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Published: November 14th 2009
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We were back in Quito for our last day in South America. Again, we got up early and were on the bus by 8 AM. Our tour today included a two hour drive through the Ecuadorian countryside to Otavalo and then on to Cotacachi.
Our main stop on the way to Otavalo was the Equator! Basically, there is a tourist attraction called La Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world) that is a large, orange monument marking the Equator. The marker sits on a large stone design. Together, the monument and the stones create a large sundial, used to mark the solstices and equinox.
After a brief presentation about how this spot on the Equator was found by the Inca, we had time to take pictures. It was pretty cool to be standing in both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time! One of the men in our group actually got out his iPhone with the compass application. Sure enough, the GPS read 0 degrees latitude! 😊 After about 20 minutes, we got back on the bus and continued our journey. Bryan was not too impressed, but standing on the Equator is exactly the kind of
touristy thing I love! How many people can say that they have done something like that?
Our purpose in Otavalo was to visit the market....more shopping! This time we had about an hour and half to shop. The market was similar to the one in Pisac, Peru, but had different types of souvenirs. We bought a few things. Again, I needed more time and did not bargain as much as I had hoped. I actually liked the handicrafts in Peru better and wished I could have shopped more there.....oh well. As it is, we spent lots of money of stuff for our families and us. Definitely helping out the local economy!
After the market, we drove to Cotacachi, a town known for its leather goods. First, we went to lunch. Bryan had steak and I had chicken curry. Both were okay. Then, we had about an hour to browse the many leather shops along the main street in town. Our guide told us that we could get really good deals on leather goods here, but I did not really think the prices were that great. We bought a few wallets and a leather belt.
When we got
back on the bus, we headed straight back to our hotel. We arrived in Quito about 5:30 PM and had about an hour to relax before our farewell dinner. Dinner was in a fancy restaurant that actually looked similar to a banquet hall here in the States. We had a set menu to choose from. Our appetizer was locro, the delicious local soup, followed by entrees, chicken or steak. This was the third place I had eaten locro and it was by far the best! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It is my new favorite soup and will have to find a recipe to make it at home.
After the dinner, the restaurant put on a music and dance show. It was pretty cheesy...I think all of our group was tired and just ready to go home. So, we were glad the show was short and we were back in our hotel by 9:20 PM. We promptly fell asleep, as we had to get up at the insane hour of 4:15 AM, to make our 8:20 flight the next morning.
Overall, this trip was much different than our China trip--it was more physically taxing, even
though we had more down time, we had to get up incredibly early each day, and both of us were sick with altitude and stomach issues. However, excluding all that, this trip was
AMAZING!! We saw and experienced so many cool things. Machu Picchu and the Galapagos animals were definitely the highlights. I am so glad we were able to go on this fabulous journey!
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