Otavalo, Ecuador

First market...done. Hardest thing: Bartering over $0.50 with really, really cute, little Indigenous people!! (which is obviously part of their game plan!!)

Folks,
Hope this mail finds you guys happy and healthy!!!

Thursday: Had a look round a rose farm just outside of Quito. The rose industry is massive out here, and its Ecuador´s third largest (export) industry. As with industry in most third world countries, conditions on the farms tend to be pretty dire...child labour is used, strong pesticides are used unsafely and in large volumes and general work conditions are pretty appalling. The farm I went to was a ´green´ farm, so I didnt actually see that side of things. It was a very interesting experience, especially in the run up to Valentine´s day, where they have huge orders to fulfill....so folks....if you are gonna get romantic and buy some Ecuadorian roses on the 14th, try and buy ones which sport a ´green´ label e.g. FLP!! Thanks!!

My Weekend: So, my latest adventure wasn´t really an adventure as such, more a spot of retail therapy!!!

Friday: I made my way to Otavalo (hardest bit of which was knowing which of the 40-50 buses I need to get on to...) So...befriended a policeman...who stopped traffic AND my bus, and off I went. Have found out that road travel isn´t my forte, cant seem to get myself used to hours of winding, mountain roads! Urgh!

Anyway, disembarked at Otavalo...its quite good here as the bus drivers will never let you miss your stop (you have to pay for that privilege...i.e. if you´ve only paid for Otavalo..then its at Otavalo that you´ll get off!!)

The town was soooo different to Quito...I had a nice, clear blue sky for starters, which is quite the novelty for me!! And the town was alot quieter, less polluted, the people are friendlier...and the shops seem to be alot more modern, which is strange as the population is mainly Indigenous here!!

Made my way across town to my hotel, which was pretty nice....although the promise of hot water wasnt actually fulfilled!!! (gutted!!) And then set out to orientate myself around the town and grab some lunch.

Had heard great things about a cafe just off one of the plazas...although the recommendation came from someone who hadnt been to Otavalo for 3 years. Sure enough, as if this was the land where time stands still....the cafe was there. Had myself a huge dish of pasta pesto (old habits die hard...staple food whilst at uni for 3 years!!) and chatted to the lady for quite a while. She was cool...but spoke Spanish in a funny accent, as if i dont!!! (the indigenous tend to speak Quechua.)

Saturday, Market day: I got up at the crack of dawn (5ish) to head just out of town and see the animal market (its meant to be quite a spectacle) but it was still pitch black and so i decided id give it a miss, as I wasnt too keen on fumbling around an animal market in the dark!! So back to bed I went, (was a tough decision!! hehe) and got up an hour later and head of to the artesenial market!

Thought I was doing real well...have acquired some pretty good bartering skills over the years.....esp from my time in Nigeria, and after the first vendor became my victim, i walked away feeling very smug...although I slowly realised, that id been beaten at my own game!! Anyway I made up for it...won some battles, lost a few others but overall, I think I came out fairly even....

Now the problem is not really one of how much I spent, but rather, what the hell am I gonna do with all the stuff I bought!! I have prob invested in about a herd´s worth of Alpaca wool, in the form of shawls, jumpers, scarves etc. Plus I almost bought myself a hammock (at only $4 it was criminal not to...but then realised that hauling that around for the next 7 months, may be just slightly impractical!!!) so managed to restrain myself!!

The market sellers are incredible....they are really, really tiny...def in the region of 4ft-4.5ft!! (I promise im NOT exagerrating!) and they all wear traditional dress: the men in white trousers, fedora/panama hat with long, plaited hair, whilst the women all have coral/gold beads round their necks and wrists, long skirts, strange head wraps and long, plaited hair..... the best thing about it, is that its not a ´show´ for tourists but rather the way they dress at home, in their villages etc...so that was refreshing!!

Ok....I shall leave off here. I had planned to make my way to a nearby town, Cotacachi (surprise surprise, there´s a volcano there!!) and from there to Lake Cuicocha (which is an active lake in a volcano crater!) Its meant to be amazing, but as my luck would have it....it has been raining solidly since yesterday and is a pretty foggy day, and with the constant threat of rain, i think i´ll pass on the whole ´boating on a lake´ experience!!

So its back to Quito I go...with plans to head into the jungle by the weekend....