Cuenca, Ingapirca,

During the temple closure for the last two weeks of July, several of the senior missionaries took a trip to Cuenca for one week followed by a four day trip to the Peninsula. (A peninnsula due west of Guayaquil on the coast).
People had told us how great a city Cuenca is and we were not disappointed in going there. At an elevation over eight thousand feet, nestled in the mountains of the Andes, Cuenca has been a center of civilation long before the Incas came in the mid 1500's. It was on the Inca highway that connected Cuzco in Peru with Quito to the north. It is a clean city with three rivers running through it and old colonial era buildings. It was fun just to take pictures of the many old buildings and scenes in Cuenca like the mercado, the flowers, the indigenous people dressed in their native costumes, the children and much more. The road to Cuenca took us through Cajas National Park over the Andes and down to a very green, scenic valley. While in Cuenca we attended an outdoor concert by the Cuenca symphony, visited museums, stores and other places of interest before visiting the ruins of Ingapirca to the north. This was also on the Inca highway and was inhabited by the Ca~nari people until the Inca took control. At the town of Ca~nar down the mountain from Ingapirca we looked for a taxi that might take us to a local factory before heading back to Cuenca and met an interesting local by the name of Ramos. Ramos had retired from an executive position with the national bank twelve years before because of a heart attack. His doctor told him to get away from the stress of his job so he and two friends started a taxi company. They own twenty some cabs, one of which is his personal car. He told us of many local natives who had gone to Europe to work and after saving a substantial amount of money, they returned to the mountains and built houses that were larger than their neighbors. After living in the large houses with little to do because they were now too good to work the land, they returned to Europe where the life was faster and more interesting, leaving their houses vacant. He showed us many such houses that were scattered around the hillsides surrounding Ca~nar. We arrived at an interesting place where an Asociacion de Mujeres Artesanas were learning and making many items from wool and other materials by hand as well as by machines. While the sisters were taking in this cultural treat, I noticed Ramos outside the door talking with a local man dressed in typical campesino style, soiled shirt and trousers, rubber boots and a typical hat. Trying not to intrude in their conversation, I was introduced to Rafael, and was able to ask a few questions. They were good friends, having cultivated a banking relationship over many years. Rafael was an owner of several pieces of property in the area. His intelligence and long years of experience in the area had served him well as he had used bank credit to purchase property many times in the past. It was an interesting experience with interesting people.
We attended church in Cuenca and met the Condorichua family. The father was the gospel doctrine teacher. Here was another example of a capable gospel scholar with extensive church experience sharing his abilities with brothers and sisters of his ward.
Monday was a preparation day for the second half of our adventures. Next was the trip to the Peninsula de Santa Elena to see the whales and other "maravilas".