Ingapirca

We decided to take a day this past weekend to be tourists. Ingapirca, a complex of Incan ruins, is located about 90 km from Cuenca. So, we got in our Vitara and hit the Panamericana pavement. The drive took about two and a half hours from our mountaintop, and it was full of great views across the various vallies. We had a quick lunch once we got to the ruins, and then we started our visit. Our guidebook says that the entry fee includes a guide, but we started out with just ourselves to interpret what the different structures may have been in the past. Luckily there was a group of Americans (college students and teachers, we think) just ahead of us with an English-speaking tour guide. We stayed close enough to this group in order to hear most of the guide’s description of the ruins. The most entertaining part was when the llamas became angry at the large group and huddled together to protect their territory.

After enjoying the Temple of the Sun, we headed down a short trail to see the “Inca face” in a nearby rock wall. It was nice to take a little stroll, and we got back in our car with the hope of being home before dark. We were soon stopped by a police officer who asked to see me driving credentials. I calmly handed him my international driver’s license from AAA, and he calmly pretended that he sees them all the time before wishing us well on our way. We then stopped at a town named Biblian in order to check out their church which is built into the side of a mountain (literally). We happened to arrive just in time for the Gospel reading, so we decided to stay for the rest of the mass. Chelsea then had a hankering to stop for dinner at one of the pig roasts along the road. We found one close to the town and had a nice meal of pork and mote (corn). The sunset created absolutely beautiful colors in the sky during the rest of our drive back to Cuenca, and we arrived home after a satisfying day as tourists.