Devil´s Nose and the ruins

Saturday was relaxing and it was good to have a bit of a rest. I wandered into town mid-morning to visit the museums of modern and popular art, which were interesting. Both had displays that weren´t really my taste, but the architecture of the buildings were fascinating. The modern art museum was housed in a former convent and each room that I assume once belonged to a nun had a single sculpture in it. There were beautiful gardens in the courtyards and my favorite place was the auditorium which was once the sanctuary. It had very high ceilings with a painted ceiling and old paintings on the walls depicting Bible scenes. It is still a very peaceful place to just sit and enjoy being. After a fun lunch with my friend Lundon we went to a couple art galleries and basically wandered. She was heading to see the new Harry Potter movie and I was going to bed early for our excursion the next morning.

It´s great wandering with Lundon. First, she´s fluent in Spanish and I´m grateful when she can speak for me. Second she´s a spanish/history teacher in N Carolina so she can offer useful insight into some of the things we´re seeing. Third, she has a sweet tooth similar to mine! So we´ve scouted out a few heladarias (ice cream shops) including one that has primarily sherbet in the flavor of every exotic fruit in ecuador. And lastly, she too is a Christian single searching/waiting for Mr. Right and we discuss this topic regularly. Earlier in the week we signed up for a tour of the ruins at Ingapirca and the Devil´s nose train and on Sunday morning when we met for the tour we saw that the group of 11 included primarily classmates of ours. In this group were 3 med students from LA including one who hopes to become a missionary MD probably in W Africa so we´ve had great discussions about it. It was a day of fun conversation and exploring. The ruins were originally built by the Incans, then re-done a bit by the Carnari people, then dismantled by the conquering Spaniards. What remains is a skeleton of the temple of the sun and some of the housing that once existed. The train ride that followed was not what we expected. In the brochures and tour guides it speakes of an antique train that you can sit on top of and ride the switchbacks down a mountain with a view of one called The Devil´s Nose. It´s named not for the shape, but because it was a huge obstacle in the building of the railroad inland to the Pacific. Many slaves died, including 4000 Jamaicans. (Lundon was not convinced this part is true and has told me she´ll look it up when she goes home next week.) We had been told by the tour agency that as of 4 months ago people weren´t allowed to sit on top due to some passengers not following rules and ending up decapitated. Oops! So the train has been de-railed for repairs/remodeling and our train ride was essentially in an old school bus on tracks that went back and forth down train tracks to the bottom of the river. Not too dangerous, not very exciting. Over all, the 3 hour drive to and fro was by far the best part of the day. Mountain after mountain covered like a patchwork quilt of fields of various produce. Spèctacular vistas of grand canyons and valleys, along with several towns where people were primarily dressed in traditional dress and still living in adobe-style homes. I hope my pictures can do it some justice!

Today my class was very lonely. I was the only student and I wonder if it will be this way all week. There didn´t appear to be an influx of new students today. In a way it was good because we covered much more material than usual. The downside is that I´m about ready for a test! So now I need to get home and study.