Tuesday, January 23, 2018 - Visiting the family farmlandToday started out sunny. Before heading upstairs to my office to work, I took the opportunity to take some photos of the property in the sunshine. Cachupin was lounging around; letting the warmth of the sun penetrate his black fur. I walked to the cornfields in the back of the property, and took a photo of a little shrine to a saint in one of the outbuildings.I worked until breakfast was ready, and then met everyone in the kitchen for scrambled eggs with veggies, juice, coffee, and colada, a sweet hot drink made from oats which Rosa often makes for the kids. They enjoy its flavor and it is nutritious. The weather became overcast, chilly, and windy. Javier helped Antonio with the plumbing project. I worked in my office, and Sonam and Craig chatted with one another. The kids came home from school and played with Sonam and Cachupin. Abuelita returned home from gathering firewood, with a huge bundle of sticks on her back. This woman is hard-core. She does this pretty much every day. Shina helped Abuelita to feed the cuy (guinea pigs). Javier helped the kids with their homework, while Sonam cooked a pepper dish to accompany lunch. Due to my meeting schedule, I hade to eat lunch upstairs in my "office." Sonam brought me a bowl of cream of tomato soup with popcorn, followed by corn on the cob, cheese, and local potatoes with sambo seed sauce. He also provided a bowl of the fresh pepper dish that he had made. Delicious! By mid-afternoon, the sun came out again. Being on the equator, the sun makes all the difference, and in its direct rays it actually felt quite warm. Yupanqui played with the new truck that we had given us. We were amazed at how clean it was. We were impressed by how responsible he was, taking such good care of it. Antonio told us that he sleeps with it every night. After I was done with work for the day, I joined Sonam, Craig, and the kids outside to enjoy the sunshine. The kids picked flowers for us. Rosa suggested that we all take a walk down the road to the family's other plot of land, where they grow lupins, corn, and quinoa. Rosa wanted to pick some chochos to eat. These legumes, produced by the lupin plants, must be soaked extensively before eating. Chochos have been an Andean traditional staple food for thousands of years. It was a picturesque walk down the hill toward the farmland, with the surrounding mountains visible in all directions. Cachupin joined us. We passed eucalyptus trees and cornfields. The white puffy clouds made the bright blue sky look impressionistic. As we passed familiar plots of land, we noticed changes, some subtle and some more drastic, to people's homes. Sonam characteristically made friends with all dogs that we encountered along the way. There is a house which usually has a litter of puppies, and this time was no exception. The kids gazed wistfully at them as the mama dog made it clear that we needed to keep our distance. When we arrived at the family's plot of land, Rosa, Javier, and the girls searched for pods of mature chochos to pick. They were disappointed not to find many, as the birds had beaten them to it. Craig and I gave Sonam a tour of the property. Walking back from the road, we saw the lupins with their purple and white flowers and green pods, as well as corn. Though the family usually grows quinoa here as well, they have not had a successful quinoa crop in several years. At the back of the plot of land, there is a steep dropoff to a ravine, which is quite susceptible to erosion. Gazing down to the ravine, you can see the verdant river valley below. A few cows were grazing down there. The bright green vegetation and the bright blue sky were breathtaking in their intensity. Elusive "Mama" Cotacachi volcano showed her snow capped peak quite briefly, though it was difficult to capture on camera. When the family had picked as many chochos as they could find, we walked a bit further down the street to the sign welcoming people to the community of Morochos. Javier took some photos of Craig, Sonam, the kids, and me here. Then we all walked together back to the house. It was nice to get some fresh air and exercise, and to enjoy the sunshine with the family! Rosa and Sonam prepared dinner. Sonam prepared us some chili peppers from Rosa's garden by mixing them with cheese to satiate "Aji" Taita's cravings for chilies and cheese. The kids watched him with interest. While waiting for dinner to be ready, Sonam played some videos on his phone for the kids. We had soup, rice, beef, lentils, broccoli, and cauliflower for dinner, and then soon retired to our rooms as it was a weeknight and the kids had to get some sleep. Craig and I were on our computers when we heard Sonam speaking. The next thing we knew, there was a knock at the door. Sonam burst in and announced that he was on a video chat with Apa (his father), "Big Man" Dorji (his cousin), and other family members who were on a pilgrimage in Nepal. It was great to see them all again...to get a chance to say hello and reminisce about our time together in Bhutan. I told Big Man that I would dance with him again at the festival in 2019! We went to bed with sweet dreams of reuniting with our Bhutanese family next year! |
 Yupanqui picks flowers for us   Sisa picking chochos (lupins)  Welcome to Morochos See all photos from January 23, 2018 |
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