The taxi ride from Otavalo to Cotacachi was only about 30 minutes.  It was hard to believe we were still only about 3 hours outside of Quito.  Our taxi driver wanted to drop us off in the center of town and be our driver back to Otavalo.  We agreed for  him to return to pick us up  in 1.5 hours. 

Cotacachi is known for its leather goods.  Lots of leather stores in the small town.  The main street is fairly upscale.  After you have seen one leather store you have seen them all unless you are looking for something very specific. 

Cotacachi-one the shopping streets

Cotacachi-one of busy shopping streets

Cotacachi-view of the sorrounding mountains

Naptime on the streets of Cotacachi-

Cotacachi park-some interesting sculptures

Cotacachi-some more of the interesting mountain views

inside the art musuem in Cotacachi

After the 1.5 hours we had all the fun we could stand.  Our taxi driver met us at the agreed upon location and took us back to Otavalo where we caught the bus back to Quito.

Next-Part 7-Spanish Classes begin in Quito, Ecuador

To read about my other travels click here

Steve Barrymore   ssb11@prodigy.net

We arrived at the main bus station in Otavalo, Ecuador, asked for directions, and soon were headed for the central market. 

Otavalo, Ecuador-the bus station

Otavalo, Ecuador. one of the buildings in town-interesting design

Otavalo, Ecuador. Lots of backpackers travel here. Several Hostals in town

We easily found the market . The merchandise was good quality with reasonable prices.  I bought a hat for $10. In general, I think the quality of crafts in Ecuador is very high compared to other countries.

 One of the crafts that I really like in Ecuador is the very unusual chess sets that they make.  Many of the vendors sell them.  I bought one for a friend. 

Otavalo, Ecuador-the market

Otavalo, Ecuador-the market

Otavalo, Ecuador-The market

Otavalo, Ecuador-the market

Otavalo, Ecuador, the market

Otavalo, Ecuador, the market

 The market was crowded for a Sunday.  Glad we did not come on a Saturday….they say it is really crazy then!  The vendors love to bargain.  All  were very friendly.  Several of them wanted to hear the story of why we were in Ecuador.  It was a great opportunity to practice our Spanish. 

We walked around for 1.5 hours, then found a little restaurant for lunch. No English spoken here!  I had a large piece of grilled chicken with carrots and broccoli and club soda.  Jim had a big plate of trout with veggies and a beer.  Total cost was around $12. 

Otavalo, Ecuador-Food Picture-My lunch, chicken

Otavalo, Ecuador-food picture-Jim's lunch

While eating lunch, we asked the owner about going to the town of Cotacachi which was about 20-30 minutes away.  He thought it would be a good idea.  We could go by bus for $1 or taxi for $5.  We opted for the taxi which the owner called for us. 

Next-We move on to the town of Cotacachi

To read about my other travels click here

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After a great night’s sleep from the previous day’s hard travel, I was up at 6:30 a.m..  Jim and I had agreed to meet at the bottom of the hill and travel to the town of Otavalo. 

Otavalo is supposed to have one of the best markets in Ecuador.  Even though the big market is on Saturdays, I had read there is still plenty of shopping in the town square on Sunday.    

We met at the appointed time and hoofed it the next ten (10) blocks to the school so Jim could show me the route for when I walked it myself on Monday. 

Near the school was a bakery with fresh baked Ecuadorian pastries.  We chowed down on pure sugar for about a buck each and then caught a city bus(25cents) to the main bus terminal, Terrestre.

Terrestre was a known entity to me because I had caught a bus from there three years ago to Tena, Ecuador where I did a  jungle language immersion program. 

Terrestere can be very overwhelming at first.   It is very noisy,lots of commotion.   Every  bus vendor in Ecuador is shouting out their destinations.  It is intimidating to try to figure out from which bus line to buy your ticket. It is also well known as a place that has its share of pickpockets and plenty of opportunities to lose your backpack.    I went with my experience and picked a familiar looking ticket window.  15 minutes and a couple of dollars later we were on the bus to Otavalo.

Ecuador-Our bus to Otavalo

The ride to Otavalo took about 2 hours.  All during the trip there were vendors that contanstantly got off and on.  It was like a revolving door.   They were selling water, potato chips, peanuts, newspapers, etc.  I bought 3 CD’s for $1 each and a newspaper for $1 simply because they did a great sales presentation for the bus crowd.  When we left Terrestere there were only about 10 people on the bus.  The farther we went, the more people got on from little roadside stops.  Finally, we were full. 

We traveled up into the mountains through some of the most beautiful countryside passing through Imbabura and then Mira Lago. 

We arrived in Otavalo at 10:30 a.m

To read about my other travels click here

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net