We bipassed Quito, to come to Otavalo specifically for the Saturday market, one of the oldest in SA, and in Ecuador. This market has been active since before Incan times. The main market takes place on Saturday where we are told there is a crafts market (ie. ponchos, hats, scarves, mitts, bags, weavings, masks, table clothes, jewlery, musical instruments etc), a food market, and an animal market. This all starts happening at the crack of dawn.
The crafts market, in a somewhat smaller state occupies the Plaza de Ponchos every day, and that is mostly there for the tourists who come here to buy the local crafts. The market, already, in its smaller state is quite enjoyable. Many of the people here are dressed traditionally, which means the men wear white pants with a white shirt, and sometimes a poncho, they have long braided hair and usually a hat. The women wear beautifully embriodered white blouses with black skirts. They wear necklaces and braided hair, and are really quite striking. That combined with the myriad of colours of blankets and ponchos blowing in the wind with the back drop of volcanic Mnt Cotacachi looming in the background.
To get here we took yet another hellish night bus, followed within seconds of a cab and local bus. The bus weaves again through the Andes with views of the volcanoes including Mnt. Cotapaxi in the distance, cloaked in snow. Life near the equator is marked by extremely hot afternoons and bright, sunny mornings, with clouds rolling in during the afternoon and nights that get quite cold.
Otavalo itself is much more touristy, the main strip caters to the tourist crowd with main stream restaurants and shops. It seems like the market is boardering on kitsche now in some regards, as it is profitable for people to be here all week. We are looking forward to tomorrow where indigenous sellers are to fill the streets with stalls, and especially to the animal market which is for local use only.
People here eat at the stalls in the food market, where you eat next to pigs heads and cows feet. Anything you want to buy can be found from spices to exotic fruit and beyond. Life here in Equador is also markedly different from life in Northern Peru, where it seemed slightly more poor. From what we have found by talking to people as we travel, Northern Peru is often less travelled and-or altogether skipped by traveller tourists. Now that we are in more touristy towns, people driving nicer cars, indegnous people walk with cellphones. It is hard to tell at this point so early in our travels if this is more of an Ecuadorian thing, or because this is a more tourist visited town.
As a note about our last day in Puerto Lopez, we decided to rent bikes for the day. We biked the 15km to the nearby National Park where there was a stunning beach called Playa de las Frailles. It was beautiful, white sand stretch of land, hemmed in on both ends by red-sand cliffs jutting out from the water, licked and sprayed white with foam and surf. On one end was a mirador (lookout) which you can climb to over look the beaches and the tourquoise water. Of course you also get a good view of the guard they have stationed on the beach.
Yes, guards are a part of our lives now. It is odd sometimes, especially seeing one on the beach, but then you look around, and although there are only a hand full of people, they are all white. There is some comfort, I suppose, in the fact that we can swim and not have to watch our bags like hawks, although I think the guard just fell asleep in the bushes. But the guards are not always for white people, as it may seem. We see guards in every bank, in some grocery stores (full on machine gun), drug stores, street corners, political buildings etc. Part of it is that there is some element of instablity here, and I am sure a lot of it has to do with political situations, that we as yet, have no real understanding of. But guards are a part of life, life moves on around them. And although, from a North American perspective it is hard to fathom them being there as they are a blunt reminder that life isn´t perfect and safe.... but then again some of the people here would think driving a highway in Canada and seeing a bear by the side of the road would make them feel unsafe. Life is different here.
This blog is definetly here for those of you that read it, but it is also here for us to look back on and remember the places and things we have done. We are here to experience life in an other country, to see what is the same and different from life in Canada. And hopefully get a better appreciation for what we have back home. And although some of our adventures may read as crazy or dangerous, remember that we are in a different country but we are still the same people. Both relatively intelligent people who make good/smart/ and safe decissions. Multiply that by two...and maybe you think that all of our blogs are made up....*smile*
That being said, and given that we seem to know quite a few people these days dabbling in the Yukon´s polical scene back home, we have been quite interested in the political happenings here in SA. We were told in Peru that they had just had a National election and had municipal elections coming. Here in Ecuador, not sure what the situation is. There are rallies gallor. People spend the day cruzing the roads in whatever beatup truck they have, with stickers and banners plastered all over them, often with loud speakers and flags promoting their candidate, and there are a lot of candidates. In Peru they vote by a party symbol and vote number. In Ecuador they vote by a number. You see cars dressed up, people, and buildings. A LOT of buildings are painted, not just unoccupied buildings, but houses. People are very passionate here.
Although life must be and is hard for many people they live passionate and happy lives and area always willing to talk and smile with you as you go by.
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