Today we were scheduled for a day tour to Otavalo to go to the outdoor market that they have where the indigenous people all sell their hand made products. We were picked up at 8:00 am by Gabriel and started a long ride towards Otavalo. Along the way Gabriel told us of a lot of the history of Quito and the surrounding areas.
Our first stop was in Cayambe at a local family bakery where they make bizcochos which is a biscuit that is made only in this area of the country. The one family bakery that we visited had about 6 people around this huge pile of dough all making these biscuits. They make between 5,000 and 6,000 of these biscuits a day using authentic wood burning ovens which makes them unique to all the other bakeries selling bizcochos s they all use traditional ovens.
A little further down the road and we were looking out at a view point to the Cotacachi volcano. It was a bit cloudy today but that added a bit to the view that we witnessed.
The next stop was at the famous Otavalo market. Unfortunately is was not Saturday when the market is more lively with many more people as well as the animal market nearby, but still we enjoyed walking that market and seeing the wares that people had. I got to practice my haggling skills which I am not good at but Dave helped me to stand my ground a bit on some items and we scored a handbag, a couple of belts, a hand pained bowl and a really nice alpaca wool blanket. I was really happy with the purchases we made and the price I paid for things.
Next Gabriel took us to Peguche to see the waterfall called Cascades de Peguche. The area is a nice quiet area in which the local community has taken over the the upkeep of the park area and they have a nice camping area and have made a walkway to the waterfall. It is not a large waterfall but it is a nice place to visit and just chill for a little while.
Our next stop was at a local family's weaving shop. The lady showed us how they collect and comb the wool, then spin it into strings, collecting a ball of the string to use to weave. She then showed us how she colors the different threads. She takes water and then adds different items to make the colors such as some nuts are used to make brown, she used a plant to make the green and then she showed us how she used a bug that lives on the cactus plants. First if you just crush the bug and use the blood, you can make red, if you then put some citrus juice on that, it makes orange and lastly if you add baking soda to that, it makes a deep maroon color. They next showed us how they used the loams. There was an old traditional one that it used by men whereby they sit on the ground and wrap the loam around their back and then weave the pattern in front of them. One of the young guys sat at the more modern loam and he just worked so quickly and effortlessly, or at least it looked that way to us.
Lastly we went up Cotacachi and we walked through the main town to see their leather goods. Every other store was selling some type of leather and I wonder how anyone decides which store to buy from. We stopped in a couple of stores just to see the prices and they were more than what we would pay in the states but they may have been a bit better made as well. We didn't buy anything here but it was nice to see the local industry.
After this we made our way back to Quito and because of traffic it took a little longer but we made it back by 4:00 which was good because we could use a rest before dinner.
Tonight we went to Mea Culpa for dinner which is located in the Plaza Grande. It was set in a nice colonial setting overlooking the plaza. We started with an appetizer of shrimp, scallops and asparagus in an olive oil and cayenne pepper sauce and it was very good. The scallops were slightly overcooked but the flavor of it all was great. Dave had the tenderloin which was served with mushrooms in a port wine sauce and I had the chicken which was served in a champagne sauce which was a little sweet but still very good. We were going to attempt dessert but we were too full after our entrees so we had to pass.
We headed back to the hotel and even though it was a little later tonight, about 8:30, the streets were still busy and we walked back without a problem.
It was a long day and I was happy to be able to get some rest as tomorrow is our last full day in Ecuador.
Our first stop was in Cayambe at a local family bakery where they make bizcochos which is a biscuit that is made only in this area of the country. The one family bakery that we visited had about 6 people around this huge pile of dough all making these biscuits. They make between 5,000 and 6,000 of these biscuits a day using authentic wood burning ovens which makes them unique to all the other bakeries selling bizcochos s they all use traditional ovens.
A little further down the road and we were looking out at a view point to the Cotacachi volcano. It was a bit cloudy today but that added a bit to the view that we witnessed.
The next stop was at the famous Otavalo market. Unfortunately is was not Saturday when the market is more lively with many more people as well as the animal market nearby, but still we enjoyed walking that market and seeing the wares that people had. I got to practice my haggling skills which I am not good at but Dave helped me to stand my ground a bit on some items and we scored a handbag, a couple of belts, a hand pained bowl and a really nice alpaca wool blanket. I was really happy with the purchases we made and the price I paid for things.
Next Gabriel took us to Peguche to see the waterfall called Cascades de Peguche. The area is a nice quiet area in which the local community has taken over the the upkeep of the park area and they have a nice camping area and have made a walkway to the waterfall. It is not a large waterfall but it is a nice place to visit and just chill for a little while.
Our next stop was at a local family's weaving shop. The lady showed us how they collect and comb the wool, then spin it into strings, collecting a ball of the string to use to weave. She then showed us how she colors the different threads. She takes water and then adds different items to make the colors such as some nuts are used to make brown, she used a plant to make the green and then she showed us how she used a bug that lives on the cactus plants. First if you just crush the bug and use the blood, you can make red, if you then put some citrus juice on that, it makes orange and lastly if you add baking soda to that, it makes a deep maroon color. They next showed us how they used the loams. There was an old traditional one that it used by men whereby they sit on the ground and wrap the loam around their back and then weave the pattern in front of them. One of the young guys sat at the more modern loam and he just worked so quickly and effortlessly, or at least it looked that way to us.
Lastly we went up Cotacachi and we walked through the main town to see their leather goods. Every other store was selling some type of leather and I wonder how anyone decides which store to buy from. We stopped in a couple of stores just to see the prices and they were more than what we would pay in the states but they may have been a bit better made as well. We didn't buy anything here but it was nice to see the local industry.
After this we made our way back to Quito and because of traffic it took a little longer but we made it back by 4:00 which was good because we could use a rest before dinner.
Tonight we went to Mea Culpa for dinner which is located in the Plaza Grande. It was set in a nice colonial setting overlooking the plaza. We started with an appetizer of shrimp, scallops and asparagus in an olive oil and cayenne pepper sauce and it was very good. The scallops were slightly overcooked but the flavor of it all was great. Dave had the tenderloin which was served with mushrooms in a port wine sauce and I had the chicken which was served in a champagne sauce which was a little sweet but still very good. We were going to attempt dessert but we were too full after our entrees so we had to pass.
We headed back to the hotel and even though it was a little later tonight, about 8:30, the streets were still busy and we walked back without a problem.
It was a long day and I was happy to be able to get some rest as tomorrow is our last full day in Ecuador.
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