And more driving around

But sometimes the best laid plans..... And we tried, we really did. R played the friend and fellow professional card and I played the boss card. Neither really helped. We had an agenda planned for us, and while we made some alterations successfully, we lost our broader plan. 

We started out for Azogues and several small communities. First, Taday.

 Not only would I NEVER have been allowed to wander around town like this and climb like this, I'm not sure I could have! 

A truly lovely little town, so picturesque. 

 With the requisite small plaza and large church, of course.

We thought we'd "won" here and were headed out to Ingapirca. But no, because "just five minutes" down the road was Zhin, and we had to see Zhin. (NOTE: Five minutes in Latin America is never just five minutes. This wasn't too bad an exaggeration -- about 15 minutes. Sometimes it's a hour. You just never know.)

 Beautiful. I do love the scenery.

 Including the sheep.

 And way at the top, the Inka wall remnants we were supposed to note. I couldn't see them onsite, but can now that I can look at the zoom photos and blow them up.

So now Ingapirca? No, because now we're headed toward Paute. Ingapirca is now too far a drive to do this day, unless we don't want to see Pumapungo in Cuenca itself. Dilemmas. So we drive through Paute where we see tons and tons of greenhouses. I was familiar with the flower industry in Colombia, but didn't realize how strong it also was in southern Ecuador, including the side effects for the workers of pesticide poisoning. 

Then we had to stop at the house of another archaeologist, this one an American who has moved to Ecuador. A nice enough person, but I was surprised by her vehemence in discounting contemporary cultural practices of the local communities. Perhaps it's because I'm such a strong community advocate that I had such a virulent reaction, but I find it hard to believe that everything they do is done solely for tourism and has no basis in history, that it's all myth with no memory or connection. I don't discount that some practices are stronger to the south, but culture does evolve too, and I have trouble believing that it's all new age. Maybe it's just me.

Knowing that the central bank closed at 5, we hit the road again at 4 so that we could visit. Everyone did seem to agree that the restoration work there is solid in its building, but perhaps not in its planning, as the remaining plans leave room for interpretation. But Tomebamba was the second capital, and Pumapungo was the palace complex. Thankfully, we made it, and even managed to get someone from the director's office to show us around.

 I liked the signage. It was clear and engaging.

 And the site is impressive. Most of the stones are original, and the building is done by traditional methods. Are the walls all in the right places? That, apparently, is the question.

 Gardens on the lower part, near the baths and water canals.

The bank also runs a large museum. One gallery was the archaeological gallery. We got a tour of this too. I liked the way they used graphic elements of a wall to offset some text.

In the end, we really needed another day in Cuenca. R had been to Ingapirca before, and was confident in his memory, resources, and connections, but it would have been good to see it again. I, of course, missed it for the second time. And we should have had a day to go south to Saraguro and work with an archaeologist there -- there are significant Inka remains in that area and the cultural connections are reported to be stronger too. But that would have meant a rental car and one of us driving, which we hadn't expected to need. And so, the best laid plans.....

Cuenca is small and the airport close, but we had an early flight the next morning. Once again, I didn't really see Cuenca. While I didn't miss seeing Americans everywhere, I did miss getting to know a beautiful World Heritage city. Maybe I'll get to go back for a third time, and maybe that time will make the difference.