Schools and the medical clinic were closed during Carnival holiday and on Monday Padre Jorge drove us to Yacuambi, a town north of Guadalupe, located in the Andes Mountains. As we drove by car the paved road turned into a dirt road just about a mile north of Guadalupe. We traveled for an hour and a half through quite a few small towns and barrios (neighborhoods) on our way there. Yacuambi is populated by Saraguros and is the center of the county north of our county, Zamora. Padre Jorge previously served as priest for many of the parishes along the way and he showed us quite a few very small churches he helped build. The town where we live, Guadalupe, was established about 50 years ago when the mestizos (people whose ancestors are both Spanish colonizers and indigenous) travelled south to establish homes and farms. Neighborhoods (barrios) are very distinct near where we live and are comprised of either Saraguro, Shuar or Mestizo. The Saraguro and Shuar have very distinct cultures. The Saraguro men and women wear black bowler hats and wear their long hair in a single braid behind their head. Saraguro women wear long black tightly pleated skirts, colorful shirts and elaborately beaded necklaces. Saraguro culture is agrarian and because of their tradition of communal cooperation, they have strong extended family and community networks. The Shuar historically lived in the woods and jungles of Ecuador and are hunters and gatherers. Consequently, the Shuar tended to be more nomadic and lived in smaller social groups. It is amazing to think that the Shuar people lived in the forest isolated until about 50-60 years ago and only started to interact with Mestizo and Saraguro a few generations ago. The Shuar have an earned a reputation as fierce warriors. The reason they had not assimilated with other cultures until relatively recently is because they are the only indigenous tribe that Spain was not able to conquer. They are also known for their previous custom of shrinking human heads. It is not so unusual to see elderly Shuar women with facial tattoos in town. The Shuar are known to hunt using large packs of dogs and blow dart guns. The Saraguro and Shuar each have their own distinct language (Emmett and Annalise attend a Saraguro school and part of the curriculum is instruction in the Kichwa language). Both the Saraguro and Shuar strive to preserve their customs and dances. The Shuar traditional dances often feature spears and Saraguro dances often feature machetes. Shuar and Saraguro seem to get along well in town and after living here for 6 months I can distinguish each ethnicity by facial features. We get along equally well with Shuar, Saraguro and Mestizo and all of the town's children play together. Ecuadorianos are very polite people and it seems that all three cultures cooperate and get along well together.
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| a house on the way to Yucuambi |
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| center of Yucuambi |
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| another house on the way to Yucuambi |
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| cattle along the side of the road to Yucuambi |
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| in the Andes mountains |
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| Shrine located near the entrance to Vela de Novia Cascada (Bridal Veil Falls) |
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| view of the Andes Mountains |
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| house on the way to Yacuambi |
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| washstand for washing clothes |
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| Church along the road to Yucuambi |
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| another church along the way to Yucuambi |
