Ecuagenera Orchid Farm Gualaceo Ecuador + Casa Museo de la Makana & Paute Ecuador Indigenous Mercado

The Ecuagenera Orchid Farm Gualaceo Ecuador is a short drive from Cuenca Ecuador and a must-see if you’re an orchid lover, or if you just appreciate the beauty and variety of colorful flowers. We also enjoyed visiting Casa Museo de la Makana and the indigenous mercado in Paute Ecuador.

Ecuagenera Orchid Farm Gualaceo Ecuador

We stopped at the Ecuagenera Orchid Farm Gualaceo Ecuador in a previous video, but the farm tour was closed that day. Going back for the tour has been on our list for almost a year so we were happy to return.

Our video doesn’t do the orchids justice. To get the full effect of being surrounded by the vibrant colors and immersed in their strong fragrance, you really need to visit yourself. The tour was in Spanish, but we were able to understand most of what our guide said and Edwin helped us fill in the missing pieces.

We didn’t realize how much effort goes into raising orchids! Our guide told us it takes 5 years for an orchid to grow large enough to be sold, and they cost $100! They truly are an amazing flower!

Casa Museo de la Makana Gualaceo Ecuador

After we left the Ecuagenera Orchid Farm Gualaceo Ecuador, we went back to Casa Museo de la Makana to get the official tour from the owner, José Jiménez. He’s a celebrity in Ecuador because his picture is on billboards throughout the country advertising his the traditional indigenous makanas. Edwin was very excited to meet him!

When we visited last time, it was also closed but one of los hijos de José (one of Jose’s sons) gave us an impromptu tour. This time, we got to see the whole operation in full motion. Everyone was working!

El Centro y El Mercado en Paute Ecuador

After we left Casa Museo de la Makana, we asked Edwin to show us the pueblita where he lives, Paute, Ecuador. A billboard on the way into town advertising dish soap has inadvertently (I think) given the town a motto: Tierra de Buenos Esposos. This translates to Land of Good Husbands, implying the husbands help out around the house by washing dishes. We all got a good laugh about that, especially after my comment in our Cost of Living in Cuenca Ecuador video!

We enjoy visiting the small towns in Ecuador because it’s like stepping back in time. Lots of people walk around the city centers, conducting their daily business, relaxing in the parks, or just living their lives.

The mercados are always a favorite attraction, too. They’re full of indigenous people selling the most beautiful looking fruits and vegetables! And, of course, wearing their traditional paja toquillas (Panama Hats).

Amelia even bought a bag of weeds to make some traditional Horchata Tea. In fact, I’m drinking a cup right now and it’s delicious!

We’ve known about Horchata Tea for a while and drank some in a previous video when we went to San Bartolomé Ecuador, but we were kind of afraid to make it. Edwin helped us by asking for 50 cents (cincuenta centavos) of the tea plants.  He told us to take a little bit of each and steep it in hot water like we would any other tea. It was super easy to make and we’ll be having it often now.

Watch Our Video About Our Trip to Gualaceo, Ecuador

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JP Stonestreet

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Hola todos! Welcome to my author bio page! Let's see. Where to begin... I grew up in the country on a lake outside a small Kansas farm town. As soon as I could, I got the hell outta there! Since then, I've lived and/or worked in Kansas City, Washington D.C., Denver, San Francisco, and Ecuador. I started and sold a dotcom, wrote a book about it, started a YouTube channel, and now I write a lot. Amelia and I have embraced the Unconventional Life and we want to help you do it, too!