On the third real day of our pilgrimage, the rest of our journey seems in sight. In these first three days, we have come to know the culture of the people, visiting Quito, Cayambe, and Otavalo. This morning we left the Hacienda Guachala, the serenity of its landscapes and the warmth of the fires in our rooms and rode the public bus to eat breakfast at our favorite restaurant, where we had dined for Wednesday lunch and dinner. This time, fortunately, it was not soup and meat. Also Caroline and James went across the street and bought us Biscochos and string cheese (the cheese is better than we have in the states however) per John's request because they are a specialty of Cayambe, made apparent by the fifteen or so cafes selling them along the main street.
Then we rode our bus to Otavalo for the much anticipated market experience, where we entered into a bartering experience over bags, ponchos, jewelry, and many more three dollar items. Though everything was relatively inexpensive, I for one spent more money than I had imagined I would. But with the same Christian spirit that Hallie has when she blows bubbles with little children, we recognize that a dollar of our spending money has a lot less value to us than it does to a vendor in the market.
After eating lunch at restaurants around the market we found to be variously good or bad we slept on another bus ride up the mountain to the Cochasqui pyramids. They were covered by dirt and grass because the people had hidden them from the Incan invaders, yet excavations revealed steps made of earth and sun and moon calendars on the top of one. We were wondering why the Incas did not notice the shapes of the things and mistook them for mountains. But the tour guide people had reconstructed huts, both a rectangular one of sticks and rocks like what peasants had lived in and a circular one with guinea pigs running around in it. Also there was a reconstructed bridge, highway and a museum with pottery and a skeleton in it. Unfortunately it started raining about halfway through the tour, so the alpacas became scarce and we could not even see into the valley. Apparently on a good day from the mountains you can see Quito, Cayambe, and many other important archeological sites and three volcanoes.
We rode back to Quito and ate dinner at a kabob place and ate a vegetable that looked and tasted like grilled corn yet was not... Kelley led our evening reflection about nature that we unfortunately were not able to do at the pyramids because of the rain, but it seemed like a meaningful journal for us. We contemplated the way God worked for the ancient people, who not only did not know of the news of Christ but of the monotheistic traditions of the rest of the world. Yet they seemed to be oriented around a largely peaceful and indigenous community, and I do not doubt that God worked in their lives. Though they differed from other peoples of the world, they still lived and thought similarly in many ways, they still were human, made in the image of God.

~Frances