Saturday, June 4

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Woke up, got dressed, had breakfast (salted boiled egg, freshly squeezed orange juice, and instant coffee), and was at Mariana’s at 8:30 sharp, like she told me. Yea right. Today marked the trip to Otavalo. I waited for Mariana until 9 at the earliest with Sandra, another volunteer from Houston. Another thing Royal told me when I first arrived in Quito, ¨no one is one time here.¨ We left with Miguel and Lucho, our driver, and picked up Amanda and Stephen, other volunteers, and Stephen´s father, John.

As we began our trip, dozing on and off, low clouds covered the tops of mountains, suspended above the city. We wound and snaked our way along the mountains listening to festive meringue and other tourist-y Latino pop music.

Our first stop was at a rest area overlooking el Lago de San Pablo. The surrounding mountains looked like a quilt of green fabric and thread spread over the rolling hills and mountains.

Next was the Cataratas de Peguche. After a nice hike through a forest, we found our first waterfall. We walked to a small bridge bout 30 feet from the falls, where I realized a little too late that I had a waterproof jacket in my backpack…
Miguel led us nearer to the waterfalls and soon after I came back completely soaked. But little did I know that was nothing. He escorted us to an area above the waterfalls where some guys in bathing shorts waded and fooled around. We were to go under this rocky tunnel-like area where another waterfall awaited and he could take pictures. After hesitating for a good 10 minutes, Stephen, Amanda, Sandra and I all took off our jackets, socks and shoes, hiked up our jeans, and stepped into the freezing and rushing waters. Holding on tightly to the rock, lest we lost our grip and let the force of the waters carry us like leaves down to the next waterfall and to our deaths we somehow made it – there and back. Dripping and soaked to the bone, we squished and waddled our way back to the car.

After, we drove to lunch, a little area on the side of the highway and had fritadas (pork, potatoes, corn on the cob and nuts). Delicioso!

We then went to Cotacachi, a village known for its genuine leather sold at unbelievably cheap prices. Coats that would normally be $700 or $800 are only $40 or $50 and belts that would be $70 or $80 are only $10. Um, Winning!

We then headed to El Lago de Cuicocha. This is a crater lake at the foot of the Cotacachi volcano. The sun sparkled on the water, in the middle of which lay the largest island in Ecuador, a lush landscape of green and rolling land where guinea pigs (cuy) and rabbits roam. In the indigenous Kichwa language, Cuicocha means ¨Lago del Cuy¨ or Guinea Pig Lake.

We finally made it to our final destination, the village of Otavalo, well-known for its market. Immediately, I lost myself in the hunt for various gifts, treasures, and dry clothes I could change into. It´s also necessary to barter here, which I think I accomplished pretty successfully for my first time. So many colors and textures. It was beautiful to say the least. And the people! The Otavaleño women stood amidst fabrics, spices, and food stands wearing the traditional embroidered blouses, dark skirts, many strings of gold beads around their necks, and their long, black hair braided and tied with multicolored material. The men also wore the traditional ponchos and hats, their long, dark braided hair complementing their dark skin. They appeared almost Native American and quite handsome, to say the least.

Two hours later I was back at Nancy´s, changed into my comfy pajamas and found a new chica in the bed next to mine. Julia, from Munich who knows no Spanish, will also be staying for the next month. Eating lasagna and salad with chamomile tea and talking with Aracely, Nancy and Gustavo definitely warmed me up! As soon as I brought up pasillos, the Ecuadorian music we had heard the night before in La Ronda, we moved straight into the living room and listened to a variety of Ecuadorian music. As soon as salsa music began resonating throughout the house, Gustavo couldn´t get off his feet as he twirled all the ladies around the room. A perfect Saturday.

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Comments

[isabelle Kralj]

Fantastic!
Ana, It all sounds so wonderful. I am happy for you and your unique experiences. Good job on the pictures...so looking forward to seeing you when you get home to hear all about it in person. Love, hugs, and kisses, Teta Isabelle :)