Ecuador 4/2/12

Monday 4/2/2012 - Picking Corn on the Family Land

We woke up at 7 a.m. and took our time getting ready for the day. Breakfast was at 8:30. We had a fried egg, papas fritas, and plantain chips with fresh juice.

Sisa was wearing the sweater dress we sent her for Christmas. It fit her well and she looked really cute. Wheel Pals toys were out and about. After breakfast, Craig sat with Chipi the cat for a while. She loved his alpaca wool sweater, and nestled into it.

We believe that Aida told us that the big rooster would be eaten on Wednesday. She said that hens are smaller and less flavorful than roosters. She said that they had had others, but the big white rooster was the only one "left". There were other small chickens around the property, but they belonged next door. This is truly free range. They feed the rooster well and he stays with them. The rooster is about as tall as Yupanqui and his feet look so big and strong. He looks like a very healthy bird.

The trash truck came by this morning and it plays happy music as it approaches. Sort of like an ice cream truck from the Twlight Zone or something. But it makes sense, because you can hear it approach and make sure to have your trash ready for collection.

We went for a walk with Antonio, Aida, and the kids. We walked up to the land where Rosa lived as a child. They have choclo corn and habas beans growing here, and they wanted to harvest a few choice ears and stalks. Antonio brought his bandolina (a 15-stringed Ecuadorian mandolin), and played as we walked. It was very idyllic.

Max the dog accompanied us as well. Sisa, true to her namesake (her name means flower in Kichwa), gathered flowers as we walked. We stopped at a little tienda (store) in someone's house to buy Sisa a lemonade drink. Sisa was obviously much more comfortable with us this time and she held each of our hands at times while we walked.

When we got to Rosa's family's property, we sat for a while next to the abandoned concrete house where Rosa had lived as a child. Antonio and Aida gathered some ears of corn whose kernels were yellow, but the cob itself was a deep purple. Aida stripped some cornstalks of their outer peel and handed them to us and the kids to suck on and chew. The choclo stalk was almost like sugar cane, dripping with a sweet juice.

Antonio grabbed some choclo leaves, which he said that they could feed to their cuy (guinea pigs). We didn't know that they kept cuy. In Peru people keep them in their kitchen. There certainly were no cuy in Rosa's modern kitchen (complete with new microwave and cabinets).They also picked habas bean pods.

When we were done, Antonio wrapped the haul in a blanket and carried it on his back. Craig carried the bandolina. I carried Sisa for a while.

When we got home, we shucked some beans. Sisa knew the drill and helped us. Yupanqui tried too, though sometimes he ended up putting them back into the empty pods.

The beans themselves were beautiful, a mosaic of different colors and patterns. Some had a marbled effect, some were spotted, and some had stripes. Colors ranged from white and black to purple, pink, and orange.

Beautiful bean footage

Sisa is a bit rough with Chipi the kitten, treating her kind of like she does Max (who is a reasonably sized dog). At one point when Craig was petting Chipi, Max (who hadn't really paid much attention to us so far) apparently became jealous because he came over and punted Chipi out of the way with his paw.

Then it was time for lunch. We had a hearty soup of papachinas, carrots, and a piece of chicken. This alone would have been enough for a filling lunch, but this being Ecuador, the delicious soup was just the appetizer. We were then served ears of corn and melloco in a sambo seed sauce and fresh juice.

Sisa calls us Achi Mama and Achi Taita, sometimes just Achi. Antonio calls us Comadre and Compadre. We learned that Aida'a middle name is Margola in Kichwa, and Sisa often calls her that, while calling Rosa Mami.

The parrot came into the kitchen and ate from a bowl on the kitchen floor. Yupanqui fell asleep at the table leaning up ahainst Antonio. Sisa almost fell asleep at the table also. She was tired but apparently didn't want to take a nap because we were here.

I walked to the casita to use the bathroom. Apparently Sisa was following me and when I shut the door behind me, she started bawling. When I came out I sat her on my lap and cuddled her while Craig continued shucking beans. After a while she went with Rosa and I helped Craig to finish the beans.

The we went back to the casita and took showers. Water pressure or heat; pick one. We chose the heat and had enjoyable showers.

The parrot was up in the tree throwing plant debris down at Rosa as she did the laundry.

When we were finished with our showers, both kids were asleep. We walked around the property and saw the sun on the mountains. Abuelita (Antonio's mother) came down the street leading the new cow home from its daytime grazing spot. It was the first time we had seen her on this trip. She of course greeted us with a smile and some happy words in Kichwa.

We wandered around the property and were startled to find a pair of large pruning shears next to a black rubber glove. The way that they were arranged looked like something out of a horror movie and we had to do a double-take to make sure that we weren't looking at a severed limb. Once we re-assured ourselves, we burst out laughing. I took a picture and filed it under "found art."

Craig and I played with Chipi for a while, then Rosa asked if we would shuck some beans for dinner, which we did on the brand new countertop. Yupanqui woke up and we sat with Aida and him. Soon Sisa was up and she was writing in her notebook.

Before dinner Craig got to once again enjoy the UNORCAC book which talks about Kichwa culture.

Antonio came home from doing something for the community and we had supper. We had corn soup and beef with mashed potatoes, beans, and a tomato onion salad. We had fresh naranjilla juice to drink.

Sisa is fiercely independent. Any time Rosa tried to serve her food she would cover her plate and insist on doing it herself. Rosa said she is like that in school too.

After dinner Antonio played his flute. Yupanqui marched in circles around him. He tried to teach Yupanqui to blow into the flute. He is so cute, saying "Hola hola hola" all the time. That must go over well with the tourists who stay here several times per month. He got the hiccups ("hipo" in Spanish) tonight and was just so cute!

At around 9 o'clock, we all said our goodnights and we headed back to the room. The skies were cloudy and although we could see the moon, we couldn't see any stars.