Life is moving along so much faster than this blog! Helen wrote about the marvelous hot springs at Chachimbiro (Friday) but somehow the post disappeared. Maybe there's a way to retrieve it; I sure hope so!
On the way back to Otavalo from Chachimbiro, Carlos treated us to ice cream in Ibarra and Helen got to try whirling some blackberry sorbet in a copper tub!
Today, Saturday, was packed from start to finish. Saturday is the Big Market Day in Otavalo. We started at the animal market, early, before breakfast. As we approached the market, many people were already finished shopping and were pressing towards us toward their vehicles. A thousand photographs screamed to be taken--people dragging squealing pigs on leashes, a little boy corralling a bunch of piglets, a woman with a crate of live chickens, other women holding three or four chickens upside-down by the feet. Helen got some great shots of some animals, but alas, I couldn't bring myself to take a single photo! You'll just have to imagine the crush of hundreds and hundreds of people buying and selling farm animals, the cacophony of screaming animals, shouting people. Very intense. We walked along the periphery, sidestepping the pigs and the poop and the vehicles, until the thought of coffee and eggs lured us away.
I wanted so much to show you the people, the Quichua people in their beautiful garb, some of the older women so tiny they would make my cousin, Millie, look tall. But they usually hate having their picture taken and often refuse when we ask permission. And those big European tourists with giant cameras dangling from their necks... Were they planning to ask permission when they entered the market?
The remainder of the day brought surprise after surprise. Carlos and Carmen drove us back up to Ibarra --thirty minutes each way -- so we could buy our bus tickets to Ambato. On the way back they took a back road through sweet indigenous villages to the town of San Antonio, known for its wood carving. We wandered through the market there, and in and out of shops selling wood crafts and furniture. Carmen and Carlos took us to a great place for lunch -- one plate for five people of fritada, (fried pork,) pozole, fried corn (there's a name for this,) potatoes, fried plantain and avocado.
Late in the afternoon, Carmen took Helen and me to Las Cascadas de Pechuge, a waterfall on the outskirts of Otavalo. This place is considered sacred to many of the indigenous people. Walking along the shady cobblestone path in the company of our Quichua friend was a unique privilege. The path brought us to this misty and mystical cascade.
Back home, Sara had hot turkey soup waiting for us -- the perfect ending to a lovely week in Otavalo.
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| Carmen drove all the way to Ibarra and back. |
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| Helen (in purple) and Carmen at Las Cascadas de Peguche |
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| Las Cascadas de Peguche |
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| Carmen at the market in San Antonio |
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| Market vendor in Otavalo with Colombian customer |
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| Helen, admiring the skill of the helado-maker in Ibarra. In another moment, the young man handed the spoon to Helen and asked her to give it a try. |
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| Sara, buying a little something for her baby granddaughter. |
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| Beautiful Carmen in San Antonio market |
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