Chobshi...House of the Moon

Several weeks ago we were lucky enough to be invited on another interesting day trip by our good friends Glenn and Mara Gano.  This trip was being offered through the culture class they were taking at Coffee Club Spanish.  In fact, Glenn and Mara had already taken this trip once before, and had enjoyed it so much that they decided to do it again.  For a much more detailed description of the trip, including a short video, please check out Mara's July 2015 post on her blog site...Los Gano de Cuenca.  You can find a link to it on the right hand side of this page.

Chobshi is a small town located in the Andes Mountains.  In this town you can visit a small museum, see Canari ruins, and participate in a tradicional feast called Pachamanka.  The food for this traditional feast is cooked in a pit.  Rocks are first heated in a fire and then placed in a pit lined with fresh alfalfa.  Next, chicken wrapped in banana leaves, a variety of vegetables...including carrots,  potatoes, white corn and plantains, and, pineapples are placed in the pit.  More hot rocks and alfalfa are placed between each layer of food.  When the pit is full, it is covered with a final layer of alfalfa and then a cloth.  Dirt is placed on top of the cloth so the steam, which is used to cook the food, can't escape.  It takes about an hour or more for the food to cook.  When it's done, you have a delicious meal.

The picture above shows people helping to line the pit with alfalfa.  Below are pictures of Lance and Glenn, helping to transport rocks from the fire to the pit.  Everyone is encouraged to help out.  

Our friend, Terry, was chosen to place flowers on top of the pit.  

While our food cooked, we took a tour of the surrounding area.

 Above and below are pictures of the Canari ruins.  

When we returned from our tour, they removed the dirt, cloth, rocks and alfalfa and began taking each layer of food out of the pit.

Terry's wife, Chiyemi, was asked to take the first bite of a cooked  potato.  

The food was very good and everyone enjoyed their meal.  After eating, we had a chance to visit the small museum located on the grounds.  Inside were many different artifacts found in the area, including pieces of pottery and other interesting items.  After the museum tour, some of us decided to take a short hike to a canyon located nearby.  The rest decided to relax in the shade.   

Here are Mara and me posing for a picture near a site that usually has a waterfall.  Due to the dry conditions, all we saw was a slow drip from above.  Below is a picture of the people that hiked to the canyon.  The boy and girl in the picture are the children of the teacher from Coffee Club Spanish. 

In other news:

We continue to stay busy with all the sights and sounds of Cuenca.  Most recently we were walking home after our day trip when we came upon yet another church festival.  Although we were tired from the days activities, we couldn't resist staying to see the dancers, the "crazy cow," and the fireworks tower.  This is one of the many reasons we love living close to El Centro.

The "crazy cow" is a crowd favorite.  It runs in and out of the crowd while fireworks explode from it and sparks shower down upon the people.    

At one point, another participant acts as a matador, and the cow charges at him while he swings a cape.  

Then, they light the firework tower.  

Every day I go for a walk to stay in shape.  My usual route takes me to Parque El Paraiso.  One day, I saw them emptying the lagoon, so they could clean it.   It was an amazing sight.  This is just one example of how they keep their parks clean.

In Parque Madre, they take trees that have died and turn them into sculptures.  The artist in the photo below jumps down to look at his clay model to see how to proceed with his carving.

Recently, a group of us took a bus to a restaurant on the outskirts of the city.  Suddenly, two young men from Colombia hopped on the bus and began playing Santana's song, Oye Como Va with an electric guitar and bongo drums.   For just a small voluntary donation, we were entertained for part of our ride out of El Centro.

So, I have to ask...What's not to love about living in Cuenca, Ecuador?!?