Trip to Cuenca: from Sarah's journal

October 27, 2008
Today we are going to Cuenca!!!!!! We woke up at six, piled into the car, and started the drive to the third largest city in Ecuador. The first part of the drive was boring, just the regular commute to Guayaquil, desert, flat land, more desert, but once we had found our way through Guayaquil, the drive was anything but boring. It felt as though we were Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, stepping out of Kansas and into a lush, green paradise. All around us there were green rice fields and mango trees. It was the first time we had seen any naturally watered vegetation in more than two months. After passing though a few small towns, we arrived in the foot hills. After that, the mountains. The mountains are indescribable, there is no other word for it, but I’ll do my best.
As we climbed higher, we began to drive into clouds. It looked like really thick mist, and we couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of us. The temperature also dropped, but not as much as I was expecting, maybe to 65 F degrees. We got out of the car a few times to peer over the sheer cliff. At least, that is what we imagined it to be, we couldn’t really tell because of the clouds. Finally, after much dodging of rocks and landslides in the road, we were above the clouds. It felt like we were in an airplane we were so high. The clouds stretched on for miles and every once in a while a cloud would protrude from the ocean of white. Now that we were above the clouds the driving was much easier. Also, it was even more beautiful. Mountain tops were obscured by clouds, and the valleys were covered in a fresh green jungle that was amply watered by the almost constant rain.
After six and a half hours we arrived in Cuenca. Cuenca is gorgeous, with cobble stone streets and buildings that have almost a European feel. Over the tops of the buildings, you can see the gigantic mountains that scrape the clouds. We weaved our way through the narrow, one way streets and arrived at Posada del Angel Hostal. The Hostal is spectacular. We were all very excited because for the first time in two months it was raining!!!!!!!!!
I guess we all forgot how unpleasant rain can be sometimes, especially when walking through it. We remembered this pretty quickly, though, when we had to trudge through puddles to get to the Spanish school. When people want to learn Spanish in Ecuador, they usually travel to Quito or Cuenca. I guess we fit right into that category so we took lessons too. The lessons were private, not classroom lessons. Julia and Ellen shared a teacher, since they are pretty much at the same level, my parents shared a teacher as well, because they are used to learning together, and I had my own teacher!! She was really nice. Mostly we talked in Spanish. Well, she asked me questions and I could talk to my hearts content. We used the work book as guide lines for what to study, but we didn’t follow every exercise. We did basic things, Ser and Estar, verb conjugations, stuff like that. It was nice to review things like that, even if they are easy. I was really happy because the things I had struggled with in Mrs. Lapointe’s 8th grade Spanish class, like ser and estar, I now find easy! It’s great to have reassurances that I am improving because sometimes I feel like I am still speaking Spanish at the same basic level that I spoke when I left West Hartford!

October 28, 2008
The breakfast here is really, really good. We had scrambled eggs, toast, homemade juice, and a bunch of other stuff. After breakfast, we went to the open air market. It was so neat! First we walked through a market that was sort of like a Stop and Shop except…not. There were pig heads at many of the booths, fresh fruit that came straight from the surrounding farms and a lot of bloody meat. We got out of there pretty fast. Then we wandered around until we stumbled upon a open air market for hand made things like ponchos, chompas (jackets), tapestries, mantas, gloves, hats, purses and much, much more. I was surprised, while walking around, that so many people still wear the traditional dress. I had learned that some traditional clothes were worn, but I thought that was just the videos exaggerating or trying to make it seem more interesting then it actually was. The videos I saw in 8th grade spanish class don’t do Cuenca justice. Lots of women, the people selling the goods especially, wear white panama hats with a ribbon around it, a big colorful skirt with lots of pleats and embroidery on the hem, a cotton shirt, usually white, and a manta or scarf draped around their shoulders. Many of the women carry babies strapped to their backs with a scarf or blanket. All have their long black hair in two braids down their backs. It was really an experience!! But anyway, back to the shopping.
The bargaining was easier than I expected. I thought that they would fight for every penny, not wanting the price to drop, but really, they want you to bargain. Supposedly, they won’t have any respect for you if you don’t. I bought a home made purse. It was originally 6 dollars, but I was able to bring it down to three.
After the shopping we went to our Spanish class again. It is really difficult to concentrate for four hours on Spanish. It is time consuming, and difficult, but we learned a lot.

October 29, 2008
Today is the day we have all been waiting for…we ate CUY!!!! For those of you who don’t know, cuy is cooked, fried, or boiled guinea pig. But I’m getting ahead of myself; first a quick recap of the rest of the day.
First we went to Hotel Crespo to eat lunch and take pictures. My class studied Ecuador in 8th grade and we virtually “stayed” in Hotel Crespo while we “explored” the city. Really it was just an excuse to study Spanish; what a rip off! (just kidding, I loved it. It was cool to learn about such a different country, especially since I am now living here!) I had high expectations for this hotel. After all, according to the guide book, it is one of the top places to stay in Ecuador. Hotel Crespo looks huge. It is right on the water and looks very, very…rich-y-ish. We were the only ones in the restaurant. I was surprised because I thought it was “top class.” Then our food came. We found out why no one else was eating there. I would actually go as far as to say that it was the worst meal I had in Cuenca and certainly the most expensive. That bad. I’m not sure I would want to stay there either. It feels very contained, boxed in, and when you enter it, you feel like you have stepped out of Cuenca, Ecuador and stepped into New York, U.S.A. The only plus of Hotel Crespo is the view. It is right in front of Rio Tomabamba and has a great view of the park and water. However, it is very far away from markets, museums, churches, and pretty much everything. So the report on Hotel Crespo is not great (sorry Mrs. La Pointe!) and I personally prefer our quaint little hostal.
After the disappointing lunch, we headed to school again. Another four hours of constant Spanish.
And now for the Cuy…
WARNING: ANYONE WHO OWNS A GUINEA PIG OR ENJOYS RATS AS PETS SHOULD NOT READ THE FOLLOWING SECTION!!!!!!!! (You have been warned)
After school, we went home to check the guide book to find a “rave review” cuy restaurant called Tres Esrellas or Three Stars. This kind of cuy is roasted slowly over an open fire. (by the way, their cuy were not killed at the restaurant…I think…) It is roasted on a big pole, about an inch radius, running through its mouth and out its back. (don’t worry, I have lots of pictures) We also ordered chicken and pork in case we didn’t like the cuy. The cuy arrived. It was split down the middle and then cut into six or so smaller sections horizontally. It did not look nearly as gross as it did in the movie we watched in class. Yummy potatoes were stuffed inside it with a sort of gravy dribble over it. Let it be known that I ate the first bite!!!! It was really good, I would certainly have it again. Just so you know, it did NOT taste like chicken. It tasted more like pork with a very smokey flavor. Since it was made in Ecuador, it of course was seasoned with about a pound of salt on it. I liked it. Sort of chewy and a lot of bones, but very interesting.

October 30, 2008
This morning we didn’t do much of anything. We just slept in, and then walked to an Indian food place we had seen last night. I love Indian food. At home we have it at least once a week. Every Thursday, actually. While in Ecuador, I haven’t had it in more than two months!! Anyway, it was amazing (better than Hotel Crespo, in case you were wondering)
After lunch, we walked to school, picking up some pastries on the way for the other students. I am very proud of my progress in school and I think that my teacher is too. I’ve gone through an entire lesson book in four days and am now learning the same thing my parents are learning!! I never thought that I would be able to do that.

October 31. 2008
Today is the day we return home to Salinas. It is also Halloween. So let me tell you a ghost story…

It was a foggy, cold Halloween evening in the Cajas Mountains. Five travelers drove through the gloom, singing traveling songs, and looking forward to returning home to the coast that night. Inside the car, the three children talked and played contentedly while the parents chatted. If they had looked out the side windows, they would have seen nothing but grey mist. But if they could see past the mist, they would have seen the cliffs’ edge on which they drove, littered with crosses that marked the places where so many travelers had met their end at the bottom of the 4,000 foot drop. The husband navigated the road carefully, making sure to follow the nearly invisible taillights of a truck so that he could navigate the death trap turns. Then, without warning, a rock appeared in the road. The small blue matrix careened right over the rock with a huge bang. The happy travelers screamed. The engine died. The little matrix kept rolling, no power, only the momentum of a 45 degree decline. They continued through the clouds, hoping for a place to stop so they could see what the matter was. They reached a dilapidated restaurant at which to stop. Carefully, the concerned father pulled into the entrance and the three girls got out while he crawled under the car and the mother looked on anxiously. The children walked around the car and met the eyes of…a stuck pig! They barely concealed their screams as they gazed upon the gigantic hog with a stick running through it. As they watched, a man in bloody boots and an umbrella came out of the shack, bringing with him a huge blow torch. He advanced on the girls, raising the torch as he went. Then, abruptly, he leered at them, showing yellowing teeth, and turned the torch on the pig. He waved the fire over the pigs back. Back and forth, back and forth. In horror, the children backed away and hid in the car. Several hours later, the family was still waiting for the tow truck to come. Finally, they dared to enter the dingy restaurant. They ordered tea and cookies to pass the time. The tea came. At that exact moment, the death squeals of an animal in pain came from the rear room. The pig was about to join it’s brother on the fire spit. The tea was blood red. For ten minutes, the travelers tried not to listen to the squeeeaaaal, squeeaaals of the pig. Every once in a while the noise would stop, and they would think; thank God, it’s over. Then the racket would start up again. Then, with a final swish and thunk, the noise stopped.
By this time, the cookies and tea were about to find their way back up and land back on the already disgusting table. After many more minutes, the tow truck came. The death restaurant adventure was over. But the night was not. There was no room in the small cab of the truck, so the family piled into the car that was chained to the platform of the truck, putting their lives in the tow truck driver's hands on top of a 4,000 foot cliff. All the way down, over every bump and glitch, gasps and whimpers could be heard from the travelers’ stiff upper lips. So they went down, down, down, following the white crosses to the safety of the land on the other side.

So that’s my Halloween ghost story. It is also how my family and I spent our Halloween night. Every bit of that is the truth. It was the best, well, maybe not the best, but definitely the scariest Halloween I have ever had.
(By the way, it turned out OK and we got home to Salinas by 1 in the morning.)