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Published: September 10th 2007
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The colors of Otavalo
A feast for the eyes of a shopper. "Volley! Volley! Volleyvolleyvolleyvolley!" The 'bus helper' pointed at us as he shouted from the door of the bus. He knew where we were going before we did. Since we couldn't decipher what he was yelling, we waited until we saw the big gold letters on the front of the bus reading OTAVALO. Somehow the name of this famous Ecuadorian market town had been shortened to "Volley". We hopped on the bus as it rolled by and settled in for the 2 hour ride. As with most trips out of Quito, it takes an hour just to get out of the city. Luckily, it can be pretty interesting, with people coming on board to try to sell newspapers, fruit, homemade popcicles, cheap watches, sunglasses, candy or q-tips. But it was Friday, and we were ready to get out of the city again. We were especially eager to relax in a smaller town whose beauty (tucked in green land underneath the shadow of two volcanoes) is often overlooked by its more famous market.
We arrived, against our best judgment, without hotel reservations. It was dark when we arrived, and I was starting to worry when, on our fourth try, we fianlly found
Dancing
dancing for Yamor a hotel with a free room on the edge of town. We knew that Friday nights can be full, when the sleepy town swells up with people preparing for the animal and artisan markets which begin on Saturday morning. But we didn't know that this particular evening was especially crowded because the biggest fiesta of the year was about to start. The "Fiesta de Yamor" is a traditional festival where the indigenous people thank Mother Earth for the maize harvest. The non indigenas join in to celebrate the patron Virgin of Otavalo. We dropped our things in our dim but cozy room and headed down to the main drag to witness the inaguration of the festival. We stood on tip toes with our $1 beers in hand, and watched cars parade the candidates for Yamor queen. Each float was escorted by energetic folkloric dancers of every style, bands and fireworks. The whole town appears to line the streets to get a view of the procession. In the main park, kids and adults sat around drinking cheap boxes of wine or beers, which were being sold by every other person that walked by. Apparently, public restrooms were rare that evening. I
Parade king
He was kind of scary. must have seen 25 people (hombres) pee out in the open in front of hundreds of other people. I guess they didn't want to miss anything.
It was a bit strange and certainly a relief to be able to walk around at night with out many worries. I only counted two other gringos all night. In true Ecuadorian style, the curious looks of the locals were accompanied by smiles. We were even stopped and interviewed on the radio. Well, the 'interview' consisted of us saying we were from America, the man rapidly spewing out a string of spanish sentences, and us yelling "Viva Otavalo!!!", which they found amusing. We enjoyed the night's festivities, but didn't forget why we had really come- to shop at possibly the most famous indeginous crafts market in all of South America.
Unfortunately, when our 5:30 am alarm went off, we could not drag ourselves out of bed. We intended to walk 1 km out of town to witness the animal market. I guess I am not in the market for a pig or goat right now anyways. However, we did wake up prepared for the crafts market. We walked out on the
Steamy
Street food near the parade. street to see some people walking into town with their animals. On the way to the town center, one lady's pig broke loose and took off towards us. As she ran after him we tried to step in it's path to slow him down a bit. She finally caught him and tied him to a street light while she rested. We passed all types of animals being led through the street on our way to Plaza de los Ponchos, where the core of the Artesian market is. In our eagerness to shop, we arrived a bit too early, and sat and ate breakfast while the maze of crafts booths were set up. We opted for eggs and bread for breakfast, while most others ate pork, fried dumplings, and other various kinds of sizzling street food. Something about eating chunks of meat cut directly off a full bodied pig (head, tail and all) makes my stomach turn. I prefer to eat my meat without much thought of where it came from!
When we finally made our way to the center of the market, we were a bit overwhelmed. We still had a few hours before the tourist buses unloaded all
vaca
On their way to the market the day-trippers. As we passed each stall, the vendors called to us from behind their colorful piles of textiles (in Spanish)- "amiga, amigo, we have hammocks, we have beautiful scarves and tapestries ." If we showed a slightest bit of intrest, they would quickly come over, always dressed in their traditional clothing, and unfold their colorful weavings or urge us try on a scarf or hat. If we even so much as looked twice at one textile, they would pull it out and unfold it for us to see. They sometimes patiently did this for us with 5 or 6 different pieces. It was the same process at every stall. After inspecting a possible purchase, we ask how much it costs. They give us a high price. We politely say thank you, but we would like to look around for a bit. They then ask us to name a price we are willing to pay. They then reject that price and name a higher one. Then as we start to walk away, they beg us again- "What price do you want? Tell me what price you like to pay." We eventually settle in the middle, with the vendor agreeing to
Matt bargains
Matt checks out one of the many blankets. give us a special discount for the "first sale" of the day. We must have been the first sale for at least 6 vendors!!! Of course, the bargaining is expected, but we found it a bit difficult, knowing that we we would pay more than the first full asking price for these beautiful crafts. It is easy to see the time and skill that went into creating these incredible items, and it felt sinful to walk away with a hammock or giant woven blanket for $12. Many of these crafts would be 5-10 times more expensive in the US. The best bargainers of all are the children, who often do the talking as their elders sit nearby. I was feeling pretty good about the bargaining, until I struck a deal with a girl for two different items. After I paid, Matt let me know that she actually offered them to me for $27, and I said, "How about $29?". Of course, she agreed and I was left with a bruised ego and the feeling that I need to review my numbers in spanish. Of course, it was not anything that some more shopping therapy couldn't cure.
We wandered the
Pretty!
So much to choose from! stalls for a few more hours, buying without regard to the expense of shipping home all our items. When we ran out of money, we got some more and kept going. We had many excuses- this is a once in a lifetime oppotunity... The prices are so good, it would be wrong NOT to buy a lot....They are mostly presents for other people anyways.... We can't get this in the US... It's freezing cold in Kansas, so I will probably NEED at least 5 stocking caps... and so on. I would go into more detail about what we bought, but like I said, many things are presents (this also explains the absence of many photos of our purchases). My favorite presents I bought for myself include some silver earrings and a necklace, and my alpaca fleece hat. Alpaca is an animal that looks like a cross between a llama and a sheep. They exist only in the Andean region of South America, at an altitude of 3500-5000 meters. Alapaca fiber is similar to wool, but is warmer, more lightweight and soft as silk. So we couldn't help geting a few hats, especially at $2 a pop! We also picked up
Toca
If I know how to play, I would have had to get a few of these. some woven textiles, which they are very good at creating, especially since they have been weaving by hand for over 400 years.
We left Saturday afternoon after a morning of shopping, happily weighed down with our new purchases. Somehow though, our thirst for beautiful souvenirs was not completely satisfied. As we rode back to Quito we wondered if we should have bought more, and discussed the possibilites of wonderful crafts markets to come in Peru and Bolivia. We will, of course, HAVE to get some souvenirs from these countries too!
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