CHUCK AND JIM ON TV

Even though this is our fourth trip to Cuenca, we have never taken the time to see the famous orchid propagation place in Gualaceo. Jim really wanted to do this and Chuck volunteered to pick us up in his car, puff-puff. There is only room for 5 in the car, so Nancy stayed at home. We went on the autopista to the outskirts of nearby Gualaceo, to the Ecuagenera orchid plantation. Ecuagenera is a business leader in the research, preservation, and conservation of orchids and is the largest orchid exporter in Ecuador. A small group of us were there to see the orchids that day, and we had a guide who only spoke Spanish. However, one of the Ecuadorans in our party volunteered to translate for us so we had a delightful time learning about the propagation of orchids and the many, many varieties and sizes, not to mention colors, that they come in. Here is our guide showing us a miniature orchid.

And just a few of the beautiful flowers we saw:


This one has a lovely Latin name but is commonly called "mono" or monkey orchid.

Jim is examining another miniature orchid.

The tour lasted about 1/2 hour and afterward we were invited to stroll through the lovely gardens. They have a large aviary with these gorgeous parrots (maybe Macaws?)

Then we drove into Gualaceo and explored a little, driving up to this unique looking church.

It was a very steep road but the view of Gualaceo was stunning.

This is the steep road.

Jim and I had been through Gualaceo several times in the past, but always on the bus, so we didn't really see the town. We discovered that the town square is as lovely as any, with its beautiful church.

After some hummingbird watching, we piled back into puff-puff and headed for Chordeleg, the jewelry town a few minutes more up the hill. Of course, Lynda and I set out to "do the square" shopping for jewelry, while Jim and Chuck headed for a bench. I looked back and noticed they had made friends with the locals already.

It's a very nice square to hang out in, with nothing much going on.

A bit later I looked over and there was a TV crew surrounding Chuck and Jim. We found out that they were interviewed for a local station which was featuring Chordeleg. The interviewer wouldn't let them say anything about Cuenca, as it was a show only on Chordeleg. A birdie tells me their show will be aired tonight.

Jeff tired of jewelry shopping pretty quickly and joined in the people watching.

Shopping is hard work and we were hungry, so Chuck took us to a roadside place near Gualaceo.

Like many, many places in the Andes, they were roasting a pig outside the restaurant. First they use the blow torch to blacken the pig skin and then scrape that off along with the stiff bristly hairs.

After the scraping is done, some more blow torch work gets the skin golden brown.

This place was amazing - it is not in a town but everyone knows it is there and you can get LOTS of food for not much money. Here is one of the ladies stirring her pot of potatoes.

I was intrigued by this item on the menu as it is obviously a local dish and I had no idea what it was.

Turns out it was a sort of whipped potato, deep fried. Yum!

Here is the size of our meals, which cost $3 for my chicken...

and $7 for Jim's platter of sausages, chicken, pork and beef, which turned out to be enough meat for 2 people.



We were groaning before we were even half way through. I looked around and noticed the Ecuadorans (even the slender young women) were eating ALL of their lunches. It was likely the big meal of the day for them.

After this grand day out we had a lovely sunset to celebrate another great day in the Andes.

Audrey