Like I said, we’re back with the Ecuador content, yippee! And this was probably my favorite city we visited during my study abroad program. Heyo, Otavalo! This week I’ve got stories about llamas, a lot more food and a lot of little town visits and stops. So I hope you’re not sick of the Ecuador blogs and you’re ready to do some reading. 🙂 And also maybe look at a few pictures of llamas. What I’ve included in this post is only a small fraction of the llama pictures I’ve accumulated.
On our way out of Quito we visited the ruins of one of the indigenous groups. Despite the fact that the ruins were mostly covered with grass and remained unexcavated, they were still very cool to see and it was interesting to learn about many of the beliefs and traditions of the indigenous people. One of the most interesting things I learned here was that the moon was the most important god to the people. The sun was an introduced character. And also, if you want your hair to grow longer, you need to cut it at the full moon. Kinda quirky, kinda cool.
At this same archaeological site, we were surrounded by llamas. And when I say surrounded, I literally mean it. There were soooo many. And they were all so cute too! We had the chance to feed the llamas salt and take as many pictures as we wanted. They were all really cute and I feel proud to say that I didn’t get spit on. Woohoo! I’ve never seen llamas run, but this was the place to see that at and it was really cool to spend as much time as we did with some really cool creatures.
Our next stop was at the Quitsalo Museum, basically another equator stop. This one was a more scientific view of the equator and they tried to explain things in a more scientific way. It was interesting, but it was ultimately just a plug for their explanations and documentary. I was hot and hungry and to be honest, I wasn’t all that interested. I was glad to leave that place, that’s for sure.
After our play time with llamas and second trip to the equator, we went to this place for lunch called Cafe de Vaca, or Cow Cafe. The restaurant was cow-themed and it was pretty dang cute. The food was really good too. My favorite parts were the drinks and dessert although the entire meal was really good. To drink, I had lemon, mint, and pineapple juice and for dessert we had a passionfruit mousse. So yummyyyy. We were still on our way to Otavalo at this point and our next step was a scenic view of the city as we got closer. It was really cool because we got to see Imbabura and Cotacachi, two of the volcanos in that area. A much needed bathroom break occurred too, haha.
After a long day of traveling and fun, we arrived at our next hotel, Las Palmeras Inn. This place was nothing like a Holiday Inn Express but it was pretty cute. The one thing I hated about it though, was my specific room situation. My roommates were fine, but I hated where our room was. It was on the top floor of the main building at the inn and we had no true bathroom that was just ours. Our room opened into the common TV room and then a bathroom which had a shower and all of the stuff you typically find in a bathroom, but it was accessible to all. I just felt like I couldn’t really get clean at that place. It was still gorgeous and the place was nice though.
The next day, January 6th, was going to be our big day at the Otavalo Market. I was so pumped. Our day started with breakfast at the inn and then we went to the market. We had three hours to shop to our hearts’ content and I really enjoyed it. Bartering was stressful but fun and I enjoyed being competitive will all these Ecuadorians trying to get me to pay more for things that I should. In the end, I made a friend in the market who gave me a free bracelet, walked away with a lot of llama-related items, and had a really good time. Everything was extremely cheap and it was just really cool to interact with the locals in the way that we did. This was more of what I expected out of a study abroad. All of the touristy things we had done up until this point had been extremely fun and memorable, but I went to Ecuador to experience a new culture and immerse myself in it. That’s something I definitely had the opportunity to do at the market and I loved it.
After our time at the market, we went to a musician’s home where he demonstrated and played a variety of handmade instruments for us. His family performed for us as well and that was really cool. After that, we had lunch at a great local spot and I didn’t get food poisoning so that was a good thing (I wish I hadn’t thought that because oh boy do I have a story for later!). Our next little stop in Otavalo was in a little city that is known for its wood carvings. It was called San Antonio and no it was not in Texas, haha. After our short time there, it was back to Las Palmeras Inn and we had a cooking class! I got to prepare my own trout and help make empanadas. We also got to see how they make blackberry ice cream. Yum yum yum.
And just like that, short but sweet, we were saying adios to Otavalo and were onto our next city, Baños! I’m excited to share everything we did there. There was a lot of excitement and a lot to do in our next city. But you’ll just have to wait til next Sunday to hear about that! Have a good week and ciao for now. 🙂
