Otavalo

Otavalo has been a great place to stay and I am planning on coming back. There is so much to do and see in this small community of less than 100,000. The people are incredibly amiable, happy and easy to understand. They speak Spanish at such a slower rate than Colombianos - it has been really nice. They have tons of hiking all around the community. I walked to a waterfall and park yesterday. It took about 20 minutes or so from downtown and there is so much hiking within an hour of the town that I hope to explore when I come back.

One day after class, we went to Parque Condor where there were a variety of atriums for birds. They had a variety of hawks, kestrals, a bald eagle and two condors. Gosh they are HUGE!!! It was an awesome surprise to see both the Condors and a bald eagle at the same time :-)

The open daily markets they have are fantabulous. I love seeing all the fresh fruits and vegetables and how they display their grains. Their is a large population of indigenous people here that are still true to their traditional dress and language. and who dress and talk in their native language. The children here are learning 3 languages in school - spanish, english and quechua - the language of the indigenous or otavaleños. The Otavaleña women traditionally wear white embroidered blouses, with flared lace sleeves and their long hair is tied back with a band of woven multi coloured material, often matching the band which is wound several times around their waists. They usually have many strings of gold beads around their necks, and matching tightly wound long strings of coral beads around each wrist. They also fold a blanket or cloth over their head in a variety of shapes to protect from the sun. Men wear white trousers and have their hair in one long braid. They both wear a type of sandal on their feet. Their Saturday market which Otavalo is renowned for is incredibly overwhelming. Not only is the Plaza de Ponchos packed with booths, but there is at least 4 - 6 blocks in every direction radiating with booths filled with incredible hand made crafts. They work really hard setting up and taking down their crafts each day. Here is a gentleman lugging their gear at the end of the day. They all use a similar set up with a girder around their head with a strap around these huge bundles. The otavaleños are typically small in height. So I found it to be such a feat.

Another day after class, a few of us went to Las Piramides de Cochasqui where an indigenous culture lived in the earth to protect themselves from the elements and then further buried their village in order to protect it from the invasions of the Incas. We saw mostly mounds or hills where a culture had typically lived but we also saw how they used their calendars. They had 2 - one lunar and one solar. I have included a picture of the plant which makes tequila! They actually do not have much tequila down here but I know some of you enjoy agave just as much as I do. So the plany has a 20 year life span and in it´s 20th year it grows that huge stalk you see.