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We woke up at 6 a.m. My hiking clothes from the Fuya Fuya hike the other day were now dry. They were clean enough to wear for an additional hike, so I put them on. I was trying to conserve actual clean clothing for the other two parts of the trip. Breakfast was at 7:30 - crepes filled with jelly, bread filled with cheese, and the artesenal cheese that Felipe had brought. It was absolutely delicious. We also had fresh starfruit juice and coffee. While we have eaten starfruit before, we don't think we have ever had it as a juice.
While we were eating breakfast, we heard someone announcing something over a loudspeaker. Felipe translated as the family explained that trucks drive around the area collecting trash, and they have a loudspeaker where they call out for all of the potentially recyclable items that they will collect. After breakfast, we got into Felipe's truck with Antonio, Rosa, and Sisa. We drove down to Quiroga, where we had to buy power steering fluid for the truck as well as some bottled water. Rosa and Sisa got out here to wait for a bus, as they had some shopping to do in either Cotacachi or Otavalo, which are just a short bus ride away. After purchasing the power steering fluid and water, Felipe drove us to Lake Cuicocha. We parked the truck and Felipe accompanied us to the trailhead to take some photos as we started the hike at 9 o'clock. Then he left us in Antonio's capable hands as he drove the truck to where the road meets the highest point in the trail and waited there for our arrival. The lake was absolutely beautiful. "Cuicocha" translates to Guinea Pig Lake because its green islands are said to resemble the sacred rodent. The two islands in the middle of Lake Cuicocha are called Wolf (after Theodore Wolf) and Yerovi (after a priest whose boat overturned there and he feared he would drown). It was beautiful sunny weather. The water was quite blue and the whole scene was very picturesque. Antonio stopped to show us medicinal plants along the way. We sampled wild blackberries (mora, in Spanish, which Patrick at Casa Aliso had taught us) which were very delicious. Some of the species of plants we encountered were the beautiful lengua de leon (lion's tongue) orchid, cinanda, olor (useful as a mosquito repellant), something similar to the cotton plant, and eucalyptus. The trail went up and down in elevation, tracing the rim of the caldera. We were traveling in a clockwise direction around the lake, so the beautiful view of the lake and islands was always off to our right. Our lungs were starting to get used to the elevation; it was definitely easier breathing today than it had been at Fuya Fuya. We stopped for a chocolate break to refuel before attacking the most "up" part of the hike. There were log steps embedded in the trail and we climbed. We saw an interesting plant which had long skinny leaves. The back sides of the leaves were bumpy and shiny, whereas the top contained circles of golden pollen. There is a road up to the mountaintop antennas which meets up with the highest point in the trail (3500 meters). Felipe parked the truck on the road and then hiked down the path to meet us. We reached a little corrugated tin roof held up by four cornerposts. It would be a great shelter if the weather had been foul. Today we just used its shade to block the strong rays of sun while eating some snacks. Craig had a Nature Valley granola bar, and we took a picture spoofing their current commercials, which show a person eating their granola bars in breathtaking locales. This certainly qualified. From our vantagepoint we had a perfect view down at the lake and islands. We saw several kayakers paddling between the two islands. Felipe said that if they were from his company, they may be the same kayaks we would be takng into the jungle in a few days (it turns out that they were). The four of us then walked a short way down the trail to the second little roofed area. Felipe asked if we wanted to hike the remainder of the trail or whether we wanted to get back in the truck here. We opted to go finish out the hike, so Felipe got back in the truck and drove toward our eventual endpoint, 3/4 of the way around the lake from where we had started. As we continued on the trail, we passed through some cool deep trenches and down lots of stairs leading downhill. We still had the gorgeous view of the lake to our right, but the view opened up to the left here as well. We found ourselves looking down the slopes of the ridge towards the communities of Morochos and Cotacachi. At one point on the trail, we could see Felipe driving the truck on the road below us. Cotacachi volcano's summit was visible - very rocky and covered with snow, which stood in contrast to the many other green peaks of the region. The sun was shining brightly and white puffy clouds gave texture to the blue sky. It was surreal to have such amazing views no matter which direction we turned. Some wooden fences marked the trail at times, and we saw a wooden bench with the name "PAOLA" painted on it in white. This made us think of our young friend Paola in Guatemala, so I took a picture of it for her. I was tempted to sit on the Paola bench. My legs were starting to get tired from all of the up and down hiking. Fortunately the overall trend was downhill from the highpoint where we had met Felipe. As we approached the end of our hike, the sun was reflecting off the lake at us. It was quite bright. The vegetation on this side of the crater seemed browner and drier than the lush green area where we had started the hike. Soon we could see Felipe and the truck in the parking lot of a small building. He took photos of us while we approached him, finishing the hike just after 2 p.m. We were happy to give our legs a rest and let the truck take us back home. On the ride back to the house Antonio pointed out the alpaca corral, and how the alpacas were now below us in altitude. We were surprised to find that Lake Cuicocha is actually very close to Morochos - it had only seemed further this morning because we had to go through Quiroga to get the power steering fluid. Now we could go directly the short distance back via dirt roads to Morochos. Lunch was waiting there for us - huge kernel corn on the cob, potatoes with a sambo sauce, faba beans, and fresh papaya juice. The whole family ate together, and the meal really hit the spot after a morning of hiking. After lunch, Craig and I took showers. The shower had an inline water heater which you turned on via what we dubbed the "Frankenstein switch." It was one of those power switches that they flip right before Frankenstein's monster comes to life in the movies. There were bare wires attaching it to the shower head. We were careful not to touch the showerhead. The water was warm if you kept the pressure relatively low. Upping the pressure resulted in colder water. It was a delicate balance but we wound up having plesantly warm showers. We spent the rest of the afternoon in contemplation of our time here. We were so glad that Felipe had suggested coming here when we put together our itinerary. It was his first experience working with Runa Tupari, and it was a positive one for all involved. This was the first of three major parts of the trip, coming to a close already. Spending five nights here had given us significant time to get to know the family and feel comfortable, and it would be sad to leave tomorrow. We wrote out postcards to mail in Quito and Felipe chatted with us. We took photos of Fuya Fuya glowing red in the setting sunlight. Antonio's mother was cooking over her fire in the little structure between the house and the casita. The family invited us into the kitchen while the women prepared supper. We had seen copies of Chaski Ñan CD's (Antonio's band) around the house previously, and we wanted to make sure that we bought one before leaving tomorrow. We asked Antonio for a copy and he went into the other room and got one for us. He played the CD on a small stereo in the kitchen, and Sisa danced with her doll to the music. She held it by its hands and let its feet trip across the floor. It was so cute. Antonio was teaching Felipe how to play the flute, and they played along with the CD. Sisa wanted a banana and Aida tried to get her to ask us for one (since we were sitting right next to them), but she was too shy. We eventually coaxed her over to us and managed to hand her a banana. The camera then loosened her up a bit. Very few kids can see a photo of themselves and not smile, and Sisa was no exception. For dinner we had sambo soup (sambo is a vegetable that looks like a watermelon on the outside but its interior resembles a squash), breaded fried hamburgers, beans, cabbage, and rice. It was really delicious. Then they surprised us by bringing a cake out from the refrigerator. It had a red gel frosting and "Felicidades" was written across it, and there were three dollops of white frosting with fruit in the center. Wherever Rosa and sisa had gone shopping on the bus today, they had apparently come across a bakery. They commented about what happy guests we seemed to be, and said some other really nice things to us. They opened up to us and explained some of the history of their family. We learned that Antonio is 40 years old, Rosa is 39, and Aida is 21. They said that their family is very small, and they are lucky to be together. Aida's mother died when she was very young. Aida was sent off to work cleaning houses in Quito, and Antonio lost touch with her. In the meantime he married Rosa, and they were unable to have children. Four years ago, Aida managed to find her way back to Morochos and Antonio was delighted to be reunited with her. Because she had worked during her childhood, she was illiterate. She moved in with Antonio and Rosa in Morochos and they sent her to school where she learned to read and write. When she became pregnant, they welcomed Sisa into the family and seem determined to give Sisa a better childhood than Aida was able to have. It also explained why both Aida and Rosa seem to co-mother Sisa. They said that they wanted to open their small family to include us. Since we don't have children of our own, they wanted to share Sisa with us. She has not yet been baptized, and they asked if we would be her godparents. We were incredibly surprised and honored. We already have two godchildren in Guatemala, Aracely and Eddy. Becoming a part of their family was unexpected at first, but turned out to be something that brings tremendous joy into our lives. The relationship has enriched our lives so much that there was no way we could resist opening our hearts to a new godchild and her family. Our reeling brains tried to figure out when we might be able to come back for a baptism ceremony. We discussed the possibility of coming in June and timing our visit to coincide with the annual Inti Raymi festival. Or we could come for Sisa's 3rd birthday. Regardless of the logistics, we happily accepted their offer. Antonio and Rosa spoke excitedly about dressing us up in traditional attire for the baptism and its after-party. There would be music and dancing. We were no longer just tourist guests at a homestay; we are about to be joined in compadrazco, or "ritual kinship" with the family. We would be their "compadres," and we would have certain responsibilities for Sisa. The relationship is a very important one in Otavaleño culture. we sealed our new relationship with the family with a drink. Antonio cracked open a couple of beers, but when he realized I couldn't drink one (I am allergic), he and Felipe headed out in the car to try to find some wine somewhere in the village. They were determined to give me something to toast with. A neighbor must have had some, because they returned a few minutes later with a small box of peach wine. Rosa served the cake and Antonio's mother joined us. They also called Aida's two eldest cousins from next door, Delia (17) and Celestina (14), who came over to celebrate. Antonio's mom sat on at estera reed mat on the kitchen floor, drank a beer, and then had a glss of wine as well. It's a little awkward for us to be sitting on benches and chairs while an elderly woman sits on the floor. We felt that we should give up our seats. But she prefers the more traditional ways. As we had mentioned, she chooses to cook outside over a fire rather than in the modern kitchen.. We also learned that while the rest of the family sleeps on beds with mattresses, she sleeps on an estera mat on the floor, covered with blankets. We had some tamarind candies, and Rosa pulled out her stash of family photos. We enjoyed seeing them. Felipe showed Antonio how to do e-mail on his phone and said he would help him to create an e-mail address so that the family could stay in touch with us. He would be able to e-mail us from the Runa Tupari offices in Otavalo. We felt a bit ambivalent about being the impetus for them to learn this technology. We almost felt a little guilty, as if we were forcing it onto them.Yet on the other hand, they are useful skills, and we knew that UNORCAC was teaching computer skills at their women's center. And the family already had cell phones, and was eager to learn a new technology. Aida held Chipi the cat on her lap. Sisa was in bed by now, so when we got the group photo, she unfortunately wasn't in it. It was around 10 o'clock by the time Felipe suggested that we should let the family get to bed. We said our goodnights (and a final goodbye to Antonio, because he would be long gone to work by the time we would wake up in the morning.) Felipe said that since they got back with the truck from their wine run, there seemed to be a problem with the battery. He got a flashlight and went outside to take a look at the truck. He told us to go ahead to our room to prepare for tomorrow's departure. We wondered what impact the truck might have on tomorrow's plans. View Larger Map |
            
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