Day 4

 

After breakfast, at 8 am we were met by our guide for the tour to Otavalo.  It is about 55 miles from Quito. The terrain is interesting with mountains and valleys. Ecuador

is an agricultural paradise.  They do not have seasons here (since it on the equator) but they have climate differences based on altitude.  At the lower altitudes it is hot and they grow tropical produce.  At the higher altitudes it is moderate and different produce is grown.  Our guide bought some cherimoya which we enjoyed  We passed many acres of covered greenhouses where roses are grown. They produce about 100000 roses a day, which are shipped worldwide. Before driving to Otavalo, we made two stops --- one at the actual equator (there is a tourist site called Mitad del Mundo that has an equator monument and museum, but is several hundred feet from the equator). The site we stopped at is right on the equator as confirmed by GPS. We listened to a short presentation about the project that is trying to change how maps and globes are oriented for a more accurate representation. We took a picture of us straddling the equator with Bo in the northern hemisphere and Al in the southern hemisphere.  From there we went to San Pablo Lake, a picturesque lake among the volcanoes, which the locals use for fishing, and the Quitenos (people from Quito) use for recreation. We stopped in a very nice restaurant/hotel for excellent Ecuadorian coffee. From there it was only 10 minutes to Otavalo. Otavalo is an indigenous town known for its crafts, especially alpaca weaving. It’s a booming city of about 50,000 known for one of the largest craft markets in South America. The main market day is Saturday so today the market wasn’t as big.  Of course we had to shop, and we did buy a few things at very good prices. But I (Bo) have to say the crafts are much more interesting and varied in Mexico so it was a bit disappointing. From there we visited a town of Cotacache, which specializes in leather goods. There is a street full of leather stores one next to another, and some of them with very high quality stuff. Bo almost bought a gorgeous leather bag that in the US would probably cost over $100, and they were asking $55. Unfortunately, the store was closing for almuerzo (lunch/dinner) and we didn’t make it back there in time. Our guide, Andres, bought himself a leather cowboy hat. On the way back to Quito we visited a national part with a crater lake at 10,000 foot elevation calle Cuicocha Lake. We walked for about ½ hour on the trail that goes all around this beautiful lake. The trail is 12 km long and parts of it are very challenging. We only walked a short, easy part.

Back in Quito we decided to go to a fancy restaurant for dinner. The restaurant Gloria, just a short walk from our hotel, has a lovely ambiance and very good food. We had excellent grilled octopus, spicy seabass (Bo) and lamb chops (Al). Now we are digesting and relaxing and enjoying a night cap.