Blogs from Otavalo, North, Ecuador, South America

Hello from Ecuador, We have spent 2 weeks in Ecuador and will be leaving for Peru in 2 days. We have had a lovely time even though it has been a flying visit. Our Ecuador trip started in Otavalo where we stayed for 5 days. During our time there we visited a traditional craft market which spreads along the streets of Otavalo for the whole of Saturday! We bought some weavings, a hand made blanket and a knitted lama wool bonnet for our baby niece. They were all made by local indigenous people who travel to Otavalo from surrounding villages for the market on Saturday. It was fantastic to see everyone dressed in traditional clothing. The men wore black ponchos and hats and the women wore white embroided blouses, a black skirt, brightly coloured woven belts ... read more

The employees at the immigration desk were welcoming me warmly. Then I went further to the baggage claim and was waiting tired and excited for my backpack. But it didn't came. So I went to a desk especially for complaints about baggage which didn't arrive. There were already around 10 other people standing cause their baggage didn't arrive as well. Hours later, as it was finally my turn they confirmed me that my backpack got lost somewhere and they would send it after. I should come the next day again to pick it up... I just thought to myself: Bienvenida en Sur-america! At least I could bank on the two volunteers who were picking me up at the airport and bringing me to the voluntary apartement in Otavalo. It took us two hours by bus to ... read more

After a cheap night at a hotel on the Colombian side of the border, it was a very early morning start to get over to Ecuador. We had planned that our month in Ecuador would all be about getting prepared for the Inca Trail so first stop was Quito where we got sorted with new walking kecks etc. Quito old town has the best plaza to date in SA, it's nigh on perfect - plenty of benches and greenery surrounded by majestic buildings and the mountains form a stunning backdrop. Well done Quito! We stayed in the Hotel San Francisco which was a bit poosh and pricey and so we soon moved to a cheapo hostel before we were all out of dosh! We really loved Quito on Sundays - the parks were full of families ... read more

Alors chers lecteurs, la derniere fois que je vous avais donne des nouvelles, (il y a fort longtemps) nous arrivions a Otavalo- petit village autochtone qui a su garder un charme assez authentique (sauf le samedi, jour du marche ou les touristes affluent en bien trop grand nombre). Coup de coeur pour nous 4. On trouve un hotel super, le maitre dhotel est FORMIDABLE. Pour souper, on va manger des tacos vegetariens, tres bon. Petite ville super, les gens sont accueillants et pour la plupart vetus avec leurs habits traditionnels. Les hommes portent de longues tresses et les femmes des queues de cheval recouvertent par un tissu tipique du pays. Nous sommes bien contents detre ici, ca fait changement de la beach! Le lendemain, nous allons au petit marche faire le plein de fruits et legumes, ... read more

We woke up bright and early for our trip to Otavalo, which is a town with a market place run by the indigenous people of Ecuador,located a couple hours out of Quito. Saturday is supposed to be the best day to visit the market but we decided today would have to do. We went with a group from our hostel, which consisted of three Canadians, a Belgian, and a local tour guide. The traffic is just insane in Quito. It took us an hour or so to get out of the outskirts of Quito. Once we left the city, we were immersed with the gorgeous scenery and the Andes mountains. As we passed by miles of construction, our tour guide told us the new Quito airport was being built in the middle of the huge ravine ... read more

Day 16: Cuenca to Otavalo via Quito: Today we travelled most of the day (14 hours!), so we didn't take any photos. I'll add photos of our hostal in Otavalo and the little place we ate dinner there just so there'll be some photos. The lady in the hostal in Cuenca called a taxi to take us to the bus terminal at 6:15am. After a short ride, we arrived at the terminal to discover that the express, "direct" bus to Quito would be going afterall. We bought two tickets at $10 each on the Super Taxis Cuence bus and waited to board. It looked like a nice new bus, so we had high hopes. We soon discovered that apparently the word direct doesn't mean the same thing in Ecuador as it does in the states, as ... read more

The Aya Huma Hostel at Peguche, was a series of white washed buildings perched beside a small stream and wooded ravine. Originally the hostel had been a railway station and apart from the design of the main building, the rail lines ran right through the middle. Farmland surrounds it. We checked into our hostel style rooms, and were immediately invited by the host- a dutch woman- to join her family and some guests for a traditional indigenous lunch. Though I have forgotten the word, this was basically a “hangi” based on hot rocks, bamboo leaves, canvas covering and soil. They cooked potatoes, plantains, pork and cassava root. Part of the attraction of this hostel is the linkage to indigenous culture, so our hosts told stories about the pre-columbian people in this region, their beliefs about the ... read more