There are many adorable small towns nestled in the hills of the Azuay province near Cuenca (the new hub for American retirees). The picturesque town of Chordeleg is one of them.
Chordeleg is one of the towns in Ecuador that still adheres to the guild system established during Spanish colonial times. The guild system required each town to have a certain skill or craft that they specialized in. There are towns in Ecuador that produce pottery, leather goods, weave scarves, as well as make incense, soap and oil. The people of Chordeleg were metalworkers. Today those metalworkers are silversmiths and are the jewelers that produce silver, nickel, and brass jewelry here. Entire streets of this town are lined with jewelry shops.
There are dozens of jewelry stores lining the streets surrounding the park, and scattered through the side streets as well. I’ve never seen so many jewelry stores in such a small area!
The abundance of silver jewelry is almost overwhelming.
A short taxi ride took us back to Gualaceo, and to Hosteria Santa Barbara, where we had lunch.
Hosteria Santa Barbara is a large resort located on 15 hectares of beautifully landscaped land in the city of Gualaceo.
Here there is a restaurant, a spa, Turkish baths, sauna, a heated swimming pool, a gym, games room, games courts .....
A little walk afterward to wear off our lunch, we strolled to the 'market'. Here is where you can try BBQ CUY (pronouned kooee). We've seen this everywhere in Ecuador, (even in some restaurants) - it is a national delicacy here - but you won't catch me trying it!! It is guinea pig!
Gualaceo has a population of about 42,000 people, and like all towns, villages or cities. there is a beautiful park "square" in the middle. We were quite impressed with Gualaceo - it is a nice clean 'little' city.
Another wonderful side trip; a great way to spend the day. Good food, and a good time with good friends.
A short taxi ride took us back to Gualaceo, and to Hosteria Santa Barbara, where we had lunch.
Hosteria Santa Barbara is a large resort located on 15 hectares of beautifully landscaped land in the city of Gualaceo.
Here there is a restaurant, a spa, Turkish baths, sauna, a heated swimming pool, a gym, games room, games courts .....
A little walk afterward to wear off our lunch, we strolled to the 'market'. Here is where you can try BBQ CUY (pronouned kooee). We've seen this everywhere in Ecuador, (even in some restaurants) - it is a national delicacy here - but you won't catch me trying it!! It is guinea pig!
Gualaceo has a population of about 42,000 people, and like all towns, villages or cities. there is a beautiful park "square" in the middle. We were quite impressed with Gualaceo - it is a nice clean 'little' city.
Another wonderful side trip; a great way to spend the day. Good food, and a good time with good friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment