Hola! I’m Keilana, the very first leader of the day.
It’s an honor to be able to share the many amazing activities we engaged in today!
We started the day with a field trip to the Pucara Tambo Centro Cultural y Turístico located in Cacha, Chimborazo. It was a clear, warm day with a beautiful view of the city which is pictured here. After receiving a brief tour of the accommodations we all took part in a spiritual cleansing ceremony which involved a bundle of herbs like rosemary, eucalyptus, and indigenous plants like ‘ortega’ and being tapped from head to toe with the bundle. This was to promote blood flow and positive energy. There was also another ritual with an egg being rubbed on the person’s limbs and torso and then cracked open to reveal a white substance that represented the persons bad energy leaving their body. It was really awesome! From there we ventured into a hut filled with many artifacts of the Cacha community. We took a look at the traditional clothing of these people, which was handcrafted using either lamb or llama cotton. We even saw the looms by which they made their textiles. The guide explained that the many articles of clothing had a special significance weaved into it. For example, one poncho had a design that represented the months of the year, so the chief who would’ve worn it was literally a walking calendar! Next we visited the gift shop which had many replications of the traditional wear, it was even handmade! Everyone picked up a memento of their visit to Cacha.
Next we returned to our hotel, La Primavera, where we walked to the nearby bus stop. We travelled via public transportation on a short ride to the city center where we visited a school with an extravagant chapel. Our program coordinators had originally planned to host our dance class in the school courtyard however it started to rain, good thing we all brought our raincoats! We left to go to the Folkloríco dance group’s studio where we learned and followed along to 5 different routines from each province of Ecuador. The dancers even wore the clothing native to that region! They were so beautiful and colorful. It was a very memorable experience, and what a workout! Everybody did great and we had lots of fun, it was definitely a popular favorite amongst our group. I absolutely loved it! Even better, we got to try on an outfit! The boys wore fur pants and the girls wore colorful shawls. Lastly, we all performed a circle dance all together with the dance instructor in the middle. All too soon the music ended, but with uplifted spirits we departed from the studio and back to our hotel to prepare for the next day full of fun.
To my parents: I’m having such a great time here! I love the cultural immersion and am really glad I signed up to be the leader for this particular day. Don’t worry about me, I’m worried about you!
Keep an eye out for tomorrow’s blog by the new Leader of the Day: Candice!!!
Sounds incredible! I would have loved to see Cammy dance!!! Love the weaving picture too!
I can’t wait every night to read the blog and see the pictures! Miss you Camster. Enjoy!
It’s so nice to see everyone’s smiling faces! Sounds like you had an amazing day filled with adventure and DANCING!!! How fun it sounds! Sounds like it didn’t rain all day.. the weather reports for Riobamba showed thunderstorms and lots of rain. Can’t wait to hear more tomorrow. *Bekah looks like you are in your element and having a great time! Enjoy! By the way Daysi Lorena is in Palmira Tixan which is approx 29 miles away! Wish we could have set something up with World Vision and Global Glimpse. Next time…
Hola Sam! Wow you had a few busy days 🙂 Please enjoy your trip and soak-in as much as you can, this is an experience that you will never forget. We love you so much!! Don’t worry about us, we look forward to every afternoon’s post and pictures. Rest whenever you can so you can keep enjoying your trip. Don’t forget to SMILE and have lots of fun! Grandpa and Grandma said hi and they also loved all the pics too. Hugs and Kisses from all of us including Tio Santos and Tia Ale.
Go bust out them bboy skills brandy!!! Glad you’re having fun
Hola and good review! Keilana, your journalistic background shined clear and bright for all of us homebound readers. Gracias mi hermosa hija! What an excellent itinerary you all had today. Indigenous on point. The cultural engagement is awesome. The boys won’t soon forget the Dance in the Fur Pants!
Great update! Thanks Keilana. You all look wonderful and happy. It rained here today also.
Hello Savinnie, we miss you a lot! We are so glad to see your pictures on this blog. Hope you are enjoying your trip. We are also very excited for what you’re going to experience with your team. Have fun! Be cool! Be safe!
Looks like everyone is enjoying themselves. Nice update. Happy Bday Mari!
Happy birthday Mari. What a wonderful place to celebrate your birthday. Pa and I went through a cleansing ceremony conducted by a shaman in Quito too. Did u know that there’s a Chinese method of pulling toxins out of bruises by rubbing a peeled hard boiled egg on the spot? Interesting to compare cultures. Looking forward
To future postings
HI Katelyn – we miss you and as long as you’re enjoying yourself and learning a lot we are happy to hear everyone is enjoying the visit. Its great everyone is having fun and a getting a real cultural experience you would not get in US. Please Keep safe and healthy and mom and your little brother miss you a ton!
Hey Mariah~ Looks like you guys are having fun and learning a lot about the culture! Love and miss you!
Hola cousin and friends!
How awesome you were the leader of the day! And what a fun filled day you all had. I remember watching an episode of either Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman, where they did the same ritual of cleansing the body. That’s so cool you go to so that! I’m so happy you are having an amazing adventure!!