Incas and Indecision…August 2013

Inca leader Huayna-Capac, Cuenca

We enjoyed the beautiful botanical gardens at Pumapungo and looked out over the city of Cuenca from the heights of the former Inca palace.  The photo below illustrates the geografia sagrada (sacred geography) of the Incas, referring to the religious importance of numerous mountain sites they chose.  The most famous site is Machu Picchu in what is now Peru…one place the Spanish did not find and destroy.

     

Change Again?

After a couple months of quiet living along a river at the edge of the city, we started thinking about a change.  But what and where?  The most engaging part of Cuenca was the old city center, and to get there we walked from our apartment up the hill (below) and took a 20-minute, 25-cent bus ride.  So we considered looking for a place in the city.  Our old bones also reacted to the coldness of an 8300 foot elevation during the "winter" months of July and August, so we thought of a possible move to a lower elevation--maybe the city of Loja further south?  I also began reading Richard Foster's Freedom of Simplicity….rich food for thought.  We gave our landlady two months notice at the end of August, and began exploring.

Journal entries

August 3, 2013:  In response to Freedom of Simplicity (Foster) on sharing

Perhaps we are to live some place where at least some of what we have can be shared for the common good of, say, our small Episcopal fellowship.  I have a strong sense of not wanting to live with many fine things among the people of this group, or anyone else for that matter.  The question to ask ourselves should not be "What do we need to live?" but "What can we live without?"

August 13, 2013:  Thieves

Thieves at restaurant last evening quietly snatched Bill's backpack while we were deeply engaged in conversation with [friends]….lost are an umbrella, water bottle, and Bill's phone…all easily replaced…

August 27, 2013:  Health insurance

Obtaining health insurance through Salud (large Latin American company) today took about 45 minutes and $250 to cover premiums [for both of us] for first two months.  Great coverage and annual deductible of $90 makes this a very good reason to live here!

Photos below:   Cuenca's "old" cathedral (built with stones from the Inca palace) and a local market…yes, that's a pig's head sitting on top of its roasted carcass, and the woman in pigtails is serving the pork with grilled potatoes and garnishes of onions, tomatoes and cilantro.

The Incas dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533.  In 1532 Francisco Pizarro and 168 Spanish soldiers slaughtered 7000 of the Inca army of 80,000 and captured emperor Atahualpa.  After using him to help subdue the empire and receiving 20 tons of gold and silver from him, they killed him.  In Cuenca, a statue of Inca leader Huayna-Capac looks to the site of his former palace and gardens known as Pumapungo, meaning "door of the puma" in the Quechua language.  The Spaniards dissembled much of the site and used the stones to build churches and colonial mansions in Cuenca.