CAÑAR AND INGAPIRCA, ECUADOR

Several weeks ago I went with my friend Eva to Cañar, a town about two hours from Cuenca and nearly 2,000 higher in altitude. I enjoyed Cañar more than any of the other towns around Cuenca I've visted. It was a rainy Sunday, nevertheless the market was very active. I've never experienced friendlier people. Cañar's population is mostly indigenous. The women above are wearing the traditional dress of the Cañari people. Their hats are rounder than the hats I usually see women wearing in Cuenca. Below are more photos taken at the market.

We ate lunch at the market, and this kindly women served us chicken soup as well as platters with fish and rice. We really enjoyed our almuerzo and talking with everyone at the table.

The following week we took another bus to the ruins at Ingapirca. We were stunned to find out the round trip fare for the trip was $7.00, and that there was no discount for being over 65 years, or "tercera de edad." The previous week we had gone all the way to Cañar and back for a mere $1.00. We quickly realized that we were being charged a higher rate than the Ecuadorians.  After all,  Ingapirca is a tourist destination. Those on the bus included many young Europeans. We decided to pay the fare and just enjoy the day. Below is a photo of the bus we were on.

Below is a photo of Eva and myself, taken before we took our tour of the ruins at Ingapirca.

Next is a photo of the young girl who was kind enough to take our photo, along with her friend.

Below everyone on the tour is crowded into a reproduction of a Cañari house. I enjoyed being with young Europeans on this tour. The day brought back many happy memories from my months traveling throughout Peru. The ruins in Peru were much more impressive, of course. However the ruins at Ingapirca are notable as well. I'm glad I finally got around to seeing them.

It would take less than a half an hour to scramble up to the Sun Temple at Ingapirca. We took longer because of the detailed tour our guide led us on. He did a great job. I am not going into a lot of the complexities that he described.

I liked that the Cañari people were matriarchal and worshiped the moon. They were reluctant to become part of the Incan empire, which was patriarchal. Eventually they did so however, as the result of a marriage between an Incan and a Cañari princess, among other things.

This rock has as many holes as there are days in a month, and the Cañari people used it as a calendar. Each day the moon shines on a different cavity in the stone.

All of the rocks below were taken by people from the ruins and later the rocks were retrieved. However, archeologists did not know where to place them so they were simply laid on the ground.

 These two children were playing with puppies and selling bracelets at Ingapirca.

We were lucky that we went to Ingapirca on such a beautifully warm and sunny day. The altitude is more than 10, 000 feet and it can be cold and windy there.  

The sun typically shines from the hills seen above onto niches carved into the sun temple at Ingapirca. Below, the different equinoxes and soltices are thus highlighted at the top of the sun temple. This coming weekend the Inti Raymi, or the “Festival of the Sun,” is celebrated on June 21.

There will be Inti Raymi celebrations here in Cuenca next weekend at the Pumapungo Museum and Arqueological Park, so it's OK that we were at Ingapirca a week before the event. We were grateful for the warm, sunny day we enjoyed. We had a quick lunch at Ingapirca, then caught a 1:30 bus back to Cuenca. The trip back was slower than the ride there. We finally returned at 4 pm.

Moving right along, Monday June 15, I moved into the place I am house sitting for six weeks. This place is gorgeous.  I am really enjoying this kitchen and look forward to having friends over for dinner here! Below is the living room.

 Below is the yard, which I am taking care of during the next six weeks. It's not a lot of work.

  And the kitchen is terrific.

This statue always takes me by surprise when I open the front door. I think someone is in the house. Well, the Buddha actually does reside here, it is true. At least I sure feel that way!

So now I'll wrap up this update. Thank you for taking the time to review my recent trips to the town of Cañar and the Ecuador's most famous ruins, those at Ingapirca. I'm also glad to be able to show you a few photos from the most recent house I am sitting. I'll be blogging again soon! Take care and I hope you're having a very good month.