Carnival in Ecuador is unique, fun-packed, and a local holiday. The locals wear colorful masks, dance, and participate in parades. I learned the actual word “Carnival” is an Italian word that refers to the absence of meat. The festival proceeds during the period of Lent. So the diablo’s (little devils) range from children to teenagers involved in a crazy type of game kind of like snowball fights. They love to ambush unsuspecting folks with water balloons, spray foam out of tall cans, and silly string and douse passing cars with buckets of water. You better hope your car windows are closed! Years ago there were eggs, flour, and even dog poop thrown luckily the custom has changed. So I compared the celebration to Mardi Gras and should be taken in good fun after all Ecuador is always full of surprises.
We went on a small tour to Peguche where Carnival was in full celebration. The first thing Bill did was buy 2 cans of spray foam for defense. So we were well armed! We received a blessing on our heads of flowers and water. We did not get sprayed with foam until Bill egged some cute kiddo’s on and then I really do not know who had more fun Bill or the kids. What fun we had and I am not sure we would have enjoyed the tour very much if it had not been Carnival.
Proud Papa. He used Cerveza instead of foam
Throwing buckets of water at passing cars.
Tour by Luis of family-owned Hammock Factory
Luis has a small store about the size of a closet where we get eggs and Cerveza and he even delivers.
The weaving machines below originally came from the United States.
Wool & alpaca blanket and sweater factory
85-year-old Jose weaving his wife just died and this was a job that they did together.
Wall hangings weaved by Jose Cotacachi in Pughe
Bill had to have the one pictured! So unique.
Jose’s wife adding finishing touches to the hanging for Bill
Demonstration of Ecuadorian Musical Instruments
Back to Torora Sisa reeds from San Rafael de la Laguna
Baskets are made from natural reeds from which lake in-which some are dyed with natural colors.
My little rooster
They also had this reed Christmas tree, note the handmade reed chair and the rug is something I have planned for our future purchase. I wish they had this little Christmas tree at Christmas!
The final stop on our tour was lunch at Puerto Largo on San Pablo Lake
Historic and beautiful Hacienda Cusin: we are ready to move again!
Hacienda Cusin is a restored 17-century Andean estate high in the mountains at the foot of the Cotacachi volcano. The Hacienda offers 5 acres of gardens, cobblestone paths, ponds, a hotel, and fine dining. There is also an original monastery which we did not get to tour simply because we ran out of time!
We have new friends that have a home there. Unfortunately, there are no other homes available otherwise Bill would be moving us again! So we will just have to settle for staying overnight in the guest houses decorated with antiques.
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Our amigo’s casa is below.
Champagne Cocktails with amigo’s: who has stress?????
At the market, Bill saw a fried chicken head. Below is his demonstration of what it looked like.
Hey Toto we are not in TEXAS anymore: Chili Cook-Off Contest: Quiroga Farm.
Oh, my Cerveza home-brew pale red and dark so good.
Gravity helps to get the last drops of cerveza.
Our neighbors from Hawaii
Third place winner! But oh my I thought his chili was wonderful!
Our hosts: Shawn and Lindsey
This young couple had no previous farm experience and here they are making a new life and business. We buy sausage from them and they even grow habanero peppers.
The adventure continues and March is only half over!
Wow! It has been a busy month since I last updated my blog. I sometimes wonder how being retired keeps us so busy. I have decided just as soon as the draperies are completed I will do a before and after pic of the house and yard for my next blog. We are taking Spanish lessons but are slow learners!
Billy Boy’s Birthday Of course Bill’s birthday was centered around the fabulous La Mirage. We had a wonderful dinner in La Mirage style. Then we spent the night in the Peacock Suite which was over the top in luxury. After dinner, we went to our suite to find one of the 2 fireplaces burning plus our favorite bottle of wine along with chocolate-covered strawberries and other little desserts. When we finally climbed into bed what a surprise to find elegantly covered hot water bottles to take any chill off the covers. I hoped I would not sleep since the suite was so beautiful and we felt so pampered.
. Bar King But at 6 am Bill’s phone rang and it was a neighbor saying our security alarm was going off. So we quickly dressed and dashed out of the elegant surroundings and down the back path through Marie’s pasture. Along the way, we had to fend off Marie’s pack of 6 dogs which I have loving named Cujo (from Stephen King’s novel). My main concern was for our pups alone at home for the night.
Turns out it was a false alarm! Everything was fine. So we let the pups out to potty, then fed them and we each had a cup of coffee. I looked down and discovered that I had my black dress pants on the wrong side out! So much for dressing in a hurry. Back we went to La Mirage without any incidents from the pack of Cujo’s. Several folks have been bitten by these dogs. However, they are really great security since the back of our house backs up to Marie’s pasture. I can always tell when anyone is in the back pasture.
We have tried to make friends with the dogs and whenever we go out to eat I get a to go box of left overs for the pasture hounds. We just sit the food in the pasture and they come running…they are always starving. Anyway, when I see the hounds I tell Bill “oh there is Cujo” and then call them to us saying “puppy puppy” and making kissing sounds like I do for our sweet dogs. It is best not to show fear but with 6 or 7 wild dogs it can be unnerving to put it mildly. Since folks have been bitten I do not walk that way by myself.
Back at La Mirage, the stress of the early morning began to melt. We put our robes back on and relaxed until time for breakfast La Mirage style. We had a great table and watched the peacocks roam the lawn and they even come right up to our window to peek inside. I have found them to not only be beautiful but very curious creatures. After our nice breakfast, we went back to our room and changed back into our robes, and headed to the spa.
I had the Cofan Spiritual Ritual of the Amazon. This treatment is inspired by the Indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon and their use of the native plants in the rainforest to heat the inner organs of the body. Exotic sounds and fragrance combine in such a way to put your body and spirit in harmony. I was immersed in a warm tub infused with guayusa and ishpingo leaves found in the rainforest. Then led to the massage table and wrapped in a warm blanket that got progressively warmer to the point of being downright hot and this is from a Texas gal. Just when I thought I could not take the heat anyone longer the blanket was removed. I guess it was flushing out all of the toxins. This was followed by a massage that incorporated bamboo massage. Which is a technique that uses bamboo stalks of varying lengths and diameters. The massage itself promotes circulation, sensory nerve perception, and lymphatic drainage and provides a deep sense of relaxation and well-being. Throughout the massage, the therapist used several different warmed pieces of compressed bamboo to work the tension out of each muscle. By the time I entered the relaxation room I did not have a care in the world.
Bill had the hot stone Swedish massage therapy which melts away tension, eases muscle stiffness and increases circulation and metabolism. He love it and the massage which worked its magic on the birthday boy.
Ceramic Class Well this has not been much fun since I am not very talented in this area. I made a soap dish that ended up breaking. Then made a little box with heart cutouts. I know that Emi my five-year-old granddaughter is more talented than me. The rest of the class made cups but I opted out since all I really wanted out of this class was an outside plaque with our address. Well, I finally finished painting the plaque with our address and bluebonnets. Time will tell if it survives the Kiel. Thank heavens that were the last class!
Winter House Sweater Factory By special invitation only a friend and I went to the sweater factory located in Cotacachi. They provided a demonstration of how they dye wool and cotton. The dyes are natural and are set with salt in the final step to prevent fading of the color. There are about 250 local women that knit the sweaters and produce around 700 sweaters a month to be shipped to the USA for retail sale. The sweaters are 100 % natural cotton or 50% cotton & 50% wool. They come in a rainbow of colors and styles. The sizes are larger to accommodate the USA market. After the demonstration, the fun shopping began! I bought 3 beautiful sweaters for a total of $53. Wonder what they cost in the American specialty shops. The Ecuadorian ladies make $3 per sweater and do this in their spare time such as when they are relaxing. The good news is that we can go back and shop again at wholesale prices. The evenings are cool in Cotacachi and it will be nice to have the comfort of these soft beautiful sweaters.
Santa Ana A local woodcarver from San Antonio was referred to us by the owners of La Mirage. Saint Anne or Santa Ana is the saint for Cotacachi. Each town has designated its own saint. Santa Ana is alleged to be the grandmother of Christ. Our home has a small cubical above the front door where our beautiful saint will be placed and offer protection. We will have the statue and home blessed by a priest. I am amazed at the detail involved and the talent of the wood carvers artisans.
On Valentine’s Day, Bill decided he wanted to have an HOA get-together and hosted Valentine’s party much to my chagrin. We had reservations at La Mirage at 6 p and were meeting friends and I hate being late. Well, he pulled it off and everyone seemed to have a good time.
We made it to dinner in time and had a wonderful dinner with our new friends Fran and Arnold from Canada. We also saw Gerald and Tisha both from Texas and another Texas couple. So the walls of La Mirage echoed with “y’all and eh”. Small world! There are so many Texas and Canadians living here: six degrees of separation theory.
Goat Cheese
Sherbet
Shrimp &Tilapia
Rose Geranium Sherbet, strawberries, and chocolate
Lavender cake and ice cream…to die for!
Indigenous Market Tour Every Sunday the Indigenous has their own special market outside of the regular market. They sell out quickly so you have to get there early. We went on a tour with another couple. So we had to be front and center at the little market by 7a. All this meant an early morning walk through Maria’s pasture and possible encounters with the Cujo hounds. We made it fine with only about 3 of the dogs approaching us.
Dan was our guide and he was a chef from New York. He explained what the different types of fruits, vegetables, spices, and grains were and how to prepare them. We had a great time learning about cleaning the food to prevent parasites. I bought a Chamomile and Lemon Verbena for tea. The fragrance is unbelievable!
Below looks like a funny potato. But it is not..the women like to slip this into the men’s food since it lowers their testosterone.
L7 am shopping early
shows that vegetables are fresh
Funny berries bite the end and it is yummy
Dan is showing us the ice cream plant
buy only what you can eat-no preservatives
This is where we buy our spices
Move over Martha Stewart!
Beautiful corn
Lots of different types of potatoes
Aquaponics One of our neighbors had an aquaponic system in Hawaii and is working with the Indigenous in a small village to develop their own system. The concept involves raising fish that fertilizes the gardens. So you harvest fish as well as fresh vegetables. High school students in this area are also learning how to grow organic gardens. What a nice way for our friends to help the community.
The key to aquaponics lies in the water that the plants and fish share. The fish supply nutrients that feed the plants, and the plants clean the water so the fish can live in it. Aquaponics uses 95% less water than conventional farming while producing five times the amount of produce. So the fish… poop into the water and produce waste. That waste is converted by micro-organisms into nitrogen and other minerals and nutrients. The plants take that up, they clean that water for the fish, and then the clean water goes back to the fish. Aquaponics is a technique that goes back centuries, but with the current interest in local and organic food, it’s being touted as a viable way to farm. Non-root vegetables, like tomatoes, cucumber, and lettuce, can thrive in an aquaponic system, while edible fish, like tilapia, can be raised to be eaten in the same setup.
We went with our friends to visit the location he is setting up the aquaponics system and while we were there they caught tilapia and prepared us a nice lunch. I had never eaten a fish served with the head on but I was ok until world traveler Wyatt started eating the eyes!
Bob & Dian
Bob
Billy Boy and one of the cooks
Dian playing with the pig…
Bill on the cell phone! No Way!
Fish cooking
Wonderful fish!
Wyatt and his dad
Bill having fun!
Ribs American Style?? A friend invited us to go to dinner at Jeannine’s a little restaurant outside of town. The restaurant is run by a woman and her teenage daughter and son. They are from the Netherlands and serve American-style fare. Go figure? The food is served family-style and the beef ribs were good but hardly what we are used to in Texas. A couple of American musicians played tunes from the ’50s and ’60s and everyone sang along….great fun.
Kitzia Kokopelmana: Organic Harvest We went on a tour and demonstration of Kitzia’s organic garden. She harvests seeds and has created a seed bank to assure that the pure seeds will not vanish from our earth. She states that “her purpose in life is to carry on organic seeds of botanical diversity to co-create beauty and abundance now and for the future”. Her garden is 5 acres of fruit forest, native medicinal plants, bamboo forest, river edge, and 5 acres of production fields. She states her “vision is to inspire others on caring for the botanical diversity of the Earth by demonstration, teaching and the co-creation of school and community gardens”.
Her gardens are planted with crops that support each other so need for pesticides. She spoke of the positive vibrations created by the plants. The plants are planted in a pattern called the circle of life. Later she served a nice botanical tea and had produce from her garden to sell. We bought an assortment of lettuce and one that had the taste of wasabi. We also bought honey, lavender spray, kale seeds, and little cakes and cookies. You can search for her presentations on U Tube.
Kitza during presentation
plants in the circle of life in harmony
note the design of plantings
Pups All are doing great and love the weather here. We found a great vet in Ibarra that is so kind to our pups. His wife speaks English and translates. Lucy had a little hot spot on her foot that turned out to be an abscess which he treated. She had always had allergies related to her paws. He said that the Benadryl we brought with us was wonderful which you cannot buy in Ecuador. So when we do take a trip back to the States we will be brought back a lot of Benadryl. Good news no Heart Worm meds are needed in Ecuador but treatment for parasites every 3 months. I found out that he would also clean their teeth under general anesthesia just like in the States. The total cost of this visit was $70 compared to at least $300 plus back in Texas.
It seems like every weekend there is some sort of celebration in little Cotacachi. Saturday night the music was so loud that it sounded like they were playing outside our bedroom window. They party until about 4 am. The sound carries easily through the hills just like it does over water. Sunday afternoon we could still hear the celebration going on so we decided to follow the sounds to investigate.
Turns out that a bullfight was taking place but with young bulls and young children. We learned that part of the culture of Ecuador involves kids and bulls in a ring together, but it’s not really a dangerous situation for either kid or animal. But they were having so much fun and it was exciting to watch!
Young kids and young bulls prance and dance around each other in the bull ring. The crowd cheers, gasps, and laughs. Nobody gets hurt and the audience fun factor is high.
There was what I would say was a close call when a young teenage boy fell on the ground and did not make it back to the safety of the fence in time. The young bull was butting the boy with his head. But his amigo came to his rescue and neither the boy nor the bull was injured. As you can see in the picture that follows, there is give and take as the boy challenges the bull, and the bull challenges the boy in return. The primary elements are a bull, a human, and a blanket instead of a cape. Missing are the spears that bring pain and suffering to the animal. Boys and girls all have a chance to tease and play with the young animals. Sometimes there are half a dozen children racing around a bull in the ring. There’s excitement, drama, fun, and a little anxiety because the bulls do have horns and some of the bulls are pretty feisty.
The whole atmosphere is like a carnival. Lots of food vendors and rides for the children. Everyone was having a wonderful time.
Bill bought some sort of sausage and various meats on a stick. But I decided to opt for roasted corn on a stick dipped in butter and then smothered in cheese. It was wonderful.
I have no idea what the goat on top of the car means. Maybe they raise goats and this is how they advertise?
It is hard to see in this pic but there is a bucket on the bottom left side. There was a man with a bucket of some sort of drink. He was trying to give us each a cup. Of course, I declined since I was not going to drink something that I had no idea what it was or where it came from. The man kept insisting that we try it without charge. Billy Boy finally gave in and tried it and said it was very good. However, I was still not going to try the unknown drink. Later we found out it is called:
Chicha (CHEE-chah)
Fermented maize or cassava drink. Traditionally, the corn was broken down by being chewed by whoever was making it. It’s frequently served street-side during festivals and holiday events. Yuk so glad I did not drink it! Certainly not what I want to try.
Earlier in the day, we saw this young girl and man riding their horses right down the middle of Leather Street. Behind them was a young unbridled horse that just followed along. It is not unusual to see horses in town. The girl does not look happy about the whole situation.
Baby Goat
A baby goat was born in the pasture behind our house. It is so friendly that it will come to you and let you pet it. In the pic, I was afraid to bend all the way down in fear that the mother would become angry and come after me. The little goat also began to eat my jeans. My little granddaughter has named the baby “hungry boo”. A few days later Bill was walking down the path and ‘hungry boo” just started to follow him like a little dog. He had to be shooed back to his mother.
Otavalo
Note the snow on the peak of Mama Cotacachi.
Pizza Night: Arbol de Montalvo – Restaurante
A true pizza oven
Me Wyatt Bruce
(not pictured Bill & Bob)
The end to a perfect day was placing a call to my good friend in Arlington. Magic Jack certainly worked the magic in getting to connect with Sandra.
Proud Papa. He used Cerveza instead of foam
Throwing buckets of water at passing cars.
Jose’s wife adding finishing touches to the hanging for Bill
Our neighbors from Hawaii
Santa Ana A local woodcarver from San Antonio was referred to us by the owners of La Mirage. Saint Anne or Santa Ana is the saint for Cotacachi. Each town has designated its own saint. Santa Ana is alleged to be the grandmother of Christ. Our home has a small cubical above the front door where our beautiful saint will be placed and offer protection. We will have the statue and home blessed by a priest. I am amazed at the detail involved and the talent of the wood carvers artisans.
On Valentine’s Day, Bill decided he wanted to have an HOA get-together and hosted Valentine’s party much to my chagrin. We had reservations at La Mirage at 6 p and were meeting friends and I hate being late. Well, he pulled it off and everyone seemed to have a good time.
