To market, to market, to buy a

Sunday, November 19, 2017
Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador
It would be a short night, Nelson was to pick us up at 7:00 to head to Otovalo, Ecuador's largest outdoor market. Our goal was to be down for breakfast at 6:30 and we almost made it! Good thing Nelson was a little late.
At this hour on a Saturday morning, the city streets were empty and we made great time for the first hour of what was to be a two hour drive to Otovalo. We were all blown away by the beautiful mountainous countryside. 
The reason for the need of an early start was that this weekend was the annual pilgrimage to Quinche. In recognition of the Virgin Mary of Quinche, as many as 800,000 pilgrims converge on this town. The problem for us was that it is the same direction as Otovalo. Several roads were closed and others were stop and go; the typical two-hour drive turned into four.
We drove through a region that produces millions of roses for export. The green houses seemed to cover whole hillsides. Along the road and towns, vendors were selling bundles of 25 fresh-cut roses for $1.50!!!
The drive was up one mountain, back down to the bottom of a valley and back up the next mountain, etc. , etc. As we came off one of these passes, Otovalo, lake and mountain of the same name, opened up below us. 
Nelson drove us to the Puertolago resort, right on the shore of the lake for pictures . A great little stop. Onto Orovalo where we found street parking near the several-square block outdoor market. It is open everyday, but Saturday is the biggest. Hundreds of vendors, most in colorful, traditional Ecuadorian dress were hawking their ware.
We needed nothing, but Brennan got a leather wallet; Grandpa an alpaca sweater; and Sue got two scarves. WE got dish towels, a doll, and a wood carved Nativity set. Would have gotten a beautiful woven queen-sized blanket for $15, but decided we had no way to pack it to bring home.
After spending nearly two hours at the market, Nelson offered to take us (actually on our list) to Laguna Cuicocha. Only about 30 minutes from Otavalo, this is a lake in the crater of a dormant volcano; what makes it really cool is that there are two islands in the center.
For $3.50 each, we did the 30 minute boat ride on the lake. The crater walls rise hundreds of feet above the lake's surface. We circled the larger island and cut back through the narrow, reed-lined channel that separates the two islands, and headed back to the dock. 
We dead-headed back to Quito with our lone stop at a roadside restaurant that featured unique biscuits baked in an open stone oven. We got a bag of 10 biscuits for a $1. They were warm and very tasty - kinda sweet, kinda salty, delicious! 
Back in Quito, we headed straight to the Teleferico, a cable car to the top of a peak overlooking the city. Quito is at about 8,400 feet and the cable car took us to over 12,000 feet. For $6.50 each, what a great adventure. The ride was about 10 minutes and the views of Quito were simply spectacular! 
Back to the Hotel Finlandia, we said our goodbyes to Nelson. He was a great driver and took us everywhere we asked and offered several extras.
After FaceTime with Bligh and Dan, we headed to a restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet, Achiote. It was about a 10 minute taxi ride, $4. Loved it, maybe the best meal we have had this year! Brennan had a "fruits of the sea" dish, in an amazing sauce over fettuccini, Sue went with shrimp in a coconut sauce and Dave, a grilled fish. 
After a taxi back to the hotel, it was after 10:00 and we all crashed.

Comments

Bligh
2017-11-22

Great day and great pictures!

2025-02-14

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