Today we took a day-trip out of the town to visit the Inca ruins at Ingapirca. On the way we saw lots of mountains and people in their traditional outfits tending sheep and llamas - and the women washing their clothes in the rivers. It really was pretty.
We also stopped at a church high up on a hill with a magnificent view.
The ruins themselves were pretty cool – they were the Inca Temple of the Sun dating back 600 years and also a Temple of the Moon from a much older civilization, dating back 3,000 years. From the air the 2 complexes form the shape of a puma!
We also visited the ‘Inca Face’ which is hewn into the Cliffside a short distance from the temples. Nobody knows how old it is, or if indeed it’s Inca or from an older time.
We were joined on the trip by 2 lovely Norwegians, Linda, 42 and her daughter Rebecca, 17, who are spending 9 weeks in Ecuador learning the language and working on various animal conservation projects. We got on well so invited them to join us for dinner back in town in the evening.
We’d decided that as we were in Ecuador we ought to try the local specialty of Cuy…that’s Guinea Pig – yep, the cute cuddly type that people keep as pets!
They come roasted and taste a bit like chicken crossed with Pork. They’re also quite greasy, chewy and gristly – so not particularly pleasant to eat – but when in Rome!
We followed the main course with a dessert of cheese in treacle, which was odd, and the local tipple ‘Canelazo’ which is served hot in a tea pot and drunk out of shot glasses – it was really strong and made us all quite merry – the tea pot lasting out to 4 or 5 shots each, a $5, bargain!
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment