One Friday morning, we went with our tutor, Bertha, to Gualaceo, which is a small artisanal city outside of Cuenca. One fun part about the experience was taking a bus to the bus terminal and then a bus to Gualaceo. It's $0.10 a person just to pass through the turnstile to get to where the buses are. While riding the bus, a few vendors stood up to sell their products. One person was just selling chocolates but had quite the sermon to go with it. The earnestness was quite intense, I just wish I could understand what was being said. Another person sold oils and ointments and another a layered pudding dessert. Always be selling!
The museum, if it can be called that, was really quite interesting. Basically it was a home of a very industrious family with all sorts of stuff. The weaving is so interesting, I can't believe how quick the fingers of the artists move! I bought an 11x14" loom ages ago with the intent of making some woven art hangings, but I only did about 1-2" of one... so maybe I'll pick that up when we get home?
We all enjoyed learning about the dyes themselves. The dyes are made from plants and insects and then set with charcoal. The girls got to mix a bit of dye in the palms of their hands. When the woman added baking powder, the mixture fizzed and changed color.
One part of our visit was the shop. I would really love to buy my girls (and myself!) traditional Ecuadorian skirts but they are really expensive. For a skirt for me, we're looking at $150 and for the girls $75. Maybe I should be less of a tightwad but I'm struggling with that price. Anyways, they loved dressing up. One part of the visit that I didn't like was I felt pressure to buy. I did eventually buy a red and white scarf that I'll put on my dining room table. Maybe it was a good thing to be pressured? I'm happy with my purchase for sure. Sometimes when I'm traveling and looking for the perfect thing, I end up not buying anything (France I'm looking at you!).
Other industries happening in this home were fish and raising cuyes. Yup guinea pig! In this one little house, there were about 40-50 cuyes!
PS: I LOVE the countryside of Ecuador! It is so beautiful!
