Blogs from Otavalo, North, Ecuador, South America - page 3

Our Arrival Our bus from Ibarra dropped us at the bus terminal in Otavalo town at 1pm. You can easily walk into the town centre from the terminal. Where We Stayed Hostal Runa Pacha - $14 for a double room with TV and shared bathroom. Internet worked well in the room even though we were on the 3rd floor. Hot water shower and our room was right next to a balcony. On Roca street near Quiroga street. Hostal Colon - $10 for a double room with shared bathroom. The room was large and had a TV although it didn't work in our room (it was working in other rooms). Rooms were set around a courtyard and had good internet. On Calle Colon near 31 de Octubre. Hot water shower although it took a while to heat ... read more

23 January 2014 – Thursday – Otavalo, Ecuador Hard fun today. After a quick cup of coffee and a cake for breakfast, we walked to the Ecomontes Tour office for our day’s adventure. We drove about 20 kilometres into the heart of Volcano Avenue to the crater lakes of Mojanda which are 3700 meters (12, 139 feet) above sea level. Mojanda is a complex of three lakes with colourful names from the local Quechua language: Caricocha (male lake) or big lake, Huarmicocha (female lake) or small lake and Yanacocha or black lake. The three lakes are connected by different paths through the high altitude grasslands and shrub-lands that lie about the cloud forests and are collectively known as ‘paramo’ and are defended by two mountains the Fuya-Fuya to the East and the Yanahurco or Black Mountain ... read more

21 January 2014 – Tuesday – Otavalo, Ecuador Today we took a taxi to Condor Park. Condor Park is located on a hilltop, called Curiloma Pucara, about 5 kilometers outside of Ortavalo and has a wonderfully panoramic, stunning view of the surrounding mountains, volcanoes and lakes. In a beautiful garden setting are about twenty large mesh cages containing raptors: birds of prey, including hawks and eagles, condors and owls. These are all rescue birds; the park’s information states that none of the birds in the park have been taken directly from nature. Most of the birds are rescued from illegal captivity or unsuitable environments. These rescued birds are rehabilitated here. They are released if deemed they will be able to survive when in the wild again. It is a fascinating place to visit, with wonderful gardens ... read more

Our last stop in Ecuador was Otavalo, a market town few hours away from the Colombian border. It's mostly famous for the huge artisan market attracting busloads of tourists from Quito and elsewhere every Saturday to buy indigenous themed handicrafts, art etc. Being a fan of that stuff myself, I definitely wanted to see the city. At the end, the market wasn't very exciting, but the city itself was surrounded by gorgeous mountains, and only for that reason well worth the visit.After spending a night in Otavalo, it was time to move on towards Colombia. Our route plan for South America has changed to almost unidentifiable compared to the original one we had on mind before coming here; Ecuador wasn't on the plans, and Colombia certainly wasn't. Now, we have spent 5-6 weeks in Ecuador, and ... read more

Here are some pictures of our time in Ecuador. Miss T... read more