July 22 2020

Cotacachi Moon Just Watching and Wondering

chenry 2020 Year 7, July

Hello Moon you appear to also be so much isolated as you hover over little Cotacachi just watching and wondering about what has happened in the world. My life as I have always known it is now ever-changing. We’ve seen advances in healthcare that extend lives by 10, 20 even 30 years. But at the same time, we’ve seen health crises such as the unwanted Chinese import 19 that seems like it materialized out of a science fiction movie. Terror reigns upon my homeland with crime and hates running rampant in the cities. All the while the moon sadly looks down and just watches and wonders what on earth is happening.

I think Cotacachi is somewhat ahead of the curve compared to the United States. However, the resources in Ecuador are vastly limited compared to other counties except the Ecuadorian spirit is very strong and determined. We are now in code yellow which simply means we can now drive our car on 3 designated days versus the previous two days of the week. But, we can walk any day of the week. No driving on Sundays for anyone. Buses are running to Ibarra with limited capacity. But who on earth would want to risk riding a bus unless you have no other means of transportation? The curfew is extended from 5 am – to 9 pm. Social distancing continues as well as masks mandates. Everywhere is a disinfectant of unknown sources for your shoes, hands, clothes, and even money! The city still disinfects the streets. Restaurants and stores are open with limited capacity but most folks still prefer home delivery. The indigenous have blocked the entrance to their villages with chains locked in place or rock and trees blocking anyone from coming in. I think they are very wise to limit exposure from the outside. We now have a positive case of the unwanted Chinese import 19 strikings close to home with one of our workers testing positive. I worry so much about this person who is a favorite of mine. His family is taking care of him with natural herbs, plants, and medicines. I think sometimes the ancient indigenous treatments may be the answer.

The Inti Raymi indigenous religious celebration was canceled this year and the army was brought in to make sure it did not happen. While other cities celebrate the festival Cotacachi is where all the action takes place as tribes from the mountain come down to capture the town square. So there are dancing parades of children, women, and later men. The event starts out mild and fun but as the days continue it can escalate to violence. This is really an important event for the indigenous and I am not sure it has ever been canceled. No alcoholic beverages are to be sold. Ha, no problem for the indigenous since they make their own puro (can you say white lightning)?

Pictures from last year

During June we were still in a modified red protocol which meant we could only drive twice a week based on the last digit of our car license plate but with a 6 pm curfew. On my birthday we were invited to a friend’s house for early dinner. This was the first time in 100 days that we left home in isolation to have dinner with friends. We lost track of time and the clock was striking 6p when we realized we were late! Our friends live right outside of Cotacachi and we knew we would have to pass the checkpoint “Charlie” before entering Cotacachi. Bill said, “if we get stopped do not speak Spanish”. Ha! fat chance of that! My 150 days of Duolingo Spanish online classes do not exactly make me fluent in Spanish. So when we arrived at the checkpoint there were 3 Charlie’s but no checking except looking bored on their cell phones. In fact, we were surprised by how many cars were on the road. Go figure.

Please remember to wear a mask when you are away from home!