Up until last month, I had never ventured to South America. So when a cheap flight to Quito popped up on my favorite flight scanner, a few clicks left me in need of doing some Ecuadorian research. When I stepped off the plane a few months later and realized how little Spanish I actually spoke, the true research began.
With the help of my predetermined topics, here are some of the highlights of my so called research.
What I fancied…
With the abundance of street food I was able to try in Ecuador, my first category was a hard choice! I finally landed on mote con chicharron. This savory treat cost me $1.50 in the Square in front of Nuestra Senora del Santa Agua, Church of the Virgin of the Holy Water. Not knowing what exactly I was eating, a post meal google search help me to get to the bottom of this savory envelope of flavor.
Roasted hominy was topped with corn nuts, fried pork skin, and a hefty sprinkle of salt, then garnished with a tomato and onion salad. After discovery, it was a struggle not to eat it every day- my cholesterol was not thanking me, but my soul was.
What I recreated (or attempted)…
Starting my Ecuadorian escape in Quito, I was on the lookout for Ecuador’s culinary claim to fame at which I would make an attempt. But when I boarded a bus for Banos two days later, my choice was immediately apparent. Empanadas. But let’s back up. Smiling to myself, I boarded a $2 air conditioned bus for the 4 hour trip. As we switchbacked our way through the Ecuadorian countryside, individuals would hop aboard intermittently (often as the bus was still rolling) to make an attempt at selling their goods. Many of these individuals were selling empanadas, a common street food in Ecuador. After they’d sold their tray, they would hop off just as easily as they’d come, an easy jaunt as they stepped off the rolling bus.
After experiencing the hopeful empanada sellers, I thought I’d have my own go at the simple yet delicious staple. Deciding to keep it basic, I decided on cheese and onion empanadas with a sugar and salt sprinkle- the combination of these toppings may seem odd, but it is common in Ecuador and I was pleasantly surprised at how they complimented the cheese! To cut to the chase, I ate every one and my soul was again thanking me. I am thinking a goat cheese and fig filling next time…
Where I ventured…
Volcan Chimborazo rose straight to the top of the list for my third category. Due to altitude and proximity to Earth’s bulging equator, this volcano is said to be the farthest point on Earth from the center. Needless to say, the sunburn was real.
The environments of Chimborazo seem worlds apart- from the snow capped, glacial summit, to the high altitude desert rain shadow that was a perfect fit to my mental image of Mars, and finally the rolling hills and agricultural fields at the lower altitudes.
Wanting to experience these in the open, I booked my favorite experience in Ecuador- a mountain biking tour that started at the Carrel Hut at an altitude of 4850 meters on the way to the Whymper summit. We road down the mountain, passing Vicuñas (a native animal similar to the domestic alpacas in Ecuador) and ichu grass homes as we went. A slurry of rain in the last leg of the ride combined with dirt roads left us mud coated, head to toe. It was awesome.
Who/what/where moved me…
I had found myself in Ecuador for Easter. I could not have been luckier. A devout Catholic country, it was all too easy to follow the crowds to central squares for Good Friday and Easter Sunday processions. But what lingered with me was the afterward. On the Monday following Easter Sunday, I visited the fore mentioned Nuestra Senora del Santa Agua, Church of the Virgin of the Holy Water. I had been reluctant to fight the crowds the day before and was happy to enjoy the quiet serenity of the day after. The church still had a handful of worshipers kneeling on the pews before them, rosaries and gold statues floating above. I am not religious, but I cannot deny that in large churches like this I often experience the feeling of something in the atmosphere, an energy that both frightens and intrigues me.
Stepping into a covered courtyard left of the main altar, I found a bye-altar filled with votive candles. On this day, what struck me was not the numerous candles alight on the altar. It was the candles on the other side. Workers were shoveling piles of the burnt wax away, I can only imagine to be melted down again and sold outside the church for the next worshipper. A wall masked the workers, and I could only catch a glimpse through the gap through which the used candles were pushed.
At first, I was not sure why this image struck me. Later on it came to me that it was the realization of a purely human background necessary to operate this transcendent place. It was so easy to feel an eerie presence in the cold church, a feeling of unearthly power. The feeling was nothing new to me, but the contrast with the workers shoveling remnants of Easter Sunday away behind the wall lingered. Was this human factor the base of the power, an embodiment of the Holy Spirit? Or was the feeling simply the combined energy of millions who had built, shaped, and prayed in this place? Or was the energy I had felt upon entering purely my imagination, a conceptualization of worth due to the value others around me had given this place? I suppose that is up to each to decide for their own.