Otavalo´s Outdoor Market, Ecuador

May 24th 2008

The day started out with an early wake up call to catch an 8:30 AM bus to Otavalo. We arrived at 11AM just in time to catch the last pig being escorted out of the animal market section. Having missed the early morning activities in this section that was full of barter and banter over livestock, Les and I headed towards the town center.

The ¨largest market in South America¨ was a lot different than I imagined. It was basically a small town with three open plazas where people set up shop each Saturday. The kicker was that every street in between was full of vendors and hustlers of every type. Deep fried pig heads were showcased everywhere with people sitting nearby feasting on the meat.

Les and I had a great time picking out various native Ecuadorian regalos for friends but were rained upon in the process. The bartering proved to be quite tough as the Saturday vendors were ready for the tourist crowd. Funny enough we ended up bartering down to the exact prices we did our pre-trial barter sessions for in Quito; nonetheless it was a great adventure out of the city.

The most interesting part was the city museum. In actual fact it is an indigenous Otavalian who let us into a shed in his back yard during the posted hours. We were taken through his families history of wool-making from animal sheering to product. He showed us all the ancient tools that were once used then replaced when the Spanish settlers arrived.

As the night started to get dark, Leslie petitioned heavily for a move back to Quito before I was able to attend the cock fighting.............

I think I will return to Otavalo next Saturday just to see this with my own eyes. Maybe I will buy one of the chickens that are sold in the day market to enter into a fight that night......who knows.

We have a overnight bus (8 hours) to catch tonight for Lago Agrio, our gateway to the Cuyabeno Jungle Reserve. We then catch a 3 hour bus followed by a 2 hour motorized canoe down a tributary of the Amazon river. This should be interesting!