Guaranda

After we came down from Chimborazo, we spent a couple more days in Guaranda, waiting for me to recuperate. That was some virus. Guaranda is a sleepy town in the mountains, not touristy at all, though famous for its cheese. It was really nice to spend a bit of time in a town not geared towards tourists. We got to see Ecuadorians going about their usual business. And the Ecuadorians got to see us going about our not-so-usual business! Lots of people were curious about us, and it was fun to have the tables turned for once.

We were parked on the street, buying cheese, maybe. Douglas was outside the van, lashing something down with our endless supply of rope. I was sitting inside, snacking no doubt. School had just let out, and hordes of schoolkids in their brown uniforms were milling around town. A gaggle of girls walked past our van, in their white kneesocks and pleated skirts. They were pretty curious about what might be inside this strange contraption, and they all stopped to peer inside, pressing their noses right up against the glass. They must not have seen me, or thought I didn´t see them, and they were totally unabashed, looking and pointing and exclaiming. I was watching them in the side mirror, unobserved and really amused. They finally finished looking, and turned to head down the street. One girl turned for a last look, and caught sight of me grinning in the mirror, and then they all fell down laughing in a heap on the sidewalk.

We also stopped outside of town to pick up a few pieces of junk wood for levelling the van (it drives Douglas nuts if we have to park at a bit of an angle, and it makes it hard to cook). The guy at the wood/cabinet place thought we were just fascinating. He couldn´t believe we´d driven that far, and after he sold us the wood bits, he stepped away a bit and started snapping photos of us with his camera phone!! I can´t tell you how delighted I was that someone was taking pictures of us!! We´ve spent so much time on this trip taking sly pictures of other people!!