The Road to Canar and Conjitambo

Since California Kitchen is closed on Mondays, we planned a little excursion with the George and Carol to Canar. At the onset, the plan was to go to Ingapirca. On the other side of Azogues, we stopped for gas and found ourselves in the company of several race cars, a couple stopped, others zooming by.


As we approached the turn off for Ingapirca, we encountered a large group of the race cars. It seems that a race was about to commence on the dirt road leading to Ingapirca. Police were directing traffic and there were spectators.

We continued to Canar. At the entrance to the town, there is a lovely statue.

This is in the traffic circle a bit farther.

There is an indiginous market where you find young women making the folkloric skirts. I asked if the emroidery was done by hand or machine and was told that it is done by machine. The only embroidery machine that I've seen has been at Mall del Rio for t-shirts and caps. Later, we saw the "machine" embroidery; it was actually done on a straight sewing machine, in this case, a pedal machine. Here are some of the items, including the Canari hats, which are made from lamb's wool and then felted. The ribbons and balls are sewn on by hand.

The park.

The church on the square.

We spent so much time in the town that we decided to save Ingapirca for another day and find a restaurant for lunch. We had lunch at a little restaurant in Biblian. This is the church in Biblian.

On our way back to Cuenca, near Azogues, there was a sign stating "Ruinas". We took the turn. This is one of the abandoned buildings.

After much winding, we found ourselves in the pueblo of Conjitambo. The pueblo has a rather large church.

In the courtyard of the church is the statue of a beloved padre.

Our journey continued up the mountain. We turned off the paved road onto a narrow dirt road, going up, up, up. The road was unnerving. As we approached the top, the ancient ruins could be seen. The Inca-Canar ruins date to 500 AD. Although not quite at the summit, there is a plateau from which the vistas are unbelievable. The reward of reaching the top was well worth the journey.
This is a view of the ruins from above. The archaeological site covers 52 hectares and was used for military activities as well as religious.

There were wildflowers.

Spectacular views.

Views of those doing the viewing.

A view of the pueblo of Conjitambo from the ruins.

More wildflowers

The ruins.

The trip down the mountain was easier; the unknown had been revealed. The return trip to Cuenca was on a back road through Recaurte. We passed a farmer plowing his field with oxen.

This is the church in Recaurte.

From Recaurte, it is only a few minutes to Cuenca. It had been a day of discoveries only a short distance from Cuenca, one of many still to come.

Until next time,
Mick and Kathy