Chico de Salasaca...Today we spent on the road visiting several tourist stops. La Cienega and Technirose Plantation were located just outside of Quito -- about a thirty-minute bus ride. Driving outside of the city of Quito, we passed hundreds of broken-down houses and yards with garbage strewn across the yard. It really made an impression on me, although it was hard to ride on the bus in peace because one of my program mates was talking in a non-stop drivel about useless things like television shows and how much she loves to smoke weed.
All of my frustrations aside, the ride to La Cienega was great and once we got there it was even greater -- I roamed around the flower plantation recording some of the numerous bird songs, took a few pictures, and meditated in the serene space of plants and flowers. Everywhere there were roses of white, red, and pink. The air was thick and moist and the trees outside the greenhouse tents swayed on the summery breeze. I closed my eyes and listened to the birds and it felt wonderful -- I imagined myself at the middle of the world, everything was okay, and everything was where it was meant to be.
Catching up later with the group, we had tea, coffee, and hot chocolate inside the plantation home. The plantation was like heaven on earth and had all the amenities that anyone should ever want. There were two beautiful gardens out front and inside the mansion, there was a courtyard that had bunches of vibrant flowers, and fountains spraying water everywhere. The place was set up like a hacienda -- the structure itself was in the shape of a square (three halls of hotel rooms and then the main lobby as the front of the building) -- and there was even a church built into the compound on one of the sides of the interior courtyard. Right after we had tea and coffee, we heard a musical performance of a Ecuadoran folk band that played traditional songs of Ecaudor and South America -- how excellent! I took the opportunity to record these guys (the name of their group is called Cotopaxi) and their set was truly amazing. When they played a song called El Condor Pasa I got goosebumps. El Condor Pasa is a traditional South American song written in Peru (only later to be exploited by the likes of Paul Simon in his rendition in which he enforces the English language on an otherwise South American song).
After the plantation, we visited an indigenous village named Salasaca. Salasaca is a village inhabited by about two thousand Salasaca Indians -- famous for their tapestries and history. This indigenous group (which was once located in Bolivia and was conquered by the Incas and forced to move, thereby being less of a risk for the Incan empire) was truly great. The picture above is one of a young Salasaca boy who was unforgettably adorable. Our experience at Salasaca was amazing -- they played us some of their folk music (which I also recorded), they showed us how to collect wool onto a spindle by hand (I have a picture of this), they showed us how to weave some of their tapestries with their hand-made loom, and they also fed us wonderful Salasaca food ( a quite transcendent meal if I do say so).
After our visit to Salasaca, we went to stay the night in a huge hacienda near Patate. Nestled precariously in a steep valley, the Hacienda Leito was just like the plantation mansion at La Cienega -- there was everything there that anyone should ever want. The views of the landscape were amazing -- smoky glimpses of the famous Volcán Tungurahua (a titanic volcano that is about five thousand meters tall), verdant pastures, and a really impressive garden.
Once we got to the hacienda, it was about time for dinner -- we had a traditional Ecuadoran meal of potatoes, rice, and meat. A great end to a great day.
