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Saturday, February 25, 2006
Otavalo on market day
Otavalo, Ecuador
I first heard of Otavalo in 1974 when I stayed in southern Colombia.
Otavalo was this cool indigenous town with a great crafts market,
wonderful climate, and spectacular scenery. I never made it any further
south that trip, so it was another 32 years before I actually got to
Otavalo.
No doubt there's been a lot of development here in those three decades,
and many changes. There certainly weren't two Internet cafes to a block
in those days, or tour buses from Quito. But Otavalo didn't disappoint
after all those years.
The climate is great. There are flowers blooming everywhere and palm
trees in the square. It's comfortable in a t-shirt during the day,
though you need to wear a bit more at night, but it's not too hot. There
are several extinct volcanoes surrounding the town, and nearby are
several lakes.
The indigenous people of Otavalo have been weavers since Inca times, and
the town has become known for its textiles. These range from higher
quality work, to the cheaper stuff sold to tourists at Plaza de los
Ponchos -- Poncho Plaza, a permanent market. The people have been
economically successful, while managing to retain their culture. The
indigenous men never cut their hair, which they wear in long pony tails.
The women wear fancy blouses.
Saturday is the big market day, drawing many people from the surrounding
villages, as well as large numbers of tourists. In fact, today I saw
many of the gringos I'd met at various places around Ecuador over the
past weeks. Such is the drawing power of this market.
I woke in the wee hours and again headed first to the animal market,
just outside town. It was still dark when I got there, but already there
were many animals and business was in full swing. As it got lighter, I
wandered through the sections devoted to cows, pigs, and sheep. There
were a few horses, and I only saw one pair of alpacas. In many respects
this was like the animal market in Saquisilí that I wrote about a few
days ago. This time I had a better idea of what would make good
pictures, and I positioned myself accordingly.
Later I returned to town and wandered through the other markets, which
were more extensive than Saquisilí -- fruit and vegetables, household
goods, electronic appliances, and over course crafts and textiles aimed
at tourists. There were ponchos next to Che Guevara t-shirts, paintings
on leather, alpaca sweaters, hammocks, and numerous other items.
Bargaining is expected, and prices in part are based on how rich and
stupid a tourist appears to the seller. I picked up a few gifts, but
exercised restraint.
Yesterday I took a walk out of town to one of the nearby lakes, and
weather permitting, I'll do another walk tomorrow before returning
briefly to Quito. |
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Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Last full day in Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador
It's my last full day in Ecuador, and I'm back in Quito where I began
a month ago. In some ways I'm looking forward to being home and seeing
the people I left behind. Other than a short break at Christmas and a
few days after the election, I haven't been home since November. On the
other hand, it's going to be very hard to leave behind the flowers and
comfortable weather and return to the misery of Canadian winter with
freezing rain, slippery roads, and icy winds. I am NOT a winter person.
Funny, when I got up this morning in Papallacta, up in the mountains at
around 3,500 meters (11,500 feet approx.), a woman probably from Quito
was complaining that "hace frio" (it's cold). It was actually about 8 to
10 degrees C. I wanted to correct her -- "hace fresco" (it's cool), cold
is when there's snow and ice, but most people here have no concept of
real cold. Only the few who have climbed the highest mountains or been
abroad.
After Otavalo, on Sunday I returned to Quito and spent one night in a
hotel in the Old Town before heading into the mountains to Papallacta.
My hotel was quite incredible -- the building dated back to the 16th (or
maybe 17th) century, and was in the heart of the old colonial area. It
was built around a flower-filled courtyard. As with most colonial
buildings, the ceilings were around 16 feet high. In my room they'd
actually put in a loft in part of the upper level, and had a little iron
spiral stairway to reach the loft. At $22 U.S. per night (including
breakfast), this was very good value for Quito, though a bit more than
my usual $10 to $15 a night.
I had tried to go to Papallacta earlier when I returned from the
Oriente, but had arrived after everything was closed, and had to
continue on. (This place has the best hot springs in Ecuador). This time
I planned a final treat for the trip -- a night at the luxury Termas de
Papallacta hotel, which at $66 U.S. a night is something only upper
class Ecuadorians and gringos can afford. But again I was out of luck --
not being up on my Catholic holidays, I hadn't realized this was a
special holiday part of Carnival -- Skinny Monday or Fat Tuesday or
something. Half of upper class Quito was also headed to Papallacta, and
the hotel was fully booked, even though it's normally almost empty on
week days.
In the end, I got a cheaper hotel room, and paid $6 to use the
facilities at Termas de Papallacta, which turned out to be a good
solution. The hot springs are set beneath the mountains, and are
surrounded in tropical plants. There are various pools at every
temperature from icy cold to boiled lobster, and in between. You soak in
one until you feel like a change in temperature, and then move to
another. A perfect way to soften up tense stiff muscles.
Papallacta is set in high mountain cloud forest, and I took several
hikes, both on my own and with a guide. The plants of the cloud forest
are quite amazing, with several varieties of small orchids, twisty mossy
trees, and various other plants that grow out of these trees as
parasites. The walks followed a raging stream and many waterfalls.
Today I'll explore more of Quito and get ready for my return tomorrow.
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