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Sun 8th Jan
Sunday is market day in a town called Saraguro which is about 3 hours south of Cuenca. We decided to go there as it would be interesting to see the indigenous people, the Saraguro people, coming into town from the surrounding countryside for the market. The Saraguro people originally lived in Peru but ended up here in the 1470s due to the Inca Empire's system of resettlement. We got an early start and were at the bus terminal by 7.15 (I hate getting up early!) and there was a bus at 7.45 which of course left a little late at 8! We had originally planned to stay in Saraguro but after considering the time we have we decided to just spend the day there and then continue onwards you see, plans are made then changed! We were able to leave our backpacks in a restaurant and wander around the town, which was surrounded by beautiful hilly countryside.
Although not everyone in the town wears it, the Saraguro people have traditional dress and many were wearing it. It is the first place that I have seen men also in traditional dress. They wear black hats (a bit like a panama hat), black ponchos and knee-length black shorts. They also often had long hair, as did a lot of the boys. The women wear either black hats or broad-brimmed white hats, black shawls pinned with a 'tupis', black long skirts and colourful beaded collars 'chakiras'.
We had lunch at the restaurant we'd left our bags, an almuerzo for about $2 each- bargain! We decided on our next plan of action whilst enjoying ice-creams in the sunny square then booked a place to stay in Vilcabamba, about 3 hours south of Saraguro. We got a bus and changed in Loja. On the way there it started raining, though I wasn't surprised as Katy (a lady I'd met in several places in Ecuador) had told me there'd been quite a lot of rain while they were there recently. The bus ran out of petrol just outside Vilcabamba so the driver's assistant ran off to get some and came back with a petrol can and a piece of hose! Our hostel, le Rendez-Vous, seemed very nice (recommended by Katy) and I was looking forward to seeing it in daylight without pouring rain!
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Hui Hi Keelin,You can register the kids on the day you arvire at VBS if you want to. I'm not sure why the form isn't on the website. I will try to get it uploaded before the end of the week. If you have questions, call me at the church: 208-773-4621. We look forward to your kids coming! Thanks!