Ecuador: 1/12/2018 - 1/27/2018

Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - Sonam goes hiking at Lake Cuicocha

This morning Antonio guided a group of Colombian scientists on a small hike at Lago Cuicocha (Guinea Pig Lake), and Sonam was able to join them.

They caught the 7:15 a.m. bus (which stops right in front of the house) to Quiroga, where they met up with the Colombian group. They then took a collectivo pick-up truck to the lake. Of course Sonam immediately made friends with the group, even though they spoke limited English.

Cuicocha is a crater lake which was formed by a volcanic eruption over 3000 years ago. Luckily the rain held off for their visit. Though it was foggy at first, the fog lent an ethereal feel to the atmosphere. They visited the small museum and hiked up to see the Incan solar and lunar calendars, as well as the place where offerings were made.

It cleared up a bit before they left, affording them a view of the 2 small islands, one of which resembles a guinea pig, and is said to be how the lake got its name. There is another theory that the name is a corruption of the Kichwa word Kuychikucha, or "rainbow lake."

I worked this morning while Sonam was on his adventure. For breakfast, we had potato and egg pancakes with ham, coffee, yogurt, and fresh juice. Our power went out for about half an hour at around 11 o'clock, but I was still able to connect to work via my cell phone even when the router was down. This was good to know, as sometimes the internet can be unreliable here, but cell reception is pretty constant.

Sonam and Antonio returned home before lunch. Sonam had a wonderful time, and we were very glad that he got this chance. He excitedly showed us all the photos he had taken. He would have preferred a longer trek, but he should have that opportunity next week when our dear friend Felipe visits.

For lunch we had rice, stir fried beef, and melloco (a tuber which has been eaten in the Andes since Pre-Columbian times.) We also had fried eggplant (berenjena in Spanish, a word that I can never remember...benihana? No that's not right...) For dessert we had a slice of watermelon purchased from the fruit truck yesterday.

The weather started to brighten up a bit after lunch. When I was done with work for the day, the sun was out in all its glory. It was quite warm after the damp chill of the last four days.

Juanita the pig, whom I couldn't find earlier in the day because she was sleeping under a black tarp which was laying on the ground, was now on top of the black tarp, taking advantage of its absorption on the sun's rays. Pig learns to use tools...amazing.

I helped Yupanqui with his homework. He worked studiously for 90 minutes on reading and writing. We decided that with the weather finally being nice and with him having spent so much time doing homework while his sisters played outside, it was the perfect time for his special gift: a large plastic front end loader. This was similar to the large metal Tonka trucks of Craig's youth, only of course now made of plastic. Yupanqui has been known to be hard on toys, so we hoped that it was durable enough. We needn't have worried; Yupanqui loved it and treated it with the utmost respect. He played with it but made sure that it didn't get dirty, and he would even sleep with it at night! He was very grateful and it was nice to see him so happy.

We are so impressed with the kids and how much they are growing and maturing:

  • Sisa is taking English classes in Otavalo every Saturday. She is by far the youngest student in the class, and her teacher is so impressed that she is recommending advanced classes next year. She is practicing her English with us and Sonam, and is even writing us notes in English.

  • Yupanqui is a sweetheart, and is maturing nicely. He loves one on one attention. He needs encouragement with regard to schoolwork, so we are trying to coach him. He is curious about English, learning vocabulary from Sisa and often asking us how to say certain things.

  • Shina is much more independent and talkative than in the past. She also is picking up English words. As usual, she listens and absorbs everything. She is a cuddle bug and keeps us laughing.

Sonam is a great help to Rosa, helping with cooking and cleaning. And he is wonderful with the kids, entertaining them, keeping them laughing, and teaching them English songs and dances. He used his phone to teach the kids a song via Youtube. It was the English version on Frere Jacques. They sang the song using the kids' names, and Sisa properly swapped out "Brother John" with "Sister Shina!" We are so proud of her progress with English!

Javier helped Rosa around the house as well as helping Antonio with the ongoing plumbing upgrades. It was always a good opportunity for him to talk to Rosa and Antonio when working side by side with them. He could ask questions about their traditions. We did notice one interesting thing. Very often, we misunderstand things that Antonio says, in English and in Spanish. We attributed this to our less-than-perfect Spanish skills, and assumed that since he spoke Spanish, Javier would have no difficulty communicating with them. But this was not always the case. Sometimes he misunderstood their meaning as well. Sometimes we just take for granted that Antonio is a native Spanish speaker, when in actuality Spanish is his second language, with Kichwa being his primary language. Another fruit truck came by this afternoon, and both Rosa and Abuelita made purchases.

For dinner, we had soup, crispy fried chicken, llapingachos (potato patties), broccoli, and cauliflower. Although Sonam is a vegetarian, Rosa always makes sure that there are enough non-meat dishes to keep him well-fed. He grew up in a family of non-vegetarians, so he is used to filling up on rice and veggies.

After dinner, Sisa spontaneously wrote some English vocabulary along with its Spanish translation. She then wrote us a note on behalf of Shina. Yupanqui wrote us a note saying how much he loves us and asking us not to leave. He decorated it with hearts and flowers in every available space. The kids are all so sweet!

We continued to play with the kids for a while until it was time to retire to our rooms. Now that they have the new router, Craig gets a good connection from the casita. There was something wrong with my laptop's wireless card, so I was unable to pick up the signal from the casita, but that was fine. I was tired and climbed up to my top bunk and promptly went to sleep.




Lago Cuicocha
Group photo at the location where offerings were made

Group photo at the location where offerings were made (photo courtesy of Sonam Tshering)

Lago Cuicocha Selfie

Lago Cuicocha Selfie (photo courtesy of Sonam Tshering)

Yupanqui, Rosa, Shina, Cachupin, Sisa, and Abuelita

Yupanqui, Rosa, Shina, Cachupin, Sisa, and Abuelita waiting for the fruit truck

Yupanqui's new toy

Yupanqui's new toy

Achi Mama gives Shina a piggyback ride

Achi Mama gives Shina a piggyback ride

See all photos from January 17, 2018



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