Oh Otavalo

Oh what a great trip I had to Otavalo this past weekend! I left on Friday morning with three friends and we were quickly (literally) herded onto the bus for the short two hour trip from Quito to Otavalo, home of Ecuador's famous artisan market.

Upon arriving to Otavalo, settling into the hostel, and enjoying an Almuerzo (lunch) consisting of our favorite staple, rice and ahi (the most amazing sauce), we headed to Lago San Pablo - the province's largest lake. The lake was beautiful and was a dark blue, outlined by marsh and then mountains on almost every side. As there weren't any trails around the lake, we decided to rent paddle boats to get a better view of the lake and the surroundings.


After our trip to the lake, we continued to celebrate my friend Tyler's 20th birthday with...well...lots of eating! We found cake at one of the many panaderias/pastelerias (bread/cake store)...digested...ate dinner at a traditional Ecuadorian restaurant...and ate bread and drank coffee at a cafe where Tyler was serenaded by a musician that came into the cafe!

We were up early on Saturday morning for breakfast at our hostel and had walked the two blocks to the Plaza de los Ponchos (site of the artisan market) by 8am. The market was overwhelming with rows and rows of tables of handcrafted clothes, jewelry, ceramics, knick-knacks, and unidentified objects in every color and size imaginable. We soon got the hang of bartering and proceeded to try to strike deals with the artisans...how about 5 for $5?

 After we had sufficiently bought enough jewlery, alpaca sweaters (for some), otavaleno pants, and talked to many artisans, we decided to venture to the alleged Animal Market. However, in route we passed the most vendors I had ever seen that were selling their goods in the streets (as opposed to paying for space in the Plaza). We saw just about everything imaginable being sold: worms to heal your ailments, hats, fruits, vegetables, grains, handmade items similar to what we had seen in the Plaza, DVDs...it was very neat that we happened to come across this part of the market because we were clearly among the very traditional indigenous people that lived in Otavalo. In fact, for the majority of the walk to the Animal Market amongst all of these people selling their goods, we were the only Gringos (non-Ecuadorians). I don't think I had ever been so conscious of my skin color, blonde hair, and height  amongst the short stature, dark hair and dark skinned Otavalenos. I couldn't believe that the entire (20 minute) walk to the Animal Market consisted of people selling their goods on almost every inch of road; it was truly a sight to see. And it didn't get any less interesting when we arrived at the Animal Market (which was slowing down as it was late in the morning). We saw pigs (several held by a leash), 3 day old chicks (we each held one for a minute!), cages of guinea pigs (occasionally interspersed with a few rabbits or a kitten or two), puppies, kittens (very cramped in cages, unfortunately), chickens held upside down by their feet or in the arms of a man or woman, a llama, and cows. Each market experience was incredible, I could have watched for hours! We concluded our trip with a visit to a (delicious!) pie shop before heading back to Quito on Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday I attended church at the English Fellowship Church, just a two minute walk from my apartment. I found it interesting that while the service was entirely in English, the men/elders that collected offering said "Gracias" - it was clear that the church's body was a mix of cultures and nationalities. While I plan to attend mass with my host family at some point (over 90% of Ecuador is Catholic!), I am glad that I have been able to find a church that is very close geographically and that is similar to what I am accustomed.

 For the rest of the day, I enjoyed a beautiful sunny day in Parque Carolina with my friend Tyler. It was incredible to see how crowded the park was with people being active in different ways on almost every inch of the park! People were playing soccer, basketball, volleyball (Ecuas play 3 v 3 we learned), paddleboating in the little pond, participating in a HUGE (100+ person Zumba/dance class), playing cards on tables under a pavillion, running/biking/walking, sharing a picnic, roller blading, kids playing on the awesome play airplane and jumping on the trampolines...it was such a fun place to people watch and we ended up talking to a few people as well. I absolutely love this park (except for a large dead rat that we came across) and will be sure to go back whenever I have time on the weekends in Quito!

I hope you are well - please update me on your adventures!