Chordeleg and beyond

For us, Chordeleg would be the furthest from Cuenca we would travel on our journey.  It is a town that has been a jewelry making center since before the Incas.  In Ecuador, many of the small towns retain the "guild system" that was brought here by the Spanish.  Ecuador is a treasure trove of these types of towns, but because many of the young people are opting for life in the larger cities so many of these skills and trades are going the way of the Incas.

In Chordeleg the master metalworkers produce excellent silver, nickle and brass jewelry.  It's only about 45 minutes from Cuenca so of course we had to go there!  It's a small picturesque town with the street literally lined with jewelry stores.  We had prearranged a driver to take us there, which was very helpful given we needed translation assistance to negotiate our purchases.  Our driver, Miguel and I stood around and chatted after we turned Jana loose to do her thing.  

Of course, as in any Ecuadorian town or village there is a beautiful parque in the center of town, and a gorgeous Catholic church somewhere close by.

After doing Jana's dirty work and negotiating her purchases for her,  somehow I managed to escape Chordeleg with a little bit of cash left in my wallet.   She did buy some beautiful handcrafted pieces of silver jewelry and we got a gorgeous Alpaca throw blanket for those chilly winter evenings back at home.  

We climbed back in the car and headed back towards Cuenca.  Along the way we passed through the town of Gualaceo, another guild town only a few miles from Chordeleg.  Gualaceo is known for it's leather goods, especially shoes.  Since the people here are quite a bit smaller than I, the largest shoes they typically make are a US size 11, so my 13-14 sized foot was just out of luck, and Jana already has a closet full of shoes so we opted to take a walk through the town park along the river instead of shopping.  My wallet was still hurting from the last stop, so I know it was relieved to hear that news.  As has been the standard here, especially on the weekends, we observed families out enjoying the day in the park together along the banks of the Rio Santa Barbara.  

The kids were having a blast learning how to drive!

As we strolled back towards the car we enjoyed watching the people, and even some puppy dogs, taking in the beautiful Sunday afternoon in the parque.

From Gualaceo we headed back to Cuenca.  Jana put together a snack pack and some vino and we headed down to Rio Tomebamba to listen to the water rush over the rocks.  The Tomebamba originates in the mountains of the Cajas National Park and is one of four rivers that flow through Cuenca.   Cuenca boasts the cleanest public drinking water in all of South America, and it has the Tomebamba to thank for that.   

We weren't the only ones enjoying the beautiful day along the river bank.

Video of the river flowing by - click here.


Once our Gateraide bottle was empty, we were both feeling a little hungry.  So we walked up to the Inca Bar and Lounge overlooking the Tomebamba.  Walked in and it was a gringo hangout, with gringos watching NFL games on the big screens.  We settled in and were greeted by the owner, Mike.  He told us he had made ribs but the meat fell off the bone so he was making sandwiches from the rib meat.  We told him we'd help him get rid of it. ;)

Then we met Joanne, who was with Flu.  No, not with THE flu, her husband named Flu.  They are retired gringos who have lived in Cuenca for a little over two years.  Really great folks.   We joined them on the patio till closing time..., which fortunately on Sunday night was 6 p.m.  Then it was back to the apartment for an early evening.  We had missed our daily siesta after all. 

Hasta manana!