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This week marks a very special event in my time in Ecuador as my Mom is here visiting!She arrived on the 6th and we will be traveling together until the 15th.Her first day here we spent a half-day in Guyaquil walking the boardwalk that looks out over the huge river basin.We also visited the Archaeological/Modern Art Museum before we hopped in a van and headed into the magnificent Andes!
Our ride from Guyaquil to Ecuador's lovely colonial city, Cuenca, took about 4.5 hours.The drive took us from the relatively flat coastal region of Ecuador, up into and through a beautiful section of the Andes mountain range, through Cajas National Park, and into Cuenca, which is also surrounded by beautiful peaks in every direction.
Any trip you take through the Andes will take you through outstandingly beautiful, species-rich ecosystems.The lower elevations are more tropical with taller trees, vines, and in general more dense vegetation.Once you make it up to about 1,500-2,500m you get into the Paramo.The Paramo is also very green, but overall the vegetation is less dense, there are more bushes and grass species, and the trees are notably shorter, (with the exception of the Eucalyptus trees which are quite prevalent in the mountains surrounding Cuenca).
Some things we observed along the way…running through major mountain crevices and cascading down mountain sides were beautiful waterfalls.We entered the fog layer in the tropical zone and all of a sudden we were driving along the road with 3-5m visibility.Personally I was very happy once we exited the fog layer and found ourselves getting into the Paramo.With the change in scenery came a change in climate!(Next time I go from 90° F to 55°F in 1.5 hours I am going to remember to wear more than just my little sundress ;-)
Cajas National Park was certainly the highlight of the drive.The park is in the Paramo zone with rich, green mountainsides, incredible rock cliffs, many showing 80°-90° drop-offs, and freshwater lagoons around every corner.Animals were observed wandering throughout the hills the entire way.These included llamas and alpacas, horses, donkeys, cows, sheep, dogs, and pigs.We even saw a woman walking a pig along the side of the road with a leash!Actually, it appeared to be quite common for Ecuadorian women and children (mostly), but also men, walking along the side of the road.This observance made for a festive feel as most are dressed in traditional clothing including festively colored wool skirts, leggings, sweaters, shawls, and hats.
Our first day in Cuenca took us to the Central Plaza to do some exploring of our own.We wandered upon all kinds of gorgeous churches, parks rich with exotic plant and tree species, and overall found ourselves distracted by plenty of artisan craft shops and markets.We walked past a luscious fresh flower market that lasted for a whole block, and I personally enjoyed the fact that there were cafes on almost every block!(Something I certainly miss about living in Corvallis or Portland)!
After lunch we found our way to the main museum in Cuenca, Museo Banco Central.Besides having an incredible Ethnology exhibit covering the many cultures in Ecuador, the museum also had a good exhibit covering the history of Ecuador's people including the Valdivian, Kanari, and Incan cultures (to name a few).Following the museum visit we ended the day by walking the grounds of Pumapungo Archaeological Park.The ruins are located next to the museum right in the middle of the city and still have much of the original stonework including pathways, houses, fireplaces, and aquaducts.THe grounds also have an honorary garden in which traditional medicinal herbs, plants, domesticated crops can be found.Also an incredible tropical bird exhibit is located on the grounds.Both of these nature exhibits signify the importance of agriculture, medicinal herbs, and animal symbology in both the Kanari and Incan cultures which occupied the grounds in our recent history.
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