Ecuador

With a runny nose, a hurting jaw and headache, I am sitting on the bed in the guest room of my son’s house and process the first four days of my stay in Ecuador! I got sick! It might have been the change of altitude (nearly 2,500m high) or I was catching something on the plane ride or simply am forced to stay for a while inside and rest.

Three months ago, I became a grandmother of Rio Amadeo.

The family is living in a typical compound of houses surrounded by a high wall and a large entrance gate, only possible to open with a key. Different to Arizona, the houses share a common garden area and are not separated by a wall. Every day a gardener comes and cares for the lush vegetation and the huge grass areas.

The houses are built of bamboo and mud and each house has a different design. Every corner is rounded and warm, red brown tiles cover the floor. Wooden, warm brown beams on the ceiling accent the white, irregular clay walls, which are so thick that the temperature stays the same day and night. They do not need heating of cooling. Each house has its own septic system which means that the toilet paper is collected in a waste bin.

Mari cooking lunch

A typical middle-class household in Ecuador also employs a maid who cooks, cleans, washes laundry and does all the housework. The families here are very close and very tribal. Most of the people are Mestizos, of mixed race between Incas and the Spanish conquerors.

For the few days I am here, I get to enjoy the variety of fruit – today, we got fresh squeezed juice from “Tomato de Arbol” the tree tomatoes. In the market you can buy babaco belonging to the Papaya family, the golden colored Ciruela, which is a type of a plum, Guayaba and Granadilla, a passion fruit and much more! The bananas are especially delicious!

The month of February is rainy season, but since I am here it hardly rained. Only heavy, dark clouds cover the sky. When the sun comes out, it is very hot and bright! Hat and sunglasses are a must – especially for visitors.

During the last couple of days, I did some exploration outside of the compound. “Take walking sticks with you” my son suggested. It is not really safe to walk alone as a woman!  “With sticks, at least you can ward off aggressive dogs or maybe thieves”. I did not need it!

Entrance to Chaquiñan

I followed a beautiful old train track transformed into a community walkway called  Chaquiñan from the town Puembo to Cumbaya. The entire way is 44km long. However, I was already feeling sick and did only several km of hike.  It was a fascinating walk!

On the one hand, I felt like I was walking in my home area in Austria through deep clay gorges overgrown with vegetation.

On the other hand, the vegetation reminded me of Arizona – huge Agave plants and a plant growing in our garden (I forgot the name), prickly pear and other desert plants growing wild.

With a foggy mind

I walk down the sandy street

deep gorge down below

The trumpet tree with abundant yellow blossoms was growing along the way and many other plants I do not know the names for. A motor saw in the far distance disturbed the peace in the beginning but, luckily, it stopped.

Chiche River down below

The view down into the steep, green valleys with the winding Chiche River was spectacular. After walking through three dark tunnels, I returned. I felt a bit sick already and was happy to be able to rest.

I loved the structure of the clay walls overgrown with moss

Beside the tunnel there was a steep path with stairs up the hill

I have an interesting view from my bedroom window to an agricultural area, where corn and other vegetables are growing. Every day, a man is working in the field, hunched over, patiently working with a weeding tool in the large field. I am so impressed by this slow and careful pace!

The garden is a paradise for birds, butterflies and bees. The last couple of days, a huge flock of swallows were flying low to catch insects. A row of blackberries is growing along the high fence. Two days ago, my son and I picked the ripe black fruit everybody else ignores and we made 3 jars of blackberry jam.

Low flying swallows

Underneath a cloudy sky

pain in jaw and head

I just tested – I have Covid!