Otavalo

happy cows in the andes...it is SO green here

Huh...I have found myself on the bus again. It´s not too bad...way better than Greyhound ! I peer over the seats and all I see is a sea of thick black haired people.  Once again, it is sort of nice to have dark hair and blend in, in a way. To the North I go, to the town of Otavalo.

I step off the bus and it is jammed back with people. For the first time, I see some Afro-Cubans. They are commonly seen in the North and North West of Ecuador and bring a different flavor of culture with their music and food.

ice cream anyone ? only 25 cents from this

Otavalo is known for its famous artisan craft markets and textiles. Mostly indigenous folks selling handmade goods and they are one of the few groups of peoples that make an ok income off of selling their crafts. The market is filled with colors of the rainbow. Textiles, dolls, leather goods, hats, blankets, alpaca wool sweaters, you name it.


Otavalo was a fun town. Not too big and not too small. Very laid back and a few good places to eat. Here in Ecuador they have like their verison of Chinese - Cantonese food and they are called ¨Chifas¨and are really good when you are tired of eating potatoes and beans.  I loved seeing the Indigenous folk which were in very large numbers here. They have their own unique style and each ¨tribe¨may have different colors. They have a great sense of pride in their dress and woman and men are seen wearing the traditional clothing. I´m not one to really take photos of people but here is a great example of their clothing style.

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the men would wear the Panama hat and have their long hair in a braid and a shawl

BA NANA S galore

HEY WHO SPILLED THEIR BEANS !??!

chicken anyone ??

the beautiful traditional dresses and hand woven colorful belts

Once I read about and saw pictures of the lakes way high up in the surrounding volcanoes. I knew I had to go.....I took a taxi up a cobbled stone road for quite a ways. It is a little visited spot and I paid the taxi guy about five dollars to wait for me as I walked around and took photos. He probably spoke two words of English, but we ended up hiking around the lake together. I think he really had fun though! I mean what a great day for a taxi driver, huh ? I doubt he gets to drive up to that lake very often.  

Laguna Mojanda with Volcan Fuya Fuya close by

taxi guy

where is waldo ?

my morning coffee and breakfast view at the cute hostel with
the sun shining on the nearby volcano that was peeking out