo trees, which we proceeded to walk through.

A couple of our favorite cruise mates, Jennifer and Mitchell, were in our group. Jennifer had a freewheeling attitude and smile. Like me, she liked kayaking and Scrabble. It was fun talking politics with Mitchell, because we pretty much agreed about everything. My Dad and Mitchell played a bit of bridge while aboard ship. And they both collaborated to teach TM the game. They spend 3 months wintering in Key West, so I’m confident we will see them again.

Between the sea lions, the sally lightfoot crabs, and the pelicans, it was hard to say who was the ultimate standout, as they clambored, perched, and sunned in sharp relief against the red sand.

Back at the beach, we hopped into our wetsuits. .






The snorkeling was spectacular. We saw blue starfish and anemone of every color. Some of the sea lions were playful, but there was at least one male patrolling his territory underwater. He showed no interest in us as he zipped past. The lava formed small hiding spots where the fish hid out and where it was easy to spy on them.

During dinner, TM and I headed up to the Discovery Lounge to meet with Alfredo for a salsa lesson. My Dad likes to rumba and samba and tango and just about all types of Latin dancing, but he wasn’t interested in learning to salsa. However, Calliope joined in and we had a blast. Even after a hundred repetitions of the same steps, Alfredo felt that we needed at least a week of lessons. We said we’d come back for another lesson tomorrow.

After our dance session, our cruise mate, Hannah led us in a trivia game concerning what we’d learned during our stay in the Galapagos. Hannah had been a teacher for many years, so this was right up her alley. You know how they jokingly say, “I hope you’re paying attention, because there will be a quiz at the end”? Well, we actually had a quiz. The previous night, Hannah solicited the help of her dinner mates to put it together. Tom, to no one’s surprise, was one of the winners.

Earlier, Hannah also put together a Friday night Shabbat service for anyone wishing to attend. She got the kitchen involved baking her challah recipe. What an inspiring figure!