Field Trip

We took a field trip today with our professora,  Dora.  The first hour of class, we spent at Parque de Rotary and the surrounding mercados. This was a few blocks from school. The plaza and Parque are relatively new and are a gathering place for events, holidays, etc. Off the plaza is a mercado area. The main point of interest was a series of tents that are home to indigenous women from the area on Wednesdays and Saturdays. These woman are curanderas. They are healers.  They use medicinal herbs and plants and spiritual methods that are centuries old.  I have studied the curandera history in Mexico and Nueva Mexico.  This was the first time to actually talk them to and watch actual treatment.

These woman brought herbs and plants that were tied into bunches. Apparently, when they come to Cuenca, they come to treat children.  It is practically a requirement to bring newborns to see the women. When we arrived, there were many people lined up with their children to see the curanderas. These people were from all stations in life. I took some pictures, from a distance, after most had left, to avoid being intrusive. The curanderas take the bundles of herbs (they stink to high heaven) and pat the children all over their bodies with the bundles.  They have a low voice chant while doing this. For the newborn, the have a raw egg mixture that is poured on their heads.  What struck me was the demeanor of these woman. They were in traditional garb and varied in age. From the youngest to the oldest, they had a calm, confident manner. Something in their training allows them to overcome a lot of hardship.

We are getting into more complex Spanish.  We hope to get to this next level.

We are going south to Loja and Vicabamba this weekend. Will report on that. Big news is we are going to the Galapagos for a four day trip in a couple of weeks. We got a last minute deal that we couldn't pass up. Getting it put together is a challenge, but I think it will work. Bad news is that Becky has not been feeling well.  Our medico in Carolina Norte has been giving us advice. Hopefully, she will be OK for our weekend trip. Mi maestro de guitarra esta enfermo, tambien.  I hope I am not next in line.

Fotos:  Plaza y Parque (3),  Profesora Dora y La Gringa (2), Curanderas (2), tiendas (3).