For our very last Saturday in Ecuador we decided to go to Otavalo. I have heard about this place since I was a child, and I was just so excited to go. Throughout our time in Ecuador I have observed the beautiful people of Otavalo at all kinds of markets, at church, and specially at the LDS temple.I don't know why, but there was something about this town that drew me to it, and here we are now walking the markets, and experiencing it live!
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| Woman in typical Otavalo dress in the Mercado de Ponchos |

We opted to go to Otavalo on Saturday because everyone said that when in Otavalo you have to visit the Mercado de Ponchos, and the best day for it is Saturday. We took a $3.00 bus from the North Terminal (Carcelen) in Quito, and just a little over 1.5 hours we arrived in Otavalo. I was feeling a little disoriented as the bus driver basically just dropped us off on the side of the road, and pointed towards the direction of El Centro. No worries though, we had Wyatt's trusty phone, with google maps! Plus Otavalo is not a HUGE city, we could opt to take a taxi for a couple of dollars downtown, or walk there...surprise, surprise, and to our children's chagrin, we decided to walk.
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| Maija and Terran in front of an LDS chapel in Otavalo |
After heading towards down town we run into this friendly building! Perfect for a quick bathroom break Now we were off to the market. In both Peru and Ecuador we often find the tourist information offices, and ask for suggestions of what to see in that town. The tourist office suggested the market as well as a nice, short hike path that led to a waterfall, we were off to a good start.
The Mercado de Ponchos was so full of color. We have seen many, many markets over the last six months, but this one was really big! I don't think we had seem anything like it since Cusco. I am just in love with all the textiles, and for a moment I wished we had a brought regular size luggage, to bring home all this stuff, but the truth is filling up my home in Canada with stuff would not bring back the feeling of experiencing Otavalo, the better option was just enjoying the day, enjoying the moment!....Here comes the photo overload.....
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| Otavalenos wear beautiful jewelry...could I pull this look off? :) |
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| Statues near a traffic circle |
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| Feeling hungry? |
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| I could not get a photo from the front,but this little Mom and Daughter pair were just adorable |
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| Spices are so tasty and cheap in Ecuador |
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| I wanted to buy 100 paintings during our trip, but the part of my brain with a little common sense convinced me to just look at them, and enjoy them....ok, that part of me is called Wyatt....and I am glad he is around, other wise I would be so broke, and overloaded. |
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| I will miss all this colors! |
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| Maija and Terran continue to love every alpaca they see, living or fake it does not matter. |
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| I will miss wandering through markets with my kids. Wyatt has promised to make me some wooden spoons when we get back home. |
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| My sweetheart! |
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| All the white shirts that the women wear are hand embroider, they are works of art. |
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| Someday I might paint this picture |
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| Lunch was a street food called Japingachos. I had tried Japingachos in a market in Cuenca...yuck, but the ones in Oatavalo were a totally different story, they cook them right in front of you, and were delicious, we ordered 2 orders ($2/each) and were super full. |
After a couple of hours in the market we decided to try a little bit of nature, and headed to the waterfall. I have said this about 100 times, but I LOVE, LOVE how lush, and green Ecuador is.
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| As with every Olson adventure, we never know when and where we will get to... |
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| Another painting idea |
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| To this day we don't know if the mannequin legs were a warning or a decoration.... |
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| Found a waterfall! |
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| DO GO CHASING WATERFALLS! |
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| Can he please stay this little forever! |
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| Family photos....what's with the frown Terran? |
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| My best friend and I....I love this guy! |
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| A little snack on our way back to town |
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| Finally Choclo con Queso! |
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| Terran posing by the this little restaurant shack, you could buy Choclo con Queso, or opt to fish for your dinner. there too. |
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| We took an actual path, and not ramdom dirt paths to get back home. |
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| Goofing off |
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| Posing by a shifty hanging bridge ;) |
All the blogs about visiting Otavalo talked about eating Biscochos y chocolate caliente. So that we did. I was expecting the biscochos to be sweet, but they were more like a savory cracker, however the combo of hot chocolate and savory was really nice.
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Good bye friends, see you soon.....
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