Follow the Journey

Thursday, October 13th, officially marks the one month anniversary of our group’s journey. Similar to the rest of the week we began the day with Spanish class from nine to one. After 4 hours of spanish, we were all ready for a delicious meal from our host families. Generally, almuerzo consists of a vegetable or chicken soup accompanied by tea and bread from the local panaderia. After a filling meal we were all ready for a well-deserved afternoon off. After a relaxing afternoon, the group held a surprise birthday celebration for Chary, who is one of the favorite teachers among the group. The group enjoyed cake, and recollected upon our trip thus far.
Friday was the final day of spanish classes in Peguche. In celebration of of our successful week of spanish classes the group strayed from the usual grammatical lessons and learned in an alternative way. We played spanish games with our teacher and classmates, and even taught our teachers some American games. After Spanish classes it was time for our first taste of Cui. Cui is guinea pig, and is a delicacy in both Ecuador and Peru. The Cui was masterfully prepared by Molly, Harvey, and Doug. After a surprisingly tasteful meal of guinea pig it was off to the afternoon activity. The afternoon activity taught us indigenous games played by both the Quechua Indians and the citizens of Peguche. The games themselves were nothing too out of the ordinary, they included; three legged race ( which was handily won by Will and Willy), A beanbag race, and a game of bean tossing. However, it did become quite interesting when it came to punishments for the losing team or player. Punishment ranged from carrying another person all the way across the field to the slapping of one another in the butt with a belt. After we learned about the indigenous games of Ecuador we went back to the homestays for dinner and conversation with the host families.
The Majority of the group awoke early on Saturday to visit the famed markets of Otavalo. Unfortunately, the group was short two crucial members. Both Jack and Paxton felt under the weather and spent the day resting up. However, for the group members that did attend the markets it was a blast! We first visited the animal markets, where Molly nearly bought a puppy for 5 dollars. The Animal market was interesting, however somewhat unsettling and has since prompted both Maddy and Hollyn to become Vegetarian for the rest of the trip. After the Animal market the group headed to the artisan markets. Booths selling everything from sweaters to sculpture lined the bustling streets. The group then split up for lunch, Willy, Molly, Hollyn, and I visited an American fast food restaurant called Willy´s for our first burger of the trip. The rest of the group headed to a Chinese restaurant which was reportedly ‘Lit.´ After filling meals the group walked back into Peguche. We had no activity planned for the afternoon. However, a few group members, including myself, went on a hike to the cascadas led by our nature expert Will. After a scenic hike it was time to head back for Dinner and conversation with our host families.
Today, was another early morning for the group has we took a bus up to a beautiful alpine lake, where we went on a guided hike for roughly two hours. After a difficult, but definitely worthwhile hike we drove into a small neighboring town for lunch and to explore a bit. Overall, Peguche was liked by all even those who struggled to say healthy. Stay tuned for next week’s blog.