We live just a few minutes from a great free museum that also has incan ruins, an incan garden and an aviary. We've walked over there twice and I hope to go a couple more times! The outside area is really pretty and so fun to walk around. The girls loved the aviary. I'm trying hard to get outside despite the rain.

Inside the museum is an exhibit about the Shuar tribes of the Amazon. The Shuar people shrink the heads of their enemies and in the museum, there are a few different shrunken heads on display. It's pretty bananas. Shrunken human heads are now illegal, but there's still black market demand. A part of the Shuar culture that still exists is an initiation into manhood. A boy goes into the jungle with a green plantain. Before the plantain ripens, he must return with a shrunken head of a sloth. The lighting of the exhibit prevented me from taking any great photos of the shrunken heads, so you'll just have to google that!

Almost daily, I find all my daughters hanging out in the pantry. I'm not entirely sure what is so amazing about this room, but it seems to lure them in. Maeve is constantly getting in there to chew on whatever she can find and when Holly and Greta are in the pantry, Maeve will throw a big stink to be included. Maybe it's the microwave? We haven't had one in our home for over 5 years so I think it seems to be magical to my daughters, Holly especially. Holly has heated up countless mugs of water and the girls like to make "carrot cake" by slicing carrots and microwaving them. It's hilarious! I couldn't help but capture a few pictures of my three girls all hanging out. It's really sweet to watch their sisterhood grow. 

If someone is brushing their teeth within view of Maeve, she has to have a toothbrush herself! The other day, I found her sitting on the couch with Greta giving Greta's teeth a brush and occasionally her own. I had a good laugh about that. Maeve is developing a stronger sense of self right now. And we totally indulge her!

A week and a half ago, we went to a crazy huge market here in Cuenca. It was honestly bananas and not my favorite experience. I'm not a big shopper and this place was kind of overwhelming. We did buy a fleece blanket for the girls' bed and I bought a pair of sweatpants. We found some local spice called achiote.

Conor returned to this market one Saturday at 7am with a local family to observe how they do their weekly shopping. They spend $40 and that's almost all their groceries for the week! Feria Libre is supposed to be a really cheap place to shop, but it's too much for me!

On Tuesdays and Fridays, one can be cleansed at the market for $3. We went one Friday with out tutor and I tried it out. It's a mixture of Catholic and Aboriginal beliefs.

First, a bouquet of medicinal plants and herbs is rubbed and torn to release the fragrance. The lady held the bouquet to my face for three deep inhales and then she began to whack my body with it while chanting. The whacking doesn't hurt, but it really isn't soft either. She used a strong hand. My whole upper body was thwacked multiple times, including lifting my arms to get my side body. Maeve was extremely concerned as she watched this happen and squawked and panicked a bit. When I had been sufficiently whacked, an egg was then rubbed over my body, my eyes, my face, my arms, my chest, my stomach (against the skin) and my low back (against the skin). She drew crosses with eggs on my forehead and eyes. Then the lady cracked the egg into a plastic bag, held it up to examine it and read it. She told me that I'm worried and I need to relax (so accurate). The next step included liquid (alcohol of some kind) that was super fragranced like flowers. The perfume was poured into my hand where I was encouraged to breath deeply of the smell. Then the lady poured some on my head and rubbed it in. Ok, here's the crazy part. Then she put some of the liquid in her mouth and spat/sprayed it on my bare stomach and back and the back of my neck. That was an odd experience. Last of all, to close the energy doors to my body, crosses were drawn with charcoal on my forehead, stomach and the nape of my neck. 

A truly interesting experience! There were many small children and babies cleansed while we were there. When we asked some of our local friends about it, they were like, ya, we do that every week. Their kids too. I'm not sure that I'll do it again because I'm sensitive to smells and I didn't love smelling so strongly. If I did do it again, I'd do it on the day before a hair wash day! But, I want to take Conor to the market on a Tuesday or Friday so that he can experience this very interesting and very different experience.