That is exactly what I did this past Sunday. Gualaceo and Chordeleg were only a short and cheap bus ride away from the rush and noise of Cuenca. My friends and I boarded the bus in the early afternoon, and after an hour and sixty-five cents, we arrived in the sleepy little town of Gualaceo. This town is known for its shoe retailers; and we definitely saw tons of shoes for sale. Sneakers, boots, sandals, high heels, anything. Too bad I’m perhaps the only girl in the world who is not amazed by shoes (could be the summer I spent working at a shoe store as well!)
We explored the central plaza, which was reminiscent of a mini Parque Calderon, minus all of the trees. This plaza was bathed in sunlight that warmed the townspeople who were out and about for a Sunday excursion. A fountain stood in the center of the plaza, and the periphery was lined with old-looking colonial buildings (cafes, shops, etc.) My friend commented that it looked very old-style Mexican western movie, but I really have no prior knowledge, so I took her word for it.
We slipped into a church for a little bit, and I marveled at the difference between Latin American crucifixes and those of the USA. Lots of blood; they’re not afraid of depicting the story of Jesus’ crucifixion here. I asked a gentleman in the church who was depicted in the church’s main stained-glass window, and learned that it was the church’s patron, Santiago de Gualaceo. Or is it Saint Iago de Gualaceo?
After the church, we headed up a steep hill to get to the mercado. A woman in a bakery told us it was 5 blocks away. We just kept walking and walking, stopping and asking if we were near the market, and people just kept telling us it was a few more blocks. Well, eventually, we got there, and had a fabulous view of the mountains and the town below. That’s how Ecuadorians do 5 blocks! J
In the market, we saw tons of fresh produce, fish, and meat. We noted that it was once again mostly women doing the work. We entered the food court, where I purchased some typical Ecuadorian food…tortillas de choclo, an empanada de queso, and morocho. It was delicious…and each item cost 30 cents!
After lunch, we decided to catch the bus to continue our journey on to the next town, Chordeleg. Chordeleg is known for its silver jewelry and crafts, and upon arriving, we noticed that the streetlights here were decked out in gorgeous silver handiwork! Chordeleg is chock-full of joyerias (or jewelry shops) and the prices are actually very good. Despite all of the fabulous silver, I bought a beautiful white cotton dress to use as a cover-up for my future beach trip to the coast of Peru. My friend paired the dress with a colorful scarf, and I fell in love and just had to buy the pair for $19. I’m considering it a worthy investment.
We spent the remainder of our afternoon bopping around town and enjoying the nice weather. Ecuador has been getting rather warm lately, and it’s a bit surreal to be heading into the Christmas season while baking in the sun! I feel that I should be freezing my butt off and marveling at snow for it to be Christmastime. Ah, the experiences of travelling…
All in all, my Sunday was terrific, and we’re thinking of heading back to Chordeleg (and the neighboring SigSig) in the future.
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