tain milk with which they make Andean cheese and mozzarella that they distribute through the Salinerito cooperative; also with wool, they weave warm clothes, hats and ponchos. New generations are venturing into tourism. The declaration of the Protected Area is a new opportunity and the reserve’ s management regulations ensure respect for the environment and the community. Private initiatives in the form of NGOs such as AYA UMA are also working for the orderly, conscious and respectful development of tourism in this special and fragile place.
During the improvised assembly in what seems to be the main square of the Natawa settlement, the community presents an incipient urban development plan focused on tourism. Not everyone agrees that a few small houses with views of Chimborazo would please tourists, but they are all in agreement that they should be built of cement blocks. Finally, the possibility of four or five of their own traditional cabins, built in adobe with a gabled Andean thatched roof and, of course, with a view of Chimborazo, seems an option that can be considered to please tourists and be interesting to the community. They talk and look at each other, there is something about them that the Fair Traveler finds so familiar and at the same time, their features are so different. The beauty of variety shows itself both ways, everyone enjoying each other’ s differences and the opportunity to admire them up close. The afternoon is going fast, as fast as the cold settles in. The Traveler must return, but as she leaves, she looks back, any one of those kids could be a Marco Cruz, but for some reason life doesn’ t provide the same opportunities for everyone. The desire of the Fair Traveler to stay, the desire of the others for her to stay fills with many, the heart of a Fair Traveler who is once again invaded by astonishment and gratitude.
52 OTWO 35 / JUNE 2022