Kiwis In The Mist

(page 3)

White Water

The only signs of cultivation are a few rows of dried up corn stalks, a cherimoya tree near the entrance of the house. To our left, the high Andes, the tops invisible in the mist, to our right the land falls away steeply to the Guayabamba river far below, too far away to hear the torrent of white water struggling to find its way to the coast in the west.

After a steady ascent we finally arrived at the hacienda. This place was amazing, built more than 300 years ago by Jesuits. The cloister-like building is quite formidable. One metre thick walls surround the inner stone paved courtyard with a traditional sundial in the centre. A wide veranda shades the room. Bougainvillea covers much of the veranda posts, the strong purple of its flowers contrasting with the distant blues of the cloud-covered mountains in the distance. If these walls could only tell their story! We were told that early last century the buildings were used as a breeding colony for slaves. In fact the slave quarters are still there, but nowadays used for the raising of cattle..

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