Otavalo´s Markets and Ecuadorians 5 Finger Discount

---

So we finally made it out of Colombia after 3 weeks! On the bus we met these two awesome girls; Brigette from Las Vegas & Elisa from Italy and found we were pretty much traveling the same route so after easily crossing the border via bus and walking, we arrived in the cute town of Otavalo in the afternoon. We went to get some lunch at a restaurant called Otavalito and paid $5 for a 4 course meal of sopa de mote, crepe de atun, lomo asado con verduras y papas (grilled beef w veggies and potatoes), and helado de mango...mmm super rico!

After filling our bellies with Ecuadorian deliciousess, made camp at a cheap hostel called Takia Makia. We ended up squeezing 4 of us in a 3 bed room, so it was a little tight, but we made it work by moving 2 of the beds together. We could feel the wooden planks beneaths the mattress pads, but we only paid $5 so whatevs.

We then checked out the famous market for scarves, blankets, art, jewelry, bags, etc. Some things were definitely cheap, but other vendors were definitely trying to take advantage and I was just not having it so I didn´t get anything the first day.l

At night we went back to the market area to get some street food for dinner. The other girls got all sorts of meat shish kebab but I wasn´t that hungry after our massive lunch so I just got two types of corn mixed with big chunks of quesito for $1. Yum but way too much corn for my body to handle.

The next morning we went back to the market to get the goods we definitely wanted and then started our trek to Lago San Pablo, Parque el Condor, y La Cascada. The surrounding mountains of farmland and fincas were amazing--again just like a postcard. We took lots of pictures, but they never seem to do them justice.

By the afternoon we bused it back to town and got our things to take the 2 hour bus ride to Quito. Upon arriving in Quito, I went searching for my jacket and couldn´t find it...it turns out Elisa´s green sweater and longsleeve also went missing along with Brigette´s socks and m&ms...we quickly learned that Ecuadorians are not very trustworthy and reliable people, unfortunately...

---