One of my favorite parts of traveling is getting involved with the culture and finding out what is important to the people in that part of the world. I remember watching Indiana Jones as a kid and wanting to be that guy that could walk into a village and instantly connect with people (yes I may own a hat and whip). So apart from the salsa pictures we already posted (highly edited to not dissuade our viewers from following) here are a few of the other things we've been up to:
Visiting the Centro and trying foods. Sanduche de Pernil is a personal favorite.
We went to a Cuenca soccer game with Pepe, one of the LATE students we're working with. Dressed in the local garb ($5 street side jerseys), we had a blast, especially towards the end. The stadium wasn't in a good mood as the home team was down 3-1. After scoring on a free kick in the 85th minute to put us down 3-2, the opposing goalie, who had been flopping the whole game, decided to hold onto the ball. Our star defender wasn't having any of that, so logically communicated that with a swift right hook to the face. Both players ended up being ejected, setting up a wild finish where Cuenca was inches away from tying the score on a bicycle kick from the top of the box. Time then ran out, but not before we had a blast.
Ask any Cuencano and they all say the same thing: Cajas National Park is a must see. Just 45 minutes outside the city, we found ourselves hiking at 14000 feet with swirling fog, a beautiful lake, and gorgeous views of the steeper-than-you-can-believe Andes. Pictures nor words can really express the incredible beauty we experienced. Or maybe it's just that we're out of breath from the altitude.
Spending the day with your adopted Ecuadorean family eating fish would be amazing enough. But what if you also got to catch those fish? Sandro took us up to a stock pond, where the fish were the hungriest I've ever seen. We're not even telling a fishing tale when we say the longest it took to get a bite was 5 seconds of water time. Trust us, we did the research, it's what we do.
But of course, one must never forget their own culture. What's more American than Big Macs, KFC, and greasy pizza? God Bless the USA and all our supersizing. Happy Fourth of July from Cuenca, Ecuador!
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