Otavalo markets, Ecuador

Our first stop in Ecuador was the famous Saturday markets at Otavalo, rumoured to be the largest craft market in South America (not confirmed as yet). We experienced all the sights and sounds of a bustling market place with hand made crafts in every direction, herb and spice sellers, vegetable stands, food stalls, etc. The indigenous people come from all over the region, some travelling for hours to get to the markets, all wearing the traditional dress.

On walking thru the maze of craft stalls, with well over 50 stalls selling the exact same stuff (some crap), including alpaca rugs, larma jumpers and socks, woven bags, wallets and just about everything else. We decided an alpaca rug was required. We must have looked at every rug, in every colour, before deciding on our target item. Now, given the overwelming supply of craft, the bidding began, we managed to pick up the rug for 50% less than the asking price.

So, quite please after our little purchase (which i'm now carrying around), we headed for the food stalls. We picked out the lady who had a full roasted pig, she prepared a nice little plate of meat, crackling, rice and beans. Now, we we're a little concerned because this was our first experience of "street meat" but I can report a clean bill of health.

After spending a number of hours exploring, it was time to head off, next stop Quito. And our first bus experience in Ecuador was an interesting one (they always are). After loading our backpacks into the under carriage, we boarded the bus, sitting on the right side of the bus to keep an eye on the bags. As we're about to depart, Victoria said "Is that my bag on the ground over there?". ARGHHHH, some little local had dragged her bag off the bus. BOOM, i'm off the bus, shouting "Hey, Amigo, Hey Amigo, what the f*#k are you doing", my spanish was lacking at a critical moment. Anyway, I grabbed the bag, put it back on the bus, and off we went. A close call.

And to top it all off, the "direct" bus to Quito must have stopped about 50 times in 3 hours for every Juan, Pablo and Eduardo to get on and off the bus with all their chickens and potatos, classic. So, an interesting finish to a great day.