La Chimba: Cold, Cows and Potatoes

Cows and the Cayambi Volcano in our backyard

Though I hate to say it, there are just some places in the world where visiting one time is enough. First on that list is Dateland, AZ, and second is La Chima, Ecuador. This community was about as receiving of us as the stoic icy volcano towering over the area might suggest. We arrived with our big backpacks and excited smiles to find wide, empty streets and piercing cold wind. It was about 4 pm, and literally everyone was off in the fields milking cows. The 300 or so people here sustain themselves entirely on dairy farming, as growing crops successfully is difficult at such a high altitude. As a result they are somewhat enslaved by their cows, waking up every day at 4am to go milk and then going out again in the afternoon. There are no weekends or holidays in this profession. There is also no extra energy left for welcoming visitors (I can’t blame them).

We stayed with a sweet but quiet host family with two small kids and a mom named Margot, which by default has become my name here too. For the two weeks we were there we were acknowledged with nods and smiles but little conversation. The kids were a little more outgoing, showing us around a bit. They also had a DVD of a music video they liked to watch over and over again which shocked us the first time we caught them watching it (youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0hAJm5NdQo&feature=related ).

For almost every single meal with our family we ate potato soup or boiled potatoes at our own little table in the corner while the family sat together on stools in the kitchen. While I really can’t complain (food is food) this diet got old and bodily exhausting very quickly. It was not helped much by the frigid weather. The area is very windy and cold, and everyone is bundled up and crouching as they make their way home as fast as they can, where they eat quickly and go to sleep before 8. That lifestyle did not make for easy conversation and completing the guide was a very slow and scattered process.

What it did not provide in human contact La Chimba made up for with its indulgent natural beauty. The community is high up in the Andean Paramo, land where trees are scarce and thick golden grasses and wild flowers thrive. It is overshadowed by the always-snowy and breathtaking Cayambe Volcano, framed by clouds and blue sky. There are also natural thermal springs up in the mountains (heated by the volcano) and a huge misty lake. When we had time we tried to hike and visit these different places, but the cold and wind made the going difficult. We climbed to the top of Churu Loma, a big hill overlooking the valley, and were literally blown over by the strong winds. The views were very beautiful though, and worth the pain.

Video: Getting blown away on Churu Loma

Since leaving La Chimba and thinking more about our time there, I feel like I have developed a unique respect for the people. One of the issues we face going from community to community is worrying about whether our impact there is really positive. There is a gray area entered at times between welcoming visitors/ tourists and subservience by community members, and we have worked hard not to be catagorized as saintly and educated white people. In La Chimba there was no worry about people giving us more than our fair share. We were treated as (paying) family members withou

t extra adornments or changes to their lifestyle. That is nice in retrospect, especially in Ecuador where tourism seems to have morphed many places into mini-Disney lands. La Chimba does not change or inconvenience itself for anyone, and there is something important to be said for that.

A proud and intense older couple we interviewed