Aloha Everyone,
Giron is located Southwest of Cuenca about 45 minutes by private van. At 8:30 am, J.J. and I met Sandra, the student coordinator in front of our school. There were a total of 8 of us including Jim, Ruth and their son Logan.
The road to Giron is mostly well maintained. The scenic beauty of verdant mountain hamlets reminded us of Switzerland.
Our first stop was at the site of the 1829 Battle of Tarqui. We climbed up the slippery stone steps braving chilly rain which pelted us mercilessly.
The town of Giron with a population of about 12,000, was very nice. This statue depicts a typical dress of indigenous people of Giron.
We stopped at the site where the treaty following the 1829 Battle of Tarqui was signed between the Ecuadorians and the Peruvians. The house is now a museum.
Aida, museum curator with Sandra in front of the photo exhibition
Byron in red, Omar in blue are college students studying tourism
Passionate and proud, a young officer in uniform explained to us the 1829 Battle of Tarqui and lamented the great loss Ecuador had endured.
It was a memorable experience as Aida gave me the Ecuadorian uniform to wear and sit at the desk where the treaty of 1829 Battle of Tarqui was signed.
Our lunch was a typical Cuenca meal.
The climb to El Chorro, a powerful and majestic waterfall cascading down into pools below, was divided into three stages. We went up only to the first waterfall which took us just 20 minutes. We were told that to hike up to the 2nd level would take 4 hours each way and 8 hours each way to the upper waterfall.
J.J. and I thoroughly enjoyed our excursion to Giron and El Chorto.
Aloha -- Cathi
