Our next stop in Ecuador was Cuenca, which is in the Andean highlands at 8,200 feet. We spent most of our two and a half weeks on a farm outside of the city at the foot of the Cajas mountains.
Our time on the farm came courtesy of Workaway — an organization that helps pair travelers like us with people who want to host a cultural exchange.
The Workaway website lists tens of thousands of opportunities all over the world to volunteer in exchange for room and board. It is an amazing way to really get to know a place and quickly find a sense of community.
Our Workaway hosts were an international family — an American man, his Ecuadoran wife and their one-and-a-half-year old daughter. They had recently relocated from another farm site, so a lot of what we did was help get things up and running at the new location.
Our American host Louis was a great teacher and before we knew it we were planting beans and fixing the greenhouse. Our main project while we were there was to build a fence for the goat enclosure (the goats had yet to be purchased). Over the course of two weeks, we nearly completed a hand-hewn fence from ecualyptus logs. It was extremely hard work but also extremely satisfying. At the end of each work day we could see another section successfully completed.
Our surroundings were gorgeous, in the foothills of the Cajas mountains surrounded by other small farms. Our accomodations were pretty simple and we had to go outside to another building to use the bathroom.
We also enjoyed the company of the farm’s two sheep — Bonnie & Clyde as they got more comfortable with us and let us get closer and closer each day.
We also got an opportunity to explore Cuenca including going to Feria Libre, one of the largest outdoor markets in South America. You can buy everything from potatoes to puppies from one of thousands of vendors.
While the farm was peaceful, it was a lot noisier than we had expected. Neighbors as well as the local church enjoyed sharing their music (and sermons) with the surrounding countryside via loudspeaker. The weekends were also full of the sound of powerful firecrackers.
Our neighborhood/village was San Miguel de Putushi and, to our delight, we were able to attend the celebration of San Miguel Day at the local church. Many people dressed up in costume and paraded around and around in front of the church. There were rides and games for the children and lots of food.
It was colder than we expected and becuase we were in the foothills, it got down into the 40s at night. Like most places in South America the farm did not have a heating system. We had plenty of blankets but there were some chilly nights. As we began to search for our next Workaway opportunity a warmer climate was front of mind.
