Blogs from Otavalo, North, Ecuador, South America

All kind of people travel. You have the single travellers, the couples, the friends, the families, and infrequently the mother-daughter pair. But it is not often you encounter the mother-son combination. The eyes stop to look, the minds wonder. We are different. Not the norm for the road. We stand out. But the reactions are invariably positive. How is it to travel with my mother? Not hard. But there are differences with travelling alone of course. Probably the biggest issue is the discrepancy in spending power. My budget is lower than my mums. It’s not always easy. I don’t want my mum to have to travel like I do, vice-versa, my mother doesn’t want me to break my bank to keep up with her. For the Galapagos I decided to go on par with my mother, ... read more

We arrived in Otavalo exhausted by the bus ride but excited for the markets on the following day. We quickly found accomodation in supurb hotel with a stunning view of the surrounding volcanic formed mountains. After a short rest we eagerly ventured out into Otavalo eager to get a feel for this well known town. We enjoyed some outstanding mexican food, discovered where the local panderia's were. Important information as fresh bread has quickly become our favoured breakfast when on the go. We walked through the market area full of questions about exactly what these famed markets would be like. We realised the following morning that our imaginings could not possibly have prepared us for the chaotic fiesta of the market. We hesitantly ventured out into the neighbouring street to our hotel which had almost by ... read more

I have arrived in Ecuador no problem transferring in Houston although I did get a bit worried when it was taking what seemed like ages to get through customs! Whilst queuing for security in Houston I got talking to a guy called Renan(sp?) unfortunately he was flying to DC not Quito but he did give me a note from Honduras which is worth about 25cents apparently! So I finally landed in Quito at 11pm (5am British time). I got a bit concerned that I should only be bringing 1 phone into the country & I had 2 but apparently it's fine especially as the one doesn't actually work in Ecuador. Then I had a slight panic that my luggage hadn't arrived because it wasn't going around the carousel but it turned out airport staff had taken ... read more

Otavalo - Day 21 We made it to Otavalo today! We took the taxi from Mindo back up to the highway. It was a nice sunny day, no rain. We took the San Perdito bus to the Carcalen bus station in Quito ($2.50 each). The trip took about two hours. A man came on the bus selling ice cream. He had a soft cooler bag, but don't see how it didn't melt. But I hear that some of the treats that look like ice cream are really frosting. The bus did some S and hairpin curves as we went up in elevation to Quito. Our problem was that we wanted to go from Mindo to Otavalo. There is no bus that goes that way. You have to go back to Quito and start over again. Another ... read more

nach all den märkten, die markus schon tapfer mit mir “bezwungen” hat, begleitet er mich heute auch noch nach otavalo, auf einen der größten überhaupt. schon wieder nicht ausschlafen (wann haben wir das zuletzt getan???) und auf geht es richtung otavalo. der markt ist vor allem samstags groß und umfasst nicht nur “fetzen und souvenirs” sondern auch, gleich zu beginn, einen imposanten vieh-markt. schweine, lämmer und kühe aller arten und größen werden an bunten schnüren und auf auto-ladeflächen zum verkauf angeboten. daneben sind eben diese, selbstgeflochtenen, bunten stricke, genauso wir körbe aus alten autoreifen, zu erstehen. männer und frauen in uns neuer tracht wuseln über den staubigen grund. goldene ketten und rosige korallenarmbänder schmücken die frauen. dunkle tücher als röcke werden von farbenfroh gewebten gürteln gehalten. weiße, reich mit glitzer... read more