Ecuador 4/1/12

Sunday 4/1/2012 - Palm Sunday

Today was Palm Sunday, the first day of Semana Santa (Holy Week). We woke up at 7 a.m. and got ourselves ready for breakfast. We could hear birds chirping, and one was really squawking.

We met the family outside in the courtyard at around 8 o'clock. Sisa was riding on her toy car. She went into Aida's room and emerged with the stuffed bee we had given Yupanqui on our last visit. She gave us hugs and said Buenos Dias.

In the daylight we were able to see a lot of changes to the property which hadn't been so visible at night. They had poured a concrete patio behind the house. This area had been broken up concrete and muddy for Sisa's baptism. Now it was much easier to keep clean. They had also moved the outdoor sink area further back from the house and under some trees. We saw Max the dog, as well as a new gray and white kitten, which they call "Chipi" ("kitty" in Kichwa).

We met the source of some of the morning's chirping - a green parrot called "Loro" ("parrot " in Spanish)! Antonio told us that it wasn't theirs and actually belonged to someone who lived across the ravine. But somehow, even with clipped wings, it made its way to their house and chose to stay there. It has been with them for the past 6 months. Even when they had returned it to its owner, it hopped its way down into the ravine and back up the other side to their house again. The family feeds him like they do their other animals, and he is now just part of the family.

There was also a huge white rooster strutting around the yard, and rumor had it that he would be eaten before the week was out.

They no longer have the two cows that we knew from our last visit. They told us that one of them died from falling off a hillside while still attached to his rope. They now have a new cow. We saw him in the side yard in the morning and across the street in the afternoon. They had also gotten another little dog friend for Max but that died as well. It seems to have been a difficult year for animals.

We marveled at the height of the corn stalks (10 feet) and the calla lilies (4 feet) around the property.

We gave Sisa a Bedtime Dora the Explorer doll, and we gave Yupanqui a toy dump truck. Sisa said gracias unprompted. They played with their new toys for a while and then we went into the kitchen for breakfast.

We immediatey noticed that they had new kitchen cabinets and they now have a microwave. The place looked great! We had croissants and an omelet with fresh green peppers. The parrot sat on their fence waiting for food, and they fed him a piece of bread, which he took from them in his talons.

Aida was getting dressed up in her traditional Otavalan clothes, and Sisa was still in her fancy clothes from last night's trip to greet us at the airport. Antonio was gathering medicinal plants to bring to Mass for a blessing. We realized that we were going to Palm Sunday Mass, so we ducked back into our room for a quick clothing change.

Craig wore a collared shirt and a pair of khaki pants. I wore a mashup of traditional and modern clothes. I had brought my embroidered blouse from the baptism, and I paired it with a peasant skirt as I didn't have enough room in my luggage to bring all the layers of wool needed to dress up fully Otaveleña-style. I tied my embroidered blue belt around my waist. Rosa asked if I had brought my gold bead necklace. I hadn't, so she loaned me one. I knelt down so that she could put it on me.

We went out to the street and got into the back of a pickup truck to Quiroga. My outfit got a lot of looks from the locals. We walked around the square. The digital clock which had perpetually flashed an incorrect time on previous visits was now blank. We stood on a corner waiting for the bus to Cotacachi. We all got seats on the bus, and Sisa sat on my lap. This was something she wouldn't do last year. She really seemed to have grown up a lot at now almost age 4.

Yupanqui was very playful with us. A tourist had taught him to offer his hand and then pull it away before you could slap him five, and Yupanqui delighted in doing this. He left us hanging! In addition to saying "hola", he often says "Dah-dee". We laughed and said he is speaking English. They all got a kick out of that and throughout the trip Antonio would encourage him to say it.

They told us that Yupanqui had been very sick recently. He had diarrhea for a month, and then didn't eat for a week. A week before our arrival they had to take him to the hospital via ambulance at 10:30 p.m. for a high fever. They said he was always crying, which is very uncharacteristic of his usually sunny disposition. Now he eats everything in sight, and they are happy to have him rebuild his strength.

When we got to Cotacachi, we walked to the square (Plaza de la Matriz). Though they have a gorgeous church here (Iglesia de La Matriz), today's Palm Sunday Mass was being held outside. It was a carnival atmosphere, with people selling food, ice cream, balloons, cotton candy, etc. They had a band and a singer and speakers to broadcast it to the crowds on the church steps and bleachers. Sisa had brought her new Dora doll with her. Yupanqui seemed to love the doll as well and wanted to hold it.

Antonio bought the kids some cotton candy, and Sisa gave some to Craig and me. The family consumed it very rapidly. They rang the church bells, and Mass started at around 10:30. At the beginning and ending of the Mass, people brought their medicinal plant bundles to be blessed by the priest, who sprinkled holy water on them. This was very similar to the blessing that the shaman had provided on a previous visit.

We found this Palm Sunday Mass to be an interesting combination of colonial Catholic custom and indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants. A very small procession passed by. Traditionally dressed girls were carrying flags and men carried a "float" depicting Jesus which they set down just to our left, partially obstructing our view of the Mass. Another "float" depicted Jesus carrying the cross.

There was a band with brass, accordion, guitars, etc. They were dressed in blue mariachi-type uniforms. The Mass was very nice. The sun was shining and it was beautiful pleasant weather, though the midday equatorial sun did give us a bit of a sunburn.

Rosa got the kids some ice cream. The congregation prayed and sang in Spanish, but there was also a very nice duet sung in Kichwa. The a capella song reminded us of Bhutanese music. When it came time to shake hands, it seemed everyone seated near us on the stairs wanted to shake our hands. They were all quite friendly. At the conclusion of Mass, they blessed the plants once again.

Antonio bought us each a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone. As we walked back to the bus station, we stopped into a little tienda to buy some Gatorades. The family also stopped at a produce stand where they bought apples and papachinas.

Yupanqui was tired, and sat down hard on the sidewalk. Then he flopped onto his back. I took a chance that he was too tired to object to being picked up by me, and I was right. Aida smiled as I carried him.

We ate the apples as we walked to the bus. We took the bus to Quiroga for 25 cents apiece and then caught a collective pickup truck home, arriving at 12:30. Antonio had a 2 p.m. soccer game for his weekly league, so he left immediately.

Rosa and Aida made lunch. We had soup, cabbage, potatoes, and meat with onions. They made fresh lemonade. After lunch we gave some outfits to Aida: some cargo pants, jean shorts, and some shirts for Yupanqui, and a tunic top and leggings and some jeans with heart shaped back pockets for Sisa. We had noticed that Yupanqui is quite tall (almost as tall as Sisa) and we hoped everythihng would fit. We told Aida that if they didn't fit, feel free to give them to somebody else who could use them. She looked at me like I was crazy.

Antonio's mother Abuelita wasn't around. We hadn't seen her since we arrived. At first we feared the worst, but Antonio told us that she had just gone to Baños for the day.

We took out the small photo album we had brought from home and showed them and chatted. Sisa drew in a notebook. Almost every page was covered with obsessively drawn circles either around the perimeter or covering the entire page. She also made suns. She obviously has very good fine motor skills for her age.

Sisa played with us. Chipi the kitten loved Craig and his alpaca wool sweater. It nestled into his arms while he sat in the kitchen. They fed the parrot some potatoes. He totally knew and trusted the family but was skittish of Craig and me.

Antonio got home and played music. We danced with Sisa alternately putting one foot or the other into the circle. Sisa was very huggy and kissy. She laughed when Craig's whiskers tickled her face.

Antonio brought over a large game board of snakes and ladders that 20 American students had given to him when they volunteered. Sisa, Craig, Antonio, and I played. Craig won the game.

Then it was time for dinner. We had soup with popcorn, juice, and family style rice, red cabbage, choclo tostado, and a salad of peas, carrots, and cauliflower. There was a bug and Antonio and Sisa played with it. Craig teased Sisa and made her think he put it on her head. She freaked out at first but then dissolved into giggles when she realized he was just teasing her.

Aida took a palm and braided it into Antonio's hair. We thought that maybe this was some kind of tradition and wondered about its meaning, but before we coud ask, they snipped the ends off the palm and then removed it from the braid.

We went to the guest room at around 9:30. I wrote in the journal and we went to bed at 10 o'clock.