Otavalo

The Market Of Otavalo

Otavalo is one of those tourist destinations that every backpacker coming through Ecuador usually makes a trip to. It lies just a few hours north of Quito and is easily visited as a day trip. It is famous for its market, which on a Saturday in full swing is considered one of the largest in South America. People who come to Quito usually do a trip to Otavalo within their first few days. I had now been living in Ecuador for 1 year and 4 months and still had not yet made it to Otavalo. I was about to change that.

So one Saturday, with Jefferson, Sarah and a whole host of other friends - we all jumped in the mini-bus run by the La Guayunga Hostal and headed north. First we stopped at a few places along the way - one of which was the equator. I had been to the equator before in Ecuador - to the place where most tourists venture to - but this place was different. Being a line - the equator gives a lot of opportunities for people to set up a sign and make money. This part of the equator (confirmed by GPS) was for scientific experiments though. We were given a demonstration of all things equatory, told about the work that they do here and was even persuaded (well kind of persuaded) to take their view that the world map should be tilted on its side (90 degrees) so that it follows the sun. What they are basically saying is that Greenwich is not in fact the centre of the planet and England is therefore not the motherland - which I don´t buy for a second. We all know it is!!! We then later headed to some viewpoints - mainly of stunning lakes and even an odd volcano or two, before we finally made it to Otavalo.

Otavalo really is a huge market. There are several different types of stalls. One selling all food items like herbs and spices, fruits and breads and even meats. Then there are the clothes stalls offering traditional garments of different varieties and which are mostly made of Alpaca (the wool from a special breed of small llama). There are then stalls selling art and jewellery, hammocks and sunglasses, rugs and souvenirs. Then all you have to do is multiply each of those types of stalls by 50 and you have Otavalo Market. There wasn´t anything I really wanted but it was nice to walk around in the sun chatting and looking. I am a bit of a pro when it comes to haggling for goods too (as you have to do in Otavalo), which stems from my days travelling in Asia. I was therefore suprised whan they wouldn´t sell Jefferson a hammock for US$12 and a kiss (from Jefferson of course). Oh, my bargaining techniques just arn´t what they used to be. Perhaps more worryingly was when we asked how much for the sellers baby and she said US$2000. I assumed it was a joke.

After some wondering for a few hours, we stopped to rest and have lunch in a great (organic) restaurant. It was one of our friends (Kimberley´s) birthday, so we got her a small cake and a candle to blow out too. We didn´t have time to check out the animal market (which would have been interesting), but we did later take a short drive through the town of Otavalo and out again to see some waterfalls. It was about a 20 minute walk and the waterfall was pretty impressive. There was even a small cave to explore.

After a full day out we took the ride back to Quito. I was glad I got a chance to finally see Otavalo and one of the largest markets in all of South America..............I guess next time I should actually buy something!!!