A visit to Chictic:

A visit to Chictic:

On Sunday 10/6/13, we visited a large farm called Chictic, which is one and a half hours from Cuenca. Chicti  belonged to Victoria and Carlos and is where I spend my first 6 formative years. I have nothing but fond and happy memories of the place.

When I was a child, Chicti grew sugar cane and made rum. That was the business. The farm, also, grew many crops like corn, potatoes, beans etc.. that were used by the family. In addition, livestock and many other animals like hogs, cuis, chickens which were also for family consumption. It was a beautiful and wonderful place to grow up and play.

Today, the farm is owned by a nephew and it used only as a residence.

Seeing the farm after so many years was very emotional. Not much has changed but just a few additions. All that I remember was still the same and why shouldn’t it be ? mountains don’t change much. The small hill we used to slide down in the mud when it rained is still there.

The only strange thing was the scale of things. As a child it seemed everything took longer and was farther away than it actually is. What I thought took 40 minutes from the nearest village called Paute to the farm, was only 20 minutes. Granted the roads are much better now.

The mountains which seemed so far away, now seemed closer.

We spent a few hours in Chictic, had lunch of roasted pig and traditional Ecuadorian dishes, talked with the family and reminisced, then back to Cuenca.

Overall, that which I’ve been looking forward for so long, did not disappoint me. I went back in time for a few hours. It was unforgettable.